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Knife references, M.H. Cole questions?


TreasureHunter
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TreasureHunter

I'm a novice knife collector, buying only when the price is right. Having over 25 military related knives and over 100 total in my collection, I have never got my hands on a good reference. The question is which volume of M.H. Coles U.S. Military knives books is the best for fighting knives which I lean to buy the most. Are all the volumes different or just updated versions of its self? Maybe some of you prefer a different reference? Also seen the MH Cole Best of book? Not sure which direction to go to make sure I can identify knives when I see them. Thanks for any input.

 

Bill

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TreasureHunter-Got a few you might want to get. Coles Bk IV is recommended. I do not have one, but I do have Book III, and "The Best Of Cole". So they work for me. Other good books, "US M3 Trench Knife of WW2", by Coniglio & Laden, (updated version due in spring 2014), "American Military Bayonets of the 20th Century" by Gary Cunningham, "Knives of the US Military in WW2", by Mike Silvey (great color photos, good supplement to Coles Books), Finally, another good one, Military Knives- A Reference, various writers from "Knife World Magazine", covers a lot of subject areas. I know the others will have some more good ones, but these are the ones I have, You now have a few choices that can give you more availability if some are out of print. Good Luck!! SKIP

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Frank Trzaska

For 90% of general use the "Best of" is the best to own. It has most of the drawings you will need. The advanced collector who wants it all needs to have Book III and Book IV. I only say the "Best of" to save some money, Books III and Book IV are collectors items themselves and do get a bit pricey.

 

All the best

Frank Trzaska

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What Skip said.


It's too bad that "Best of Coles" is now becoming scarce and the price is starting to climb. The trouble is that the good reference books become as collectable as the knives.


Since Frank chooses not to toot his own horn, I'll do it here. Go to the link he provided at the bottom of the above post and start going through his site. It's the best supplement out there to all the reference books.

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Frank will not promote himself, however, if you go to his website underneath name at usmiliteryknives. he has a book section. Take a look at the selection for sale and you find the knife books that collectors must have or want. I've not checked it recently but he may have the book you are looking for in stock. Also, if you peruse the site you will also find notable articles that have been written by authors and researchers that frequent this forum. It is definitely an advanced site for knife/blade collectors; written by collectors, and freely available for researchers and collectors alike.

 

CC

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I cant argue with any of these statements cause those are all great references . Having said that and owning all of these mentioned , I find that my "go to" book predominantly is Cole III . If you cant find that one at a reasonable price then get "Best Of" while its still available . JMO

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For 90% of general use the "Best of" is the best to own. It has most of the drawings you will need. The advanced collector who wants it all needs to have Book III and Book IV. I only say the "Best of" to save some money, Books III and Book IV are collectors items themselves and do get a bit pricey.

 

All the best

Frank Trzaska

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I agree with Frank. Also keep in mind that there may be a mistake, or two, on Cole's numbered books. For example, the SWI machete comes to mind.

 

My favorite is "Military Knives - A Reference," by various writers from "Knife World" Magazine. My #2 favorite is "Best of Cole." For a new collector that is watching his money closely, IMHO they offer the best value.

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----------------------------------------

I agree with Frank. Also keep in mind that there may be a mistake, or two, on Cole's numbered books. For example, the SWI machete comes to mind.

 

My favorite is "Military Knives - A Reference," by various writers from "Knife World" Magazine. My #2 favorite is "Best of Cole." For a new collector that is watching his money closely, IMHO they offer the best value.

DITTO!!!

 

Regards,

 

Lance

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TreasureHunter

So the "Best of" on Ebay for $100 is a decent deal? Thanks so much for all the input, I dont mind paying for references if its one I will refer to quite often when purchasing or learning knives so when I see one I know what Im looking at. M3 & Randall seem to be illusive for me but in due time I will own a few Im sure. Thanks to all and keep the advice coming, I did post my fighting knives on this thread not long ago if you want to see the start to my collection. Thanks again, Bill

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Bill- Patience is also needed in knife collecting. It took me 13 years, after I started collecting US military knives to get my first M3, Then another 8 years to get 4 more. It's taken me a total of 46 years to get most of them. I still lack a few. Cole's Book III, which I bought in 1981, showed me several things, (1) I knew next to nothing about US military knives, (2) I missed a lot of good deals, especially in the late 60s-early 70s, when stuff was cheap, because I didn't know the different makers, or variations. I could still cry. M.H. Cole definitely put a lot of us collectors in the right direction. SKIP

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The best of is great!

 

Even in the 1990s Coles numbered books were collectible and sought after.

 

I picked up Best of as soon as it hit the shelves. Can't remember when it came out but I remember paying $75-80 for it so $100 isn't a huge mark up from the price when it came out especially if you are dedicated knife collector.

 

I'm generally not a knife collector but even I knew how important Coles books are I'm my reference library.

 

Buy it, you'll wonder how you did without it!

 

Good luck!

 

Leonardo

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Still-A-Marine

I guess I'm a bit unusual. After I bought my "Best of Cole" I bought volumes III & IV. It took a couple of years to find them. Since then I have picked up another copy of volume III. I'm rich in Cole!

 

I have scanned them and use my iPad to look up the images. Of course I will always keep one copy of each volume in my library but I should sell my duplicates.

 

Bill

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TreasureHunter

Could not agree more Tony, the more knowledge the better. I really appreciate the input and knowledge gained just from this one post.

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You might want to check with Frank ( http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/cole.htm ) he says currently out of stock, not sure how up to date the listing is though.

 

Cole is an extremely valuable resource, although it is mostly pictures but will show you what there is to be looking for.

 

Also "Military Knives - A Reference Book" which Frank also sells (and wrote a lot of the articles). This book contains the written information on many of the edged weapons that Cole shows. An absolute necessity for any military knife collector.

 

Frank also has written more articles for Knife World which have not yet been compiled into a book. Well worth buying the back issues from Knife World, hopefully someday will come out as Military Knives - A Reference Book Volume 2, but until then the only real source for information on a lot of these knives.

 

Also take the time to read all of the site, especially his Knife Knotes ( http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/ ) - an extremely valuable resource, mostly not available anywhere else on the net. I have two notebooks full of things I have copied from this site.

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  • 4 months later...
warcollect1942

I have M. H. Cole books one, two, three, four and best of. Book number one is not bound. It is mimeographed on both sides of each page.

It is not a modern copy process. It was made in 1968. Looking at book one the dust cover it shows book one. The book one on the cover does not appear to be bound. Has anybody seen a book one?

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Yes, Book 1 is bound, fairly simple paper covers. I am not sure what you have unless someone simply cut a book apart.

 

Most of book 1 and book 2 are of course in book 3 with some modifications for added information.

 

I got book 1 at a Columbus Ohio Gun Collectors Show shortly after it came out, and it was responsible for my addiction to collecting blades. Mr. Cole and I corresponded at times and I was always gratified on how he was willing to help a newer collector with information, especially when I was asking what I later realized were fairly stupid questions.

 

Yes, there are errors in the books, but there are in every book including mine. Marty was working without the benefit of the Internet and many of the sources we now take for granted. His work was truly groundbreaking, the very first to address the field of military knife and bayonet collecting in depth.

 

post-66-0-11587300-1394646044.jpg

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While waiting to find an affordable book, do not underestimate what can be found online, especially at Frank T's website. It's been linked a couple times already in this thread, but it's worth a third link and a screen shot of the contents. Keep in mind that good websites are going to be more up-to-date than any book can, and digital photos can show lot more detail than can been seen in printed photos.

 

http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/Table%20of%20Contents.htm

 

ftknives.jpg

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warcollect1942

Thanks for the response. I am still trying to find out what I have. The paper is thicker than normal paper.

The front and back paper is starting to yellow. Could you post a picture of bottom of page 79. This will help me decide

whether to light it up or keep it. I only keep original.

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As requested, page 79. The paper is thicker than normal copy paper, probably in the range of 30 pound bond. Cover is gray, 1 piece folded around the text, and heavier than the pages.

 

post-66-0-79926200-1394716259.jpg

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So the "Best of" on Ebay for $100 is a decent deal? Thanks so much for all the input, I dont mind paying for references if its one I will refer to quite often when purchasing or learning knives so when I see one I know what Im looking at. M3 & Randall seem to be illusive for me but in due time I will own a few Im sure. Thanks to all and keep the advice coming, I did post my fighting knives on this thread not long ago if you want to see the start to my collection. Thanks again, Bill

 

The "Best of U.S. Military Knives" by M.H. Cole I've seen arond Ebay are @ $200-250 BIN, so if you find a copy @ $100 grab it. Mike Silvey's books (WWII and Vietnam) are excellent and, as mentioned, include very fine photographic representations of these objects. Good luck in your search for reference sources and the objects depicted and described within, the chase is a challenge but it's fun.

 

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warcollect1942

Thank you for the page 79 picture. I was looking for the squiggly lines above the 79. The cover page is little thicker and not as white

as the rest of the book. It has just one staple in the top left corner. I think I am trying to convince my self that it is more than just a copy.

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