Wow it has been a chore getting this blog to open. I am still working on volume II covering 1933-1941 roughly. It is about 90% finished and I hope to have it ready for the printers in January, 2023. It is right around 210 pages. I have decided on all volumes to generically cover the different patterns and then focus on the rarer models in my collection. This will be the same for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd patterns. Many of these are one-of-a-kiind or small batch productions. I have already started lining up material for Volume III which is the 2nd & 3rd pattern along with some variants. I hope to keep each volume at about 200 pages to hold the cost down. It is the full color photoos which drive the price up but I want to keep this format. I know some people have said they read the first book cover to cover but most people are more inclined to browse the text but return over and over to the pictures. 

This second volume also contains some pages dedicated to the new generation of F-S makers, people like Paul MacDonald, Harry Huyssen, Travis Evans, John Hamilton, Peter Parkinson and others you have seen featured in the pages of this website. The real value in the text is the quotes from other experts in the field, curators, armorers, and people from the past. Out of the chaos of Shanghai came one of the most iconic fighting knives the world has ever seen. How did it end up the way it is? Who were the persons responsible for its final shape? Why did the finished version not match the Shanghai Dagger? These were questions I always had and that I have set out to find answers for. Come along for the ride. 

Hello everyone. I am still being poked and prodded by doctors and totally fed up with appointments. In the mean time I am working diligently on converting my next volume into a better format. It is going to be on the subject of Shangahi daggers, X-daggers, semi-converted bayonets, and first pattern knives. It is controversial, as I challenge the experts modern version of events leading up to the meeting between John Wilkinson-Latham and W.E. Fairbairn.  There will be more text, but still lots of great photos, some never in print before. This is the book I started writing way back in 2015! Boy how time flies. It will be the same format and lots of color photos so it won't be cheap. There are quotes from many authorities some in support of and some not in favor of my theory. That's Okay we are open to congenial dialogue.  Even if you don't agree with my conlusions I think you will find it opens up new vistas. Here are a few photos to whet your interest.

I am about out of the first printing of Clandestine Knives of WW-II and have started a list of people interested in the second edition. There will be a few new pages added that I inadvertently forgot in the 1st edition. The price shouldn't change much but who knows with inflation as it is. So if you did not get a copy of the first printing please email me and I will put you on the short list for round two. 

In an earlier posting I mused whether the HN line of Channing Watson stilleto would penetrate soft body armor. Channiig took up the challenge and here are the, almost inevitable results. Actions do speak louder than words.

AS of this posting on 9/7/22 I have about ten (10) copies left.  

So after a hiatus of many years I am back hammering the x-dagger book into shape. There is so much info it is hard to put it all in a linear fashion and nail it down. There are names involved that no one ever heard of before. There are too many sources who have passed way in the last 5 years. Had I waited any longer i might never have gotten their stories. Several of them demanded anonymity because of the trolls on the internet forums. But I have quoted them with 100% accuracy, not my own version of what they said. I had to blank out some names of persons they mentioned for delicacy sake. We are all passionate about our collections and our visions of how things came down through the past 80 years. Some of the loudest voices have been the ones that were mostly wrong.There are quite a few revelations on the Shanghai daggers and their story leading up to the X-daggers. 

First Pattern daggers are wonderful. X-daggers are breathtaking by comparison. Unless you have the opportunity to compare them side by side you cannot fully appreciate the big difference.

So far sales of my book have been refreshing. One never knows how a book on as narrow a topic as Clandestine Knives will be received. I have already shipped copies to New Zealand, Scotland, the Netherlands and France. Thank you all for your support and especially those who paid the big bucks for overseas postage. The next volume, on X-daggers and Shanghai daggers, is progresssing rapidly, since now I know the process for getting a book in print. It will be more reading and close to 200 pages long, maybe more. There will still be plenty of photos of all those fabulouus "fake" bayonet conversions in my collection and in other collections. I have written about what I see as two possible paths to the final design of the First Pattern Wilkinson. Yes there will be outcies from some people, that's Okay I accept that there are strong opinions one way or another. The only people who know the 100% actual proof are all dead. We are left to sort it out from historical truths and some lesser, but intriguing,  tales. It has been a challenge sorting it all out. I think those of you who own Metford-Fairbairns, like this beautiful example, will be happy.

The good news is the books are here. A friend and I went to Rochester, NY to pick them up. Cost was $35 in gas and $40 for lunch at a great little Japanese restaurant. So I saved over $225 in shipping costs. More good news is the copies look great. The bad news is the oveseas postage for the book is going to be $30. That is a real kickk in the butt! So please take that into account if you decide to order a copy. Sales within the USA are still $55 including shipping. 

Happy days, the proof copy arrived on monday. All I can say is it is super! The printing company did a splendid job keeping the colors bright and accurate. The text is clear and easy to read. I never counted the number of photos but it is over 160. Here are some of the rarest knives you will ever see, many full size (or larger) and in color. I have attached photos of the front and back cover of the proof copy. By the way this single copy cost me $75 plus shipping! I expect the balance of the books to be printed in a week to 10 days. Then I have to drive to Rochester, NY to pick them up. They quoted me $313 for shipping to my house! 

I have a prospective list of 40+ buyers already. If you are seriously interested please email me with your mailing address. This first printing is going to be $55 shipped in the USA. Outside of the country, I will have to go to the post office and get a quote on shipping and charge $50 plus the actual shipping costs. I will be able to accept USPS money orders or paypal. Please make the paypal to "friends and family" so I don't get hit with the fee. Thanks to all of you who have patiently waited and supported my work.

Ladies and gentlemen I have placed the order for 50 copies of my book on clandestine knives. Depending on how well it sells will determine whether I have any more printed. Each one of this first run will be signed and numbered by me, the author. It is soft cover, full color, hundreds of photos, 167 pages long. Costs have risen about 10% just since I first got a quote. Inflation and taxes and other misc. fees also kept piling up. About a dozen copies are already reserved for friends and family. If you are seriously interested they will be avail in about 2 weeks, or less. I am waiting right now for a proof copy. Email me at ghdave2@hotmail.com to get on the list. I am going to have to charge $55 including shipping in the US in order to make any profit at all. I appreciate your support.

Boy it must be the end times. My computer is running slower than constipated dog poop on a frigid Maine winter's day. I have rebooted twice and finally it has come to life. This makes it scary when you go to file something like a book you have been working on for years and it says the "program is not responding!" WHAT!! It finally filed and saved but it sure makes me nervous. I've saved it in several places including removable drives. 

On another topic I had to add in an additional page to the covert knives book and that was causing all sorts of  gastric distress. While not every maker of modern knives is listed in this book, those left out are in the next volume on full-size daggers. While I was waiting for my book to "save" I took a few more photos for the added page. That would seem a simple task, the problem is: "Where the heck did I store that knife?" Here is a photo of the overflow from one box while in the process of playing seek and find.

I finally did find the knife I wanted, in the very bottom of course. Its amazing how much time can be consumed with simple tasks. Taking photos is always a pain. Seems like there is always too much light, shadows, not enough light, shadows, glare off steel, reflections of me in the blade, etc. Wow, how do proffessionals do this? For those who wonder, The book is coming, honestly. 

I am also back working on the book I wrote five years ago on X-Daggers, Shanghai Daggers, First Patterns etc. The wait has been terrible but it has allowed me to collect additional data and knives to make it even better. It is very controversial; with quotes from many sources including veterans, credible authors, Wm. Cassidy, curators of military museums, Arms specialists, knife makers, etc. A lot of never before in print ground work went into this volume! It will change the way some people look at the history and evolution of the FS knife.