The Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Knives, Swords, Spears & Daggers: Through History In Over 1500 Photographs

I can't fault what's in the book, it has great illustrations and even a section on how various engravings were done. The problem is that it's written by Brits, features the weaponry of cultures that the Brits have had experience in fighting, and nothing else. There are literally tons of other references available for the weapons in this book. I was hoping for more references to ethnographic arms, my main area of interest is Russian blades, and I was hoping for an English reference book because my Russian is pretty rusty. Instead, the Russian empire section is for the Napoleonic era and features mostly swords and sabers that weren't all that different from what the rest of Europe was using. I was hoping to find some mention of Shashkas, but you only really get their Persian cousin the Shamshir. No Kindjal , but once again you get the middle easern Khanjar.

My son is super into drawing bladed weapons, so I thought this would be a good reference for him. He was very excited last night to browse through it. He bookmarked one or two weapons he would like to draw.

It's really just a beautiful book. Weapon descriptions could have more detail. The index is nice. Even though this book is huge, it still feels incomplete-- like there could be 3 to 5 volumes, but I can't hold that against it. It's a great resource for inspiration or reference. It's the kind of book that would be equally at home on a coffee table or in a shop, covered in fingerprints and stains. :)

the history of knives and swords and spears and daggers. great reading about how they have involved through the ages. shows how they were used in different periods and how they got their start.

This is a beautiful book with vivid pictures and interesting information and history about the knives. For my husband's birthday, I gave him this book along with a knife-making class. He's having a great time looking through the book for knives he'd like to try to make.

I got this for my 11 year old son who is obsessed with swords. It is perfect, he has spent hours son hours going through it, drawing the swords. Very pleased. Great pictures, well made book.

It's a very big, thick book, full of pictures and interesting facts. We bought this for my brother-in-law who is very into knives and a college student. He seemed to really appreciate it.

This book was bought as a gift for my uncle who is an avid collector of "sharp" weapons. When he called to thank me for it, I could hear the excitement in his voice as he told me how much he loved it. This book is a great reference tool as well as a beautiful coffee table book. I highly recommend it!

This book is CRAZY awesome!! Sturdy, thick, beautiful glossy pages--it was 110% what I have been searching for. The information is fascinating and there is a ton of information and illustrations. I want to buy this again as a present for someone else!

The book has lots of great pictures but the bindings broke as soon as I opened the book when I received. Almost like it was bound too tight. See pictures attached. Only assume that the cover will not last long. No option to contact the seller, only return.

I can't fault what's in the book, it has great illustrations and even a section on how various engravings were done. The problem is that it's written by Brits, features the weaponry of cultures that the Brits have had experience in fighting, and nothing else. There are literally tons of other references available for the weapons in this book. I was hoping for more references to ethnographic arms, my main area of interest is Russian blades, and I was hoping for an English reference book because my Russian is pretty rusty. Instead, the Russian empire section is for the Napoleonic era and features mostly swords and sabers that weren't all that different from what the rest of Europe was using. I was hoping to find some mention of Shashkas, but you only really get their Persian cousin the Shamshir. No Kindjal , but once again you get the middle easern Khanjar.

My son is super into drawing bladed weapons, so I thought this would be a good reference for him. He was very excited last night to browse through it. He bookmarked one or two weapons he would like to draw.

It's really just a beautiful book. Weapon descriptions could have more detail. The index is nice. Even though this book is huge, it still feels incomplete-- like there could be 3 to 5 volumes, but I can't hold that against it. It's a great resource for inspiration or reference. It's the kind of book that would be equally at home on a coffee table or in a shop, covered in fingerprints and stains. :)

the history of knives and swords and spears and daggers. great reading about how they have involved through the ages. shows how they were used in different periods and how they got their start.

This is a beautiful book with vivid pictures and interesting information and history about the knives. For my husband's birthday, I gave him this book along with a knife-making class. He's having a great time looking through the book for knives he'd like to try to make.

I got this for my 11 year old son who is obsessed with swords. It is perfect, he has spent hours son hours going through it, drawing the swords. Very pleased. Great pictures, well made book.

It's a very big, thick book, full of pictures and interesting facts. We bought this for my brother-in-law who is very into knives and a college student. He seemed to really appreciate it.

This book was bought as a gift for my uncle who is an avid collector of "sharp" weapons. When he called to thank me for it, I could hear the excitement in his voice as he told me how much he loved it. This book is a great reference tool as well as a beautiful coffee table book. I highly recommend it!

This book is CRAZY awesome!! Sturdy, thick, beautiful glossy pages--it was 110% what I have been searching for. The information is fascinating and there is a ton of information and illustrations. I want to buy this again as a present for someone else!

The book has lots of great pictures but the bindings broke as soon as I opened the book when I received. Almost like it was bound too tight. See pictures attached. Only assume that the cover will not last long. No option to contact the seller, only return.

This quickly became a must-have reference that is kept near my typewriter at all times.

Gorgeous photos of a huge range of blade weapons. Some repetition due to organization of categories.

My dad loves history & this was a great birthday gift. Great photos and good info

My grandson loves and collects knives. When I saw this I new it was a perfect gift for him. He loves it. It completes his collection. I am so glad I got it for him. My other grandsons who do not collect knives all wanted the book also. I recommend this encyclopedia of knives to anyone looking for an interesting read.

Awesome book!

This book is wonderful! So informative and so beautiful.

My Netherlands son loved this. If you are a knife lover this is the book to have.

Good reference

I love this book

Book is awesome. Great pictures

Great format.

Ironically, with 1500 illustrations, we have found the two we were looking for were not in the book. Still and all, a great book.

My son loved this book too & found very complete histories & great illustrations.

Excellent reference material.

Very interesting to young collector

very cool book

Bought as a gift, was well received! It is a very comprehensive history, a" must have" for the weapon historian in your life.

An amazing compilation, beautifully illustrated, packed with information. Another outstanding DK book.

bought as a gift for my nephew...he loved it

This was part of a gift for out teenage grandson. He likes Assasins Creed. He loved this book because he loves historical info. Thanks.

Full of very detailed descriptions of all the weapons it contains as well as exceptional pictures and an extensive quantity of information!

Very enjoyable and affordable! Clear photos. This is as necessary as Stone's Glossary of Arms and Armor. Not a lot of depth but covers much.

A very informative book on the subject of edged weapons. Although I am a little disappointed that not many information is being written on eastern types of weapons but that is being unfair to levy this on the authors as there is only so much you could fit in to a book. Nevertheless, it's still a very good book. I spend a good number of evenings leafing thru' this books and learning some very interesting facts on the subject of edged weapons the world over.

Very good book. Great illustrations in content.

Nice book with lots of historic blade pictures. 👍

My grandson loved it!! He is earning his belts in swords for Martial Arts and this was his Christmas gift from me!

Great book!

This looks like a great book; one of a series of books I bought for an upcoming birthday.

Fantastic, works great!

Excellent

All around excellent quality...made an great gift.

Book size is quite small for my taste. the pages are small, with small pictures. has a variety of swords and daggers.

Very informative, but not in-depth detail enough.

This book was a birthday gift to my grandson. He collects swords and was thrilled with it. He couldn't put it down.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this 512 page Encyclopedia of Knives, Swords, Spears & Daggers, by Harvey J S Withers and Tobias Capwell, is a combined omnibus of the 256 page Encyclopedia of Swords and Sabers, by Withers, [...] and the 256 page Encyclopedia of Knives, Daggers & Bayonets, by Capwell, [...] which are by the same publisher, in the same "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of..." series format. If so, it is a good bargain for readers who do not have one (let alone both) of the previous works, but without much value for those of us who do. I am tentatively rating it four stars on that presumption, until or if I discover differently. For those unfamiliar with the two books in question, they are both gorgeous, fully color photo illustrated surveys, great for beginners or non-specialist collectors, but not to be regarded as tours de force as either scholarly works or collector's guides.

My son loves this book he is very much into the art of armor and weapons this was a good find

Ok

Perfect for anyone who loves history and knives! This book has everything. A must have for any collector or knife historian.

Got for gift, he loves it

This book made a great gift for a "Forged in Fire" viewer.

Got my book today, haven't even cracked it open yet and I STILL love it and am impressed by how it feels and looks. I can already tell this novel will be a great read for any blade/knife enthusiast and has plenty of info for those wanting to learn more about some of the deadliest weapons out there! Pick it up and enjoy. I can't wait to go home and begin reading this bad boy!

This is a good book to dip into. There are numerous illustrations & photos. It is well organised into categorised directories & has quite a lot of good, if brief, articles about the history & deveopment of edged weapons. If you need information about the craft side of cutting blades eg. Puukkos or similar then you'll need to look elsewhere. This a great book for leisurely browsing that you'll keep on returning to - recommended.

I purchased this for my teenage son, who is dreaming of a metallurgical/blacksmithing career path and is planning to build a forge in the next couple of years. Before I start getting him scholarly literature, I want him to learn more about historical designs, so an encyclopedia was the obvious choice. This paperback edition offers excellent value for money and was promptly dispatched. It arrived well before estimated date and in perfect condition.

I bought this for my dad's Christmas present .. he is an antiques dealer and even he found this book interesting I was surprised

The interior of the book is great, the images are clear and detailed, information of the weapons is decent for the amount that I paid, nothing bad in that regard, the only problem I found was a few stains on the pages, though it was easy to remove them. The quality of the exterior however, is not good, every corner of the cover is damaged, with the spine being extremely loose to the point where it feels like it will tear off if I move it slightly.

bought for my 15 yr old son for is birthday he loved it very comprehensive and illustrated well.

Great comprehensive book and delivered speedily , thank you

Was a great gift for hubby, good paper and quality illustrations, delightful!

As expected.

Perfect gift full of great info and great pictures for the man mad about swords, knives and the like.

Great book.anybody that's into weapons will love this,the information about them all is really good and the pictures are of amazing quality.

Great book, so much information & pictures, excellent value.

Looks very in depth. Bought as gift for family

Everything as expected, Excellent choice, great purchase.

Really thorough book , lots of detail a really great read

If you are a lover of swords and other bladed weapons throughout history then this book will be a fantastic buy. There is information on every section but some further reading may be required for more information, this book could of gone on forever if every detail about the weapons were within its pages, that being said there is plenty as is. As someone writing their own fantasy world this book has been great for references for me to get further reading on weapons I may convert into my world. A nice solid binding and good paper quality compliment this book, as well. I am really happy with its contents.

das Buch ist logisch gegliedert ( wie bei den meisten englischen Dokumentationen ). Die hunderte Abbildungen sind sehr hochwertig gedruckt. Die Beschreibungen sind knapp und teilweise etwas andere Kategorisierungen als nach nach Oakeshott oder Seifert. Ist also eher ein netter Überblick, kein Standardwerk wie ein Seifert. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf Dolchen und Säbeln, Stangenwaffen und Schwerter kommen leider nur sehr kurz weg. Aber ein schönes Buch mit tollen Bildern und für den Druck sehr preiswert.

Fantastic book full of photographs with an incredible quality. The book is in itself a fantastic visual reference, if you are interested in detailed info, this is not for you. However, with every chapter you have a little introduction about the type of weapons and miscelaneous or historic information. The quality of the bookbinding and the pages, are just perfect. This is a very valuable book of that kind of books where you want to have in your bookshelve.

I purchased this as a gift. The recipient is an avid knife collector. He says it is the first book he's read in years and it's a fantastic reference for collectors.

Libro generico para el conocimiento de armas blancas. Excelentes fotografias . Precio ideal

The evolution of blades across time and across cultures. Expansive in its coverage. Great photographic history. Price would be the only pause.