Maybe Wim Saris can help me out here, as he has a huge amount of experience writing books.
When writing, and reviewing what one wrote, it MUST be in the front of every authors mind as to how the audience will "perceive" what he wrote, what "conclusions" they will draw from the new
book. For example, if the author writes;
This specific insignia was introduced in May 1937, then surely the author owes it to his readers, his audience, to include a small footnote, mentioning, for example, RZMmtbl. issue xxx, page yyy .... or something similar, to HELP the reader who is interested, to find out, track back, where the author got his "options, dates from." Surely the author must think like this? otherwise if authors do not include any evidence, any footnotes, then all they are writing, is bullshit, and for all the reader knows, the information, dates, assumptions, are nothing more than lies...
Now how can the next author, maybe 10 years later, take a passage like: "
This insignia was introduced in 1937" from one book, and copy it to his new book, knowing full well, that the original information is not supported by anything.
Would an author, who is primarily thinking about HELPING the collector, forget to help by ommiting all footnotes or saying where the info comes from?
This is not helping the collector, but only helping the author to sell crap later, and as we see with the names in these old books, "Chip" Gambino, Weinlands, Tony Oliver, Atwood, Johnson, Wittman, Ailsby etc etc etc, many of these names are KNOWN FORGERS (or were). So after reading these few "Claims" from Johnson and the others, why should they not also be classed as criminals? Just because they have written books? are respected?
Look at Charlie Snyder, no forum, or collector, will stand up for thim, it`s OK, and accepted to write on any forum that He is a criminal, a guy who sells fakes and has fakes made for him. It is OK to take the piss out of his items and his website, BUT, as we saw, he too sells the
DJ knife, the
BDM knife, the HJ fighting daggers, the HJ forestry knives, the Reichsparteitage knifes, the HJ-Olympic knives..... all the same rubbish as Johnson and Wittman and Weinlands... only difference is, it is NOT OK to say that Johnson, Weinlands and Wittman are criminals, because, they RULE THE ROOST, and have done for so long.
Have we forgotten how Huston Coates, (another main player in the Johnson group - MAX club) recently was caught out switching dagger parts and trying to rip off the buyer? So why are we not allowed to call thenm criminals? Oh yes, thats right, because they Run the Max, own the Max, and over the years have risen to the status of Jesus Christ, and any challenging of what they say is forbidden. Is the real reason becuase it would mean that thousands of collectors have been fooled by these old guys? Maybe the collectors themselves are responsible for not challenging these
fuddy-duddies, because the end result, would mean HORRIFIC FINANCIAL LOSS, for many!!