All About Pocket Knives

I am new to this so I am looking for a book that would give me some history on some of the knives I run across. I am not really interested in a price guide per se because I have found that collectible price guides are fairly unreliable. I just want something for dating and general id purposes. Am most interested in Buck, Case and more recently Schrade. Any advice? I have looked on Amazon but none of the guides on there got really glowing reviews. Any input is appreciated.

Hi morestag - I picked up 'The American Premium Guide to Knives and Razors - 6th ed.' by Jim Sargent a couple of weeks ago.

It has a lot of good information and pictures. Lots of Case. You can find it at any Barnes & Nobles.

Sargents 6 th is a excellent source of info on Case and pretty decent on Remingtons, you won't find any info on Bucks or Schrades in it though. Richie and Stewards Standard Knife Collectors Guide might be a better choice for all all around book for several different brands.

If you can find one of the older Sargents (I've got a 1986 edition, I believe it may be #1), they've got a great selection of Schrade Cut Co, Schrade Walden, Wincehester, remington, Case and Queen. Much better than the later editions. For the older Schrade Cut Cos, a great reference is the AG Russell reprint of Catalog E. It's a small light brown volume and can often be found on Ebay for around $30 - $40. Of course it was only $5 in 1971 .

Eric

There is quite a bit of Schrade info right here on AAPK in the Research Section.
http://allaboutpocketknives.com/schrade ... /index.php

Dale

I have used the info on this site extensively while looking at knives on the internet. This weekend I am headed to a gun show and expect to run across some knives. I wanted something I could take with me.

Feel free to print the lists out & take them with you. I posted them so collectors could use them for a reference.

Happy hunting,
Dale

PS- Please be sure to come back & show us pics of the knives you get.

The books mentioned above are excellant resources. So is Bernard Levine's Fourth Edition [not 5th or 6th]. [IT IS A MUST] and the more you read it the more you'll know.
That sounds simple but it is such a large book you can't possibly skim through it and understand and learn from it. It is also expensive, so consider a used one which will save u money.
ALSO;
Goin's Encyclopedia will give you a little information on thousands of brands.
Gerald Withcher's-Counterfeiting Antique Cutlery will keep you from buying junk.
Suermondt's Illustrated Guide to Knives, Pascal's Collectible Pocket Knives, and Hartnik's Encyclopedia of Knives are 3 books I find quite useful amongst many others but you should start wih Bernard's and the books mentioned in the above posts and then get some of these others.

Wow! Thanks for all the advice. I am ordering up a couple of these. The 4th edition of Levine's book is going for $95! I sounds like the 5th edition is not really different it was just published without his input. Do I have that right?

yes, i have two of levine's and one by blade, they are virtualy identical.

I'm quite pleased with Blade's guide. I don't have Levine's vol 4 but recently bought vol 2 for 99p ($2.00) plus postage. For me, my Favourite is Tweedale's Sheffield Knife Book and Goins is essential. s-k

Yes Steve, I agree, I probably use Goin's Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings more than I use LG4. Goins' is easier to use & covers more companies than LG4. LG4 goes more into depth on some things than Goin's which why I think the two are essential in my library.

If you decide to collect Case knives, than there are folks here who can direct you toward books on Case. There is a lot written about Case. I just wish all brands had as much written about them.

Dale

Is Levine's expanded 3rd edition any good?

as good as any smoke. i use it as much as any of my books. i have the third, fifth and the blade version. all good reference and examples.

Thanks Johnnie.

Gunsmoke47 wrote:Is Levine's expanded 3rd edition any good?

I haven't compared the 3rd & 4th side by side. I have been told that the 4th has some things that the 3rd doesn't. I feel very fortunate to have found a copy of LG4 at a show a couple years ago.

Dale

Thanks Dale. I need to get more knife books. I am lacking somewhat in this area. Kelley B.

hey smoke, i agree! i have placed a lot more importance(since joining this site) of aquiring reference books, not bibles but a lot of help in many ways. we have a book give-a- way thread somewhere, maybe another book?

BRL's 4th edition is better than the third and I have heard, but don't know, that it also is better than the fifth.
AG Russell was selling them [out of print 4th edition] for something like $75.00. They go for as much as $175.00 elsewhere.
I use it and Knives and Razors and Goin's daily.

That's a cool idea Johnnie. I have not seen that thread but it sounds like a great idea. My wife says I need to get goin, but I keep tellin her I need to get A Goins She looks at me funny....... a lot.

T have an earlier editions of Goins' as well, the Second Edition, POCKETKNIVES Markings of Manufacturers and Dealers, © 1982.

While the later edition has more information in it and many more manufacturers, the second edition has more pics of tang stamps.

If I had to have only one copy, it would be the latest edition, however it is nice to be able to glean the extra tidbit of info from the old book.

Dale