dagger book

[larry]

Hi, iam looking for a good german dagger book to learn about those beautiful daggers.

thanks
lar

[Wim Vangossum]

Hi,

IMO their is no single book that can covers it al. At this moment the Wittmann books "Exploring the Dress Daggers of the German ...." are the best reference source. You will find them about the Army, The luftwaffe, The Kriegsmarine and the SS.
Even his old sale catalogs are very intersting if your're hunting for details.

Older but also interesting are the good old Johnson volumes.

Some people today will say: "you don't need books. You can find plenty of information on the internet" That's only true for the common daggers. IMO their is almost no information available of the real exotic pieces on the net.

Regards,Theo

[zander]

Hi
i would reccomend fishers quick reference in 4 volumes its a mine of info regarding marker marks , rarity of daggers made and much more,

Cheers steve

[Billy G]

Larry,

I think Theo makes a very good point, there is no real definitve book that can cover all that needs to be covered in daggers. There's just so much info you need to know, especially regarding the newer generation of fakes & parts pieces. Bear in mind however that no book remains 100% true forever, new info comes to light & sometimes old theories are disproven. Also bear in mind some of the better books are currently out of print & may cost a pretty penny to get but I would recommend getting as many as you can. In addition to books, there's no substitute for handling as many original pieces as you can & asking as many questions as you can to those older knowledgeable collectors that can shed light on this hobby.

As far as dagger books go, the Wittmann series is good if you're dealing with Heer, Luft, KM or SS daggers although Tom has a long awaited book on SA daggers due out sometime relatively soon. Tom Johnson's original series is excellent too. I haven't seen his newer series but have heard it is both enlightening & beautiful to look at with many beautiful pictures. Good luck man

[BobI]

Hi!
In my opinion the Whittmann books are excellent! Johnson’s books have some nice basic info and interesting stories but TTW has technical details which you need in today’s world. One book that I consider essential is “Reproduction?Recognition!”, the first or preferably second edition is full of information and will help you learn about how to avoid fakes. Fred Stevens is supposed to have a new updated book coming out but I question his motives and reasoning. He was very good years ago but many of his ideas in today’s world are antiquated and I question his motives with the upcoming edition.
Best Wishes,
Bob

[Stu W]

Whittmann IMHO

Hi Larry,

My suggestion is to decide which dagger interests you most and start by purchasing the corresponding book in the Whittmann series. Our own WAF member Paul Hogle (lakesidetrader) sells them on his web site. He is a fine fellow to deal with. Here is a link to his dagger page. Just go to the sub group you are interested in to find the dagger books displayed at the page top.

http://www.lakesidetrader.com/edgedweapons.html

Hope this helps and best of luck with your collecting.

Kind regards,
Stu

[larry]

daggers

many thanks to everyone, and have safe and good holiday

lar

[BOB K. (RKSS)]

book

For new dagger collectors: Johnson's Book > "Collecting Edged Weapons of the Third Reich" > "Volume 1"; as it has all the standard types of TR daggers; with info, & photos.