Shadlet/Davis book on multi-blade

[rebglass]

Does anyone know why Krause doesn't reprint the Shadley/Davis "How To Make Multiblade Folding Knives" book? In view of the prices asked for the (very) few available copies ($160-275!) there seems to ba a demand. And the book was published fairly recently. Is Krause where good books go to die?
Rebecca

[Tony Graves]

Hi Rebecca

My guess is they feel it wouldn't sell enough copies to make it economically sound. Or they may not even know the market is out here. Like many publishers the secondary market does not hold much interest to them.

Have you seen a copy? The detail is pretty intense.

I really don't know how many of these actually sell but they are only a very few listed for for sale online and advertised at prices up to almost $800.00. That is a LOT of green. All of those copies have to be out there somewhere. You would think there should be a few more copies for sale.

I don't make folding knives but I have paid more than $160.00 for a couple of reference books. But they have more than paid for themselves.

Have you thought about calling Krause to ask. Maybe it COULD be reprinted.
I would also be interested in their answer.

Tony

[rebglass]

I will call Krause and ask. This is the 2nd time I've had this issues with their handling of one of their properties. Bernard Levine's 4th addition was almost as hard to get as this. Krause "updated" it, apparently with NO input from Levine, so the 4th is really the edition to have. And of course, they've let it lapse. It just seems to me that they have some valuable properties that they don't manage very well, at our expense. I know the market for this is fairly small, but isn't that true of all their properties?
I wonder is Mssrs. Shadley and Davis have thought of making some minor changes to get around copywright laws, and self-puplishing. Or some such.
I will let you know what I find out from Krause, if anything.

[Tony Graves]

Hi Rebecca

YES, the 4th of Levine's is the one to have the 5th is not worth the paper it is printed on. That in itself is one of the reasons I am not so sure you will get to far with Krause, it is all about the money. Their money. I think they know about the publishing world and a little about the knife world, but are not staying on top of the trends in the knife world.

I had at one time heard (unsubstantiated) that Shadley was selling his authored section of the book himself, you may get better results contacting him personally.

Good luck, and please keep us inquiring minds informed, Tony

[Darren Ellis]

If you find anything out about the authors selling copies, or even, a pdf scanned copy of the book that someone may have, I'd be interested as well. I've been wanting a copy of this book for a while now too, and it seems I'm not going to be able to find a legitimate copy at a reasonable price, so it's time to start looking elsewhere...

-Darren

[GHNorfleet]

I have one of the first copies of the book when it first came out. I need to sell it as I have been in the hospital and need the money. I don't really want to sell it but I can't afford to hold on to it. I will put it up for bids on this forum and it will go to the highest bidder. The auction for this book will end on Wednesday at noon. I accept all forms of payment and if paid by PayPal the book will ship out immediately to the highest bidder. I reserve the right to reject any and all bids if I so choose. This is a great book and I have kept it in like new condition and it has never been used in the shop around the dirty equipment, but I have kept it in the house in my office. If this isn't the correct place to post this please let me know as I greatly enjoy this forum and I don't want to do anything wrong.

[Tony Graves]

There is a copy of the book in question for sale on eBay

I have been thinking about this book subject today.

I am sure I probably think a little differently about books than many people. I have been book obsessed since I was a young punk and used them for the escape.

Now I see them as another tool, and use them for the information I can glean and the inspiration they give me. They have never seen the inside of the shop and are usually cracked open late at night during the time my unwinding time. I have a drawing pad on the desk and a couple of books in front of me.

I have spent a great amount of money and time tracking some of these down. I can just pick up the telephone or go online and order most tools, but these out of print books take a little more adventure, persistance and patience.

I also feel that one knife sold will pay for most any of these, which is more than I can say for several of my other tools. I really don't think the lower range of the ones for sale is out of line, but that is just my opinion.

Without Wayne Goddard, JP Hrisoulas, Gene Chapman, Robert Ables, Jim Weyer, W. F. Moran, William R. Williamson, J. W. Waterer and to many others to mention, I wouldn't be one tenth the knifemaker I am today. All come at a cost, sometimes a great cost, but it is the knowledge, ideas, and inspiration I seek.

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble, Tony Graves

[rebglass]

I called Krause. They're completely uninterested making more copies of this book available, are amused that the few available copies are selling for hundreds, etc. So I called Mr. Shadley, as suggested above. He is selling his portion of the book, in notebook format, for $30, including shipping. I didn't get his permission to post his phone number, so I won't, but he can be found in Bovey, MN.
SO THERE, KRAUSE!
REBECCA

[Tony Graves]

Hi Rebecca

Now that is good news from Shadley. And a very fair price also. So did you order your copy yet?

Krause surely has a big business carefree attitude about things don't they. I have never been much of a fan of theirs anyway, and am much less now.

Thank you for doing the legwork on this, it is GREATLY appreciated.

Tony

[SharpByCoop]

Krause is a successful corporation whose job is to remain as such. If this book took off when they initially published it I am certain they would have continued to make them. I suspect that the interest level and demand was minimal, and so they decided, fairly enough, that another production run at their asking price would have been unprofitable.

This leads us to the current markup because it is a simple matter of supply and demand. I'll bet there is a world of knowledge invested in that book and it may be a good buy at $275. Certainly for Mr. Shadley's $30 it is a BARGAIN, but few folks would know to ask him. Good one.

Ex: I paid $450 for 'The Antique Bowie Knife Book' even though it cost around $100 when new. It will never be published again, and I suspect my copy will be worth at least that much if I decide to sell it.

I would not bash Krause because of this. In fact you should praise them for having the guts to consider and publish it in the first place.

Coop

[Darren Ellis]

Originally Posted by Tony Graves

I also feel that one knife sold will pay for most any of these, which is more than I can say for several of my other tools. I really don't think the lower range of the ones for sale is out of line, but that is just my opinion.

Hi Tony, I agree and disagree. If the book was still in print and the publisher and authors were still making money from the book, then that would be one thing, but in the aftermarket, these huge profits from this $20 book are just padding the pockets of someone who happened across a copy and saw someone else selling it for a high price. Of course, nothing inherently wrong with that in a free market economy, or in our case, one that resembles one, sort of.

For me, a book is just a bunch of paper with information on it to be learned or enjoyed. My wife, of course, thinks my attitude toward books is blasphemous...she's a historian phd and finds some other value in holding a book that I just don't understand. You should see all of my graduate physics and electrical engineering texts, folded over pages, writing in the margins, math work in the margins, I've truly personalized them to me.



-Darren

[rebglass]

Yup, Krause is a business, etc., etc. They are in the business of publishing materials which have a limited readership. I'm sure the multiblade book didn't sell a lot and that's why the few copies there are are statospherically expensive.
Solution: archive a few dozen copies. Or release the copywright, so that interested parties can exchange the info freely.
This wouldbn't be such a problem if this were a "collector" item in the first place. But it's a "how to" manual that people trying to learn these rare skills really need.
I probably wouln't have been so upset about it in the first place except that it's my second recent experience of really valuable materials being allowed to lapse and there being no way to obtain them.
Rebecca

[TexasJack]

Every knifemaker wants his/her product to sell for as much as they can get, and every buyer wants to see that knife go up in value. The very same is true for books.

You can't have it both ways.

The average amount an author gets per book is about 80 cents. You can get more by self-publishing (and taking all the risks) or by cracking the bestsellers list. For every J.K. Rowling there are ten thousand writers holding down second and third jobs. The publishing world is rapidly changing and prices are going down because of the speed and efficiency of on-demand printing. (When a store orders 10 copies of a book, a computer can print, bind, and ship exactly 10 copies to them, severely cutting the costs for warehousing and overruns.) No matter what, it's a highly competitive business.

As much as I hate to shell out my hard-earned cash for a book, it's not right to cheat the author (or the publisher, or the retailer) out of their money. Scanning a book is both illegal and wrong.

[Darren Ellis]

Originally Posted by TexasJack

As much as I hate to shell out my hard-earned cash for a book, it's not right to cheat the author (or the publisher, or the retailer) out of their money. Scanning a book is both illegal and wrong.

agreed, but in this case, who is making money off of the outrageous prices this book is selling for any longer? Since it's no longer in publication, the author's certainly aren't and neither are the publishers. I would certainly agree that this book shouldn't be "bootlegged" if they guys who wrote it were still making money from it, but unless I am misunderstanding something, they are no longer doing so. I'll probably order the $30 copy from Mr. Shadley, just so I can help support the man who contributed to this work that I have been trying to find a copy of for so long, but I really do hope someone scans this book and makes it available so we can have the other sections too.

Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong, and if so, straighten me out on it...

Maybe working in a printing factory for four years actually printing books has taken some of the gee-whiz factor out it for me regarding books. They all just start off as a big roll of paper and a barrel of ink and are mass produced on a press. This book probably cost less than a dollar to actually print and bind.



-Darren

[rebglass]

All agreed, basically. This problem - owning publishing rights to "how to" manuals that teach esoteric skills, and then not printing them - could be easily and inexpensively solved by archiving several copies, or by relinquishing publishing rights - no biggie since, presumably, the reason the rights aren't being exercised is that it's not profitable to do so. Or, as you mentioned, just going to desktop publishing.
I don't know, I certainly don't want to cheat anyone, especially not authors. I'm glad Mr Shadley is doing what he is doing and I hope, making a little money doing it.
Rebecca