R.I.P. John Piscopo
 

I read with great sadness on SFI today that John Piscopo has passed away.

John was a well-known collector and scholar of edged weapons, particularly the ancient bronze swords and knives of Luristan and Southeast Asia.

Always incredibly generous with his knowlege and experience, John will be missed.

Sad to hear
 

A sad day.

John was a "character" and will be much missed. He had a refreshing directness and a wealth of knowledge.

Ian.

Rest in peace John.

Damn...
That has come as a shock.
John's knowledge and his generosity sharing it was legendary.
He'll indeed be missed.

I'm sorry to hear that.
I corresponded with him for a while on some big project, but we couldn't basically agree.
However that makes me think of how, even disagreements can be constructive, for they are just an event, compared to a lifetime of contribution.
He was also an extremelly polite and enthusiastic person.
Life is so fragile... May he rest in peace.

i wish i could say i knew him, but i was fully aware of the passion and knowledge he had for his early weapons. a shame and a loss.

This is deeply saddening, to hear of the loss of another of our own, John Piscopo.
I cannot say that I knew John well, but clearly like many, I was fortunate to have had communication with him some years ago on some research. As has been noted, he was open, friendly and anxious to be helpful. Even after our initial contact, he was thoughtful in continuing the pursuit of the information I needed and followed through in recontacting me with the material.

It seemed in later years that wherever sound research was discussed, his name would appear, and it made me proud to even have had such brief contact with him.

We will mourn his loss, but continue the work he passionately loved, to never stop learning, and to share our gained knowledge openly with each other.

Vaya con Dios John.

I seem to recall that he used to post some hilarious 'Fake Chinese Sword' auctions on ebay just for the edification of the innocent buyer and to take a swipe at the Chinese forgers .

The man had a great sense of humor . :D