This is the only book designed to give the beginning collector of Confederate knives some direction. If you have an interest in collecting Confederate bowie and side-knives, buy this book BEFORE you jump in feet-first. Trust us, you'll be glad you did.

BOOK REVIEW

Reviewed by Knife World Staff

If this book seems familiar, it’s probably because we reviewed the original Confederate Bowie Knife Guide back in 2005. The success of the first edition has spawned a second, which has not only more than doubled the original’s size but has improved the black & white photographs and added some color photography as well – all for just $5 more. Now that’s progress!

To keep things simple, author Lee Hadaway simply added his “update” to the end of the original text, with the thought that the original material was still valuable – and it is. Aiming to provide the reader with some basic knowledge about what original Confederate bowies look like and how to spot the counterfeits, this portion of the book is straightforward and will get you a good start. In this regard it’s definitely better than anything else heretofore published.

The first portion of the “update,” which spans about 125 pages, consists of a wide range of authentic Confederate D-guards and side knives, with brief descriptions about the makers or a given knife’s provenance. There are some truly superb knives illustrated here, and I believe that some of the illustrated types have never before been identified in print.

The book concludes with a new section illustrating knives that the author terms “Reproductions, Misidentified and Fake.” This is a great addition to the book, particularly because several of the knives illustrated can regularly be found at the gun shows or online auction sites, masquerading as the real thing. Hadaway’s decision to include these frauds, and illustrate authentic examples next to them when possible, should prove very beneficial to the beginning collector.

This isn’t a coffee table picture-book, or a history of bowie knives in general, but a guide to help collectors of Civil War knives avoid the pitfalls of that treacherous field. In our review of the first edition, we said: “if you have a specific interest in the more primitive Civil War bowies, The Confederate Bowie Knife Guide contains some valuable information that could save you an awful lot of hard-earned money in a single transaction.” For the revised edition, ditto that with added emphasis. Those who enjoyed the original edition should not hesitate to add the updated version to their library, as should anyone with an interest in bowie knives that “whistle Dixie.”

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Nomenclature
History
Manufacturing
--Arsenal Made Knives
--Blacksmith Made Knives
Collecting Confederate Knives
--Factors Affecting the Desirability of Confederate Knives
Buying Confederate Knives
--Period Knives To Be Aware Of
--Features That Should Raise Red Flags
Summary
Photo Gallery
Suggested Reading.
UPDATE
Real Confederate Bowies
Reproductions, Misrepresentations And Fake


Revised edition -- Softcover, 206 pp.

Availability: Usually ships the next business day.

$29.95