This long-awaited book by well-known collector Gerald Witcher has finally arrived! Anyone who has attended an NKCA or other major show in the last couple of years has undoubtedly heard rumors about its content and progress. Well, folks - the time has come, and I'm here to tell you that it was worth the wait. This 512-page monster is just what the doctor ordered, and I don't mean all of those 'knife doctors' out there!

The book, which sports one of the most stunning photographs ever found on the cover of a knife book, is flat loaded with good quality black and white photographs on slick paper, averaging three or four to the page (which puts it somewhere in the ballpark of 1500-2000 photographs!) Each is carefully captioned, and those illustrating specific points are enhanced with arrows clearly showing the item in question. With the subject at hand, quality photography is very important, and this book does not disappoint.

Counterfeiting Antique Cutlery contains eight chapters, most of which deal directly with the act of counterfeiting and how to detect a counterfeit knife. The heart and soul of the book is the chapter on "The Knife Evaluation Process," 92 pages of the author as teacher and trusted friend, leading you through the process of how to evaluate a knife in light of its legitimacy. Witcher takes the reader through each part of the knife, showing you what to look for, how to look for it, and why it should or should not be a certain way. Readers will be amazed how easy it is to see what is wrong and/or right with each of the knives in the photos. Those who take the time to study this book carefully, and follow the evaluation process presented here, should find it much easier to make the right call on a particular knife when at a knife show, gun show, or flea market and the pressure is on to decide whether the knife is right or not. If you aren't sure, it'll be too late to read up on it then! I don't think there is any doubt that those who follow the guidelines set forth in this book will be much less likely to have a knife to throw in the Little Pigeon River at the next Pigeon Forge show [see the November, 1997 issue for more info on that event.]

The largest section of the book checks in at 277 pages, and consists of individual critiques of counterfeit knives, organized by brand name. I suspect that readers will refer back to this section over and over again to see how Witcher applies his knife evaluation process in practical situations. Knife after knife is examined systematically, and their flaws illustrated in photo and description, accompanied by photographs of the same components on authentic knives so that one can clearly see the difference between the counterfeit and the real thing.

If you are so self-confident that you think you can get by without this book, 86 pages worth of the most complete photographic record of Case family markings ever compiled may still entice you to grab a copy. Tracking down roughly 250 different stampings related to the Case family is a formidable task, but the vast majority of them are pictured here as they appear on the knives. This section is clearly a valuable addition to all of the information that has already been published on Case knives, and should be much appreciated by collectors of the brand.

A chapter on fixed blade knives by Bernard Levine is also included. This section deals almost exclusively with bowie knives, a field in which counterfeits are an even greater problem than pocketknives. Luckily, a large percentage of fake bowies are relatively easy to spot, and this book will give the reader a good place to start. The absence of American hunting knives from this book is really not significant - the fakes in this field are generally restricted to the high-dollar varieties such as Marbles and Remington, and most of the counterfeiting techniques illustrated here will apply to them as well.

Additional sections include a general discussion about counterfeiting, an explanation of the origin of junk knives, tips for Case collectors by Tony Foster, tips for Remington collectors by Jim Sargent, and, finally, a few pages in summary.
As an unprecedented gesture of goodwill to the NKCA and knife collectors everywhere, Mr. Witcher has agreed to donate all of the author's and publisher's profits from the sale of this book to the NKCA?s general fund. I think that all of us who enjoy knife collecting as a hobby and a pastime owe Gerald a heartfelt thanks both for his generous support of our hobby's central organization and for making this important information available to collectors everywhere. Gerald, thank you.

If you collect antique knives, you need to read, re-read, study, think about, and constantly refer back to this book. Its short-segment format lends itself well to one?s nightstand, which is exactly where my copy will reside for several months to come. If there's a stronger endorsement than that, I can't imagine what it might be.

keywords: Case, Remington, Winchester, bowie

Softcover, 512 pp.

NO LONGER AVAILABLE