All About Pocket Knives

I've been on the hunt for a 4th edition of Levine's Guide to Knives. Fairly pricey for beat up used copies at around $112 and for very good condition, the price is $165. Any advice on where to find these elsewhere? or... any other great knife resource books?
Thanks!

The current version is even better, though they changed the name ,for a hell of a lot less

Miller Bro's wrote:The current version is even better, though they changed the name ,for a hell of a lot less

Are you referring to the 5th edition? or is it a different name as you say?

7th edition, name changed.

http://www.shopblade.com/blades-guide-t ... tion-ebook

Miller Bro's wrote:7th edition, name changed.

http://www.shopblade.com/blades-guide-t ... tion-ebook

Thank you! I was not aware of this one. Wow! it is truly a bargain.

Your welcome

Blades Guide 7 that took over for Levines is way cheaper and is worth every penny less. It's almost as screwed up as the 6th edition. Almost all the pocketknife patterns (Pg 162) are mislabeled and the price values through-out the book appear to be almost random. New parts are added apart from where the same companies or knife styles or topics are elsewhere located in the book. That being said, it does have a lot of information in it. Most of the reliable information was put there when Levine was controlling the book. I wore out my first 4th edition and bought a second copy before the price went goofy on them. I have all 4 Levines editions and both of Shackleford's books and I wish someone who knew what they were doing would redo the book and at least correct all the screw-ups in that awful book. I still only actually use LG.4 and really like it. There hasn't been a decent book apart from Steve Pfeiffer's excellent 2 editions only dealing with Case knives put out in quite a number oy years now. As you can tell, I'm beyond angry at what the Publisher of Levines book did to that resource so that in a nutshell is my humble opinion.____Dave

I consider ANY book on knives a good resource.Most of mine are fairly old and out of date price-wise but still good references.These include old knife magazines(American Blade;the Knife Collector,etc.)and old auction catalogs featuring firearms and knives.Some of the catalogs date back to the mid 1940's and a couple just have drawings along with the descriptions. I guess they figured it was cheaper to have someone draw the items rather than photograph them.
Most of the time I reference BRL's 2nd or 3rd edition(I don't have #4) or Goins.

djknife13 wrote:Blades Guide 7 that took over for Levines is way cheaper and is worth every penny less.
As you can tell, I'm beyond angry at what the Publisher of Levines book did to that resource so that in a nutshell is my humble opinion.____Dave

Dave, you and I seem to share a similar opinion of Blade's Guide. I bought the first one that came out and it was such a cluster gaggle that I haven't bothered to purchase another one. I even allowed my subscription to Blade Magazine to expire after Wayne Goddard stopped doing his column in Blade.

On the topics of general cutlery I use LG4 and Goin’s Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings. My copy of Goins is so dog-eared that I recently purchased a new copy to have a copy when the old one falls totally apart.

Goin's is now out of print but there are still copies left at some dealers. If you don’t have a copy I highly recommend it. LG4 and Goin’s are the books I use most for assorted cutlery companies.

If I am researching a specific brand to do in-depth research I try to find books that deal exclusively with the brand when possible.

For Case my go to book is Collecting Case Knives, by Stephen Pfeiffer.
For Western Cutlery my go to book is The Knife Makers Who Went West, by Harvey Platts.
For Gerber knives my go to book is A Chronology of Gerber Legendary Blades, 1939 – 1986, by Phil Rodenberg.
M. H. Cole has done a number of good books on US Military knives.
For military pocket knives my go to is Pocket Knives of the US Military, by Michael Silvey.

It is difficult to find books devoted to a single brand but I have found Jim Sargent’s Guide to Knives and Razors to be an excellent resource with some of these harder to find brands. The brands change with each addition so having all seven additions is helpful, if you can find them. Among the companies covered in different editions of his books are; Primble, Queen, Remington, Schrade Walden, Schrade cutlery Corporation and Winchester, Pal, Browning, Robeson and most of the seventh edition is devoted to Case knives.

For me collecting books about knives is sort of a side hobby of knife collecting but if I had to narrow my collection down to the bare minimum it would be LG4, Goin’s, Pfeiffer, Platts, Rodenberg & Silvey. These cover not only general information but also knives I’m interested in. If there was a new book written on Schrade, Camillus, Buck or Kershaw I would be standing in line for a copy, because those are brands I’m interested in.

The brand of knives you are interested in should affect which knife books you buy.

Dale, we did a thread on the books here on AAPK sometime back; I don't know how to search for it. There was a lot of good info there, also. Maybe someone can resurrect that thread? I have 2 books exclusively on Remingtons, and 2 on scout knives, to add to the mix. I posted on them back when.

Cal,
Is this the topic you are speaking of?

http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... s&start=60

orvet wrote:Cal,
Is this the topic you are speaking of?

http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... s&start=60

Bingo!

We've been discussing the importance of shipping knives properly in another thread, and now a little story about the importance of shipping books properly.

I found a good copy of "Levine's Guide to Knives and Their Values (4th Edition)" on eBay for $40. I received it today and it had been shipped in a thin, plastic, unpadded envelope. One of the corners of the envelope had been torn away and the bottom corner of the book was damaged. I sent a message to the seller, with pictures, and told him of my displeasure and that I would be leaving him negative feedback. He responded almost immediately, apologized profusely and gave me a full refund and told me to keep the book. I then left him positive feedback, complimenting him on his problem resolution in the comment.

As of this writing, there are only three copies available on eBay and they are all listed at over $100.

I don't know what has changed with eBay sellers, but something has definitely changed. I bought and sold on eBay, for many years, and almost never had any issues. I think in over ten years of being a buyer, I might have left negative feedback two or three times because I experienced virtually no issues. Then, about five years ago, I took a break from eBay and deleted my old account. I created a new account this year and have purchased 19 items so far. I have already left negative feedback three times for sellers who were either unwilling to resolve the issue or ignored me completely. Three other items have been lost in the mail and five other items were either damaged in shipping or were erroneously described. Out of 19 purchases, in three and a half months, only eight have arrived without an issue of some sort.

What the heckle and jeckyl is going on?

Great idea Mr S. Threaten negative feedback to receive free goods. I'm going to try that on my next purchase.

Knife Nut wrote:Great idea Mr S. Threaten negative feedback to receive free goods. I'm going to try that on my next purchase.

No, no, no, no no... That was not my point. I am completely opposed to the idea of manipulating people in order to get things without paying for them. Please don't attempt that. I can only hope that you are kidding.

My point was that because of the seller's laziness and cheapness of shipping something the way he did, he is now worse off than if he had never sold the book.

No, my tongue was firmly planted in my cheek.
I understand your point completely.

Paul

Knife Nut wrote:No, my tongue was firmly planted in my cheek.
I understand your point completely.

Paul

Bueno.

I think you have just had a run of bad luck. I have bought many things from ebay over the last 10 years and the level of service remains consistently very high. That said i do read the FB of a seller new to me and try to 'read between the lines'. Is the positive FB just "ya o.k.", or is it a truly enthusiastic happy comment ?
Perhaps you need to screen the sellers more closely ? That said, the vast majority of sellers do a great job with all aspects of the transaction.
kj

CheckSix wrote:I've been on the hunt for a 4th edition of Levine's Guide to Knives. Fairly pricey for beat up used copies at around $112 and for very good condition, the price is $165. Any advice on where to find these elsewhere? or... any other great knife resource books?
Thanks!

I'm selling my copy for $75 +shipping, if you're still looking for a copy.
I'm also selling my copy of "The Complete Book of Pocketknife Repair A Cutlers Manual" for $65. They're just not what I was looking for.

I've reduced the price of my copy of "Levine's Guide To Knives And Their Values 4th Edition" to $55 +shipping, if anyone is still looking for a copy.

PM inbound.

orvet wrote:PM inbound.

I tried replying to your PM twice, but they are still showing as being in my outbox and not in my sent folder. I don't know what the deal is. Send me another PM with your address so I know where to send the book and how much to charge for shipping.

Mr Stafford your PM will leave your outbox next time Orvet signs on.
kj

kootenay joe wrote:Mr Stafford your PM will leave your outbox next time Orvet signs on.
kj

Oh, I get it. Thanks