5 comments about Gun Digest 2006 (Gun Digest).

1. Every year the new owners of Gun Digest put fewer and fewer articles in the book. 2007 seems to be the new low. Mostly it is now just a collection of canned catalog specs with many editing errors. After all, they don't have to pay anyone for that. The articles they do have are major boring. Nothing like the pre-2000 Gun Digest when Ken Warner was still the editor.



2. This book is very informative. Information is easy to find on the subjects. Well worth the time to look it over.



3. As a very long-time GD reader, I have seen good issues and fair issues. This is the first issue that I would consider poor. Editorial content is weak to the extreme, and there is little of interest for the gun enthusiast beyond updates of what's new on the market. The first article is about the .400 Brown Whelan (Why should anyone care?) The second is about modification of a Ruger #1 to .32-40. This is a pure vanity piece, of no interest unless for some strange reason you want to do the same. The third article is entitled "The Automatic Question," which sort of covers the development of semi-automatic sporting arms, touching on the question of advantages over other types of arms over the years. It's only mildly interesting. The next is a long story about the Bowie Knife. Maybe I'm mistaken, but this is not the "Knife Digest." Following is a story about "Premium Bullet Performance." The conclusion is simply that they are all pretty good. Ho-Hum. Next is a long picture piece on engraved weapons. Fine if you like pretty pictures, otherwise, a yawner. Next is a very long article covering the last 60 years of revolver development. It's moderately interesting. I think you get the idea. Anyway, it seems the effort was more on publishing a lot of slick pages in full color than in offering interesting articles that used to be GD's stock in trade. If I could return my copy to Amazon for a refund, I would. My assessment is simple - donate the cost of a copy of GD 2006 to the NRA. Your money will be much better spent.



4. If you have a copy of the 2004 or 2005 editions of Gun Digest, definitely don't bother with GD 2006. If you have none at all and need to browse the market for guns, the 2006 edition is a start -- but be aware, it's a limited one. The cover states; "Since 1944, GD has delivered the very latest in firearms product information..." Well, GD may try, but it simply doesn't (any more!). Mainly, it is incomplete, but it also contains errors.
   
   I was really disappointed to have spent money on this book. I usually buy the year's GD every two years, to keep up with what's going on. But browsing the lists of available rifles, shotguns, handguns etc in the 2006 edition it felt, this time, as if I was still reading the 2004 edition -- the one that has had to suffice this past two years. It read like the same data, the same guns with, often, the same prices. It's as if the editors added a few color-paged articles and photos at the front, and then just hit the "Print 2004 edition" button on their printing press. They certainly haven't reviewed their old data this year.
   
   Several of the latest (and existing) guns are unmentioned, to my knowledge, and probably more that I don't know of are also overlooked. I needed the spec's and prices of, for example:
   -- the new Beretta Cx4 Storm rifle
   -- the Blaser K95 single shot rifle
   -- the new Sako Quad rimfire with interchangeable barrels
   -- the full line of Hammerli target pistols (only two shown)
   -- the Kimber Tactical 1911 handgun
   -- the Anschutz 1720 in WMR
   -- the new Remington bolt action in 22LR
   -- etc., etc., etc. They don't exist in GD 2006.
   
   And there are errors: the Kimber Super Match II is shown as having a "7-shot magazine" when it is an 8-shot, or a 10-shot with the relevant mag. The so-called "Reports from the Field" which are intended as a rundown of what's new this year, are a once-over-lightly, incomplete reviews, that at times are just vehicles for the reviewer to show several shots of himself on his latest safari beside dead animals plus the rifles he used -- even though they often have little or nothing to do with the new products of that year!!
   
   The glossy pages are fine, but only if they're filled with something valid. Most articles cover mainly arcane topics -- interesting to some no doubt -- but frankly, I am not that interested in the 400 Brown Whelen "maverick" rifle, or the Remington 700 in 8mm Mauser. I thought the articles on 60 years of ammo development, and the one on custom engraving were interesting but could have done with a mainstream article or two as well.
   
   One final grouch! Seems the publisher doesn't use his own books after they are published. If he did, he'd notice that the plastic glazing on the front and back covers shrinks once in use, hand warmth causing the covers to curl up in the most annoying fashion. This is not the first year of this problem. If you do buy this year's GD, keep a heavy weight on the cover to keep it flat -- temporarily. But it'll curl up again soon enough.



5. The tag line for the Gun Digest is "The World's Greatest Gun Book" and that pretty well sums it up. This is the bible of the gun hobby. It has a series of articles that range from an analysis of the 400 Whelan, to a major article on the Bowie knife. As usual, it has a summary of what's new in handguns, rifles, shotguns and accessory items, and finally it has a complete catalog of all of the offerings of all the gun companies. I have each annual volume of Gun Digest in my library going back more than 50 years. I can't imagine doing without them.
   
   One really big change in this year's edition is that the front half of the book with the articles is printed on slick paper and in color. This really improves the appearance.
   
   As for changes in the guns themselves for this year, the big news is the sunset laws that removed the Assault Weapons Ban. This means that large (or as the Gun Digest says) full capacity magazines can now be sold again, and the evil appearing nasty looking rifles can be sold again.
   
   The one complaint that I might voice is that in the pistol section there appears to be nothing but 1911's shown. Regardless of the manufacturer, these all look the same. I'd like to see some of the more unusual guns pictures. For instance: the Olympic Arms .223 pistol, the Steyr, the Wilkinson Sherry and Linda. I guess what I'm really saying is that we need another hundred pages or so.

3 comments about Standard Guide to 1:18 Scale Die-Cast Cars (Standard Catalog).

1. Great book, This is what I have been looking for. I was able to find all of my 1:18 scale cars in this book and put a value on them.



2. This has to be the worst price guide I have ever seen. Forget about the values not even being close, the Ertl listing has so many errors its pathetic. Several of the cars listed are 1/43, Not 1/18, and are listed as 1/18, colors listed that were never made it goes on and on.
   
   Sorry but it just don't cut it.



3. After waiting for more than 9 months to get this book I was very disappointed after using Cast-car publication by Dan Boyd. The descriptions were very short and in most cases uninformative. I looked up 20 cars immediately from Ertl, Exact detail for Lane, Carousel, and Burago and Supercars (NO AutoArt) only to find 6 out of 20 and these are older than 2001 and could not be found. Very disappointing. All models did not have photos as Cast-Car Publications and the descriptions and details are sketchy or non existent, which is one of the values of the Cast-Car Publication. It does have more 1:18 scale models than any other Manual at this time and the $ VALUES that were assigned I found to be from a little low to extremely low even for an eBay auction. Some of the values assigned to very limited edition cars that even by todays standards are rare or hard to find are lower than what they sold new for and are bringing more than the values given to them in this publication. For example 1969 Grumpy's Toy Camaro SSC, 1969 Yenko Nova #1 Issue, Yenko Camaros #'s 1 & #2 are all listed at a ridiculous $60.00, the GMP Grumpys Toy Nova is also listed at $60.00, and Lanes 1967 Grumpy's Toy is listed as a $60.00 value. I WOULD BUY ANY OF THESE AT THE VALUE STATED IN THIS GUIDE AS MANY AS I COULD GET MY HANDS ON AND MAKE GREAT MARK-UP. WHERE DID THEY GET THESE VALUES??? These are only a few of the many glaring errors I found in an initial 30 minute review. Except for photos in the guide I found it exteremely lacking in why I made the purchase. I'm patiently waiting for the next issue of Cast-car which will include many more manufacturers than just Ertl.

2 comments about Diamonds: The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide--how to Select, Buy, Care for & Enjoy Diamonds With Confidence And Knowledge.

1. This book is a must for anyone interested in becoming a savvy diamond buyer! A muat read....



2. This book provided all the information I needed to feel confident about making a major diamond purchase. Very informative and easy to understand. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone getting ready to buy a diamond.

1 comments about Royal Copley, Identification and Price Guide: Identification and Price Guide (A Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. The book Copley is about the famouse artist Copley.The book has Copley's life and samples of his work all intertwined in one book.I recomend this book to all art and or history lovers.I personnaly liked this book because of the art in it.

2 comments about British and Commonwealth Military Knives.

1. Very good review of all military knives of the British empire 1800-today.
   Cover F-S Fighting knives in a good way.
   Plenty of pictures.
   It is something you must buy!



2. This is a highly impressive work. Every individual item discussed is keyed to an individual text and is often accompanied by multi-views and enlargements. In many cases, there is documentation, many of which are letters from manufacturers and government procurement agencies. There is very little referencing to previous works. This is not an omnium-gatherum nor a synthesis of existing works. It is a new beginning.
   The only thing remotely as detailed or as useful is Robert Baeurlein's thorough work "Allied Fighting Knives" which is mainly about fighting knives and gives short schrift to working blades, plus most of it is about U.S. patterns and includes much more textual descriptions plus many first hand accounts.
   This work divides many types of blades and edged tools up by the major Commonwealth nations wherein they were produced, beginning in the 1880s and continuing up till the present decade.
   The major countries and nations covered are Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India. The amount of items covered lessens the further one gets from Britain, but that is understandable. Everything including commercial knives sold to officers and explorers is covered.
   There is no coverage of items produced in other Far Eastern areas for Empire and Commonwealth Forces nor anything produced in Africa, thus omitting those formerly white-ruled countries of the former Rhodesia (now Zimbablwe) and South Africa, though both are known to have local cutlery industries.
   This may have been due to the lack of contacts consequent to the former political situation of sanctions, whixh precluded both commercial and social contact between Britain and those lands. Or perhapa they just did not make anything there for their forces.
   As in any work of this monumentality, it is not perfect. No matter how long one works, there will always be something omitted. It is the nature of the endeavour. The author has added a chapter of last minute discoveries in his attempt to be as encyclopedic as possible. I learned much from this book and I will refer to it again in my own writings.
   But, a few minor quibbles. The author fails to distinguish between the use of the two synonyms--matchet and machete. The latter being the original Spanish term and used in North America also, and the former, the official British term. Both are pronounced identically except for the e on the end--the t being silent. Because of his use of the American spelling throughout, he missed the significance of the derivation of the term for a famoous short bladed fighting instrument of WW II, the smatchet, usually pronounced to rhyme with hatchet, but again the t is silent. Smatchet is a contraction of small + matchet just as Bren is a contraction.
   He also fails to recognize the tool-weapon issued to native troops of northern Burma by its true name of dah and lumps it in with machetes. He has found a few more patterns of dahs than I have. Of course, these crudely finished implements are so badly marked that moat are unreadable. And he may have included some similar tools made in southern China for local use. These are much better finished than British or Indian issued patterns.
   And finally he missed a rather unusual and strange machete made in Australia in WW II. But, with those few exceptions, one with any interest in this material should buy this book. I will just give it an A not an A+. You can throw away that old copy of Stephens now.

5 comments about Anchor Hocking's Fire-King & More.

1. Author/Photographer Gene Florence has produced a fan-tastic book for the Fire-King novice or afficianado. Just a warning, though: This is a 1998 book. The gain in collectibilia and accessibilty wrought by the Internet, along with standard inflation, has rendered the pricing rather dicey to rely on.

   If you are a Boomer, this is most likely the stuff of fond memories of your Momma's kitchen. Just looking at the picture of the Jane Ray Jade-ite platter (who knew that that was our hamburger cook-out platter's formal name?) makes my mouth water! On page 7, there is a reproduction of an old Anchor-Hocking ad: "Not a single item on this page costs more than 69 cents." Those were the days! It's come a long way! Reviewed by TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer.




2. This book has more than paid for itself in helping me recognize fire king and genuine old glass.

   Until I purchased Gene Florence's book, I used black & white reference books. Those are useless to me.

   This wonderful book has helped me determine if shaker lid and fireking flour piece went together (did not-flour shaker originally had a flat shaker lid the color of the writing on side not silver aluminum); if the "yellow" plate in a fire king design was old (was not (did not come in yellow) - but that yellow piece was made from fire king mold - one step up from out and out reproduction); and whether or not my 10 pieces of bakeware (some with lids) and marked Fire King were rare or reproductions. On the 10 piece baking set, I ended up e-mailing Gene Florence, and he responded that my piece was not rare - or did it even appear anywhere. The pieces are selling Very slowly - so they must not be very special.

   The book is difficult to understand how to match pricing & pictures at first, but well worth the effort. I am comfortable with the process now.
   
   If you collect or sell fire king - you need this book!




3. For the most part this book is an excellent resource for identifing Fire-King glassware and I would recommend it highly along with all of the author's other books. I own them all! As a specialist collector of the Anchor Hocking Early American Prescut pattern (10000pcs), I must say that I feel that some of the Prescut items listed are somewhat rarer than the book would suggest. There are also quite a few more items available in this particular pattern than are listed. I view the book's section on Prescut as another of this well known author's courageous attempts to chart previously uncharted waters and I'm sure that subsequent editions of this book will include course corrections.



4. Another winner for Gene Florence. Wouldn't be without his books. Beautiful, color pictures on nearly every page. I have read this book and all of his others over and over again.



5. This is my first purchase of reference material for my new hobby of depression-glass collecting. I found the pictures to be exellent, and the price guides informative, although a bit awkward to use at times. His comparisons of similar items are helpful, and the book is worth purchase for the pictures alone. Hope to compare it with the Kilgo book someday.

3 comments about The Glass Candlestick Book, Vol. 3.

1. I now have all three volumes of this great Candlestick ID Book. I have gotten rid of the 5 others I had, as it is all in these 3 volumes! Candlesticks are listed by company names, but in the back of each book is a pictorial index that is fast to look through. There is also a quite complete index by name of pattern and maker. I cannot praise the 3 Glass Candlestick Books by Tom Felt and the Stoers enough! If you are interested in American Glass and don't have these, you need them!



2. Complete. One of the best balances of good photos and research that I have seen.
   Highly recommend all 3 volumes.



3. I thought this book was great. It is an excellent resource guide if you are trying to identify candlesticks. It is very comprehensive: 1) provides a history of the manufacturing company, 2) explains the difference between candlesticks that could look identical but aren't, 3)provides a ballpark dollar value, 4) beautiful pictures, and 5) if they aren't 100 percent sure of the manufacturer, they aren't afraid to say so. In addition to all of that, it gives a "thumbnail" view in the back of all the candlesticks in the book so if you just time to quickly look for an identification, you aren't having to read a lot and flip a lot of pages. Great addition to my collection, and finishes the series. Excellent value for the price. Volumes 1 and 2 are also worth the money and time.

2 comments about Guide to Fake & Forged Marks.

1. This is a good book for the serious antiques dealer or collector. This book contains clear pictures of the real and fake marks side by side (mostly in black and white) with some dates, and is split into categories according to type of antique.



2. A very interesting book for introducing beginning appraisers to fake and forged marks. The illustrations are very helpful. Information is plentiful. I would have preferred it to be all in color, though.

1 comments about The Official Gun Digest Book of Guns & Prices.

1. I'm very disappointed in this book. The information is old... not updated as it claims and it has no photos.

No comments about Antique Lace: Identifying Types and Techniques (Schiffer Book for Collectors).