This is the Second book a knifemaker should buy. If you are new to knifemaking, you would be better served by reading "How to make Knives" by Loveless and Barney, or one of the other how to books. If you have already made a knife or two, Wayne's book is for you. It answers many questions that will come up when you continue to make knives and sharpen your skills. Wayne also answers many questions from his popular series in Blade Magazine adding quite a bit of detail for a through presentation.All of the techniques, materials and processes are complete and more importantly up to date. Wayne covers the Crucible partical metallurgy steels (CPM) and steels that are currently in vogue such as BG-42 and ATS-34 as well as old standbys like 5160, 52100, O-1, and D-2 (to name a few).
While not a reference book, "The Wonder of Knifemaking" could easily serve a knifemaker in that capacity. If I could only have one knifemaking book (believe me, I have them all; even the little paperback from Atlanta Cutlery and Bob Engnath's Catalog, God bless him) it would be "The Wonder of Knifemaking" by Wayne Goddard.
I rated this book 4 Stars because the organization could have been a little better. There is so MUCH information in so many places in such a short span. Ok...Ok, I'm writing a critical review here and this is the only thing I can fault. I just didn't want this piece to read like a commercial from the Wayne Goddard Fan Club. If you are a knifemaker, buy this book.
In Summary, I think Wayne just wanted to get everything he has discovered, learned, or worked-out in his 20++ years of knifemaking onto paper for everyone to have; that's the kind of guy he is. Oh boy did he do an excellent job.
