I got a couple of blades, some questions about starting a sword collection

[AirPower]

I'm was never into big swords or anything, but lately the gun stuff is loosing its appeal to me for some reason. I recenty got these two blades from a neighborhood garage sale, both for $12. I thought it's pretty inexpensive to start having some swords. Granted the ones I got probably are Chinese made but look pretty cool. The bowie knife is like a cheap M9 but works well, the other I"m not sure but it's a cool looking long sword. I have become especially found of the long sword and might get some more like it, maybe like the ones from Lord of the Rings type. I saw some in catalogues but prices are way higher than I anticipated.

My question is if swords hold value as well as guns do, just in case you have to sell them or trade them. Also where do you keep all yours? I'm already running out of room with guns, swords have awkward shapes and also sharp edges. I don't want to have to leave it in the gunsafe where there's no room, but also not where I might bump into them accidentally.

 

[Omni04]

personally, all of mine have sheaths so i just keep em hung up on the wall But then again there is nobody below the age of 18 that comes in my apartment so i don't have to worry about them playing with them.

What is your current living situation? Did you want the just stored safley, or would you like them displayed?

 

[AirPower]

I'm in an apartment, not too much room left for the crap I've accumulated. I would like to display them, or at least a couple of them. No kids here either.

 

[Soap]

It looks like you have the movies "Rambo" and "Blade" covered Not a bad price but bear in mind, even though that looks like a sword, it is NOT safe to use in practice or especially for test cutting. If you want a sword for those applications, there are a lot of choices at the $200 mark.

 

[PontificusWrecks]

So ya wanna collect swords

This is a favorite topic of mine, and one that I commend to anyone. Everything important in the history of the world got done with a sword, at least until the 2nd Amendment was invented. Having said that, collecting swords is a matter of perception on the part of the collector.

Ancient swords? There ain't any. Like with real bows, they were a tool to be used and discarded. If you happened to keep your sword from the Battle of Hastings, then bully for you, but for the most part they wound up as farm tools and that was the end of them (and then we beat our plowshares into our enemies, etc.). Middling age swords (17th century to middle 19th) are more plentiful, but most of the good ones are actually owned by other people, or in museums (which is a nice place for them), and the contracting market makes for prohibitively expensive weapons. And again, these are working implements, not to be valued after the hacking is done, and they typically weren't. So this leaves ornamental swords, in ready supply, many newly made, and made out of complete crap metal that wouldn't hold up under a hard stare much less a good whack with a sword of considerable craft.

Now there are some outstanding, old-school armourers who are making genuine swords out of real steel, and which can be had for $400 or so. These are the best ones to collect, I think, because they are made by people with a love for the history and craft of sword-making, but by "collecting" I don't mean to imply that this is a good place to stick your retirement funds. Get 'em 'cause you like 'em. I recommend building some training tools in the yard, for instance, to help you learn the art of sword fighting with your newly forged Norwegian longsaex, for example. Get a big Claymore and go to town with it against a 6x8 beam, planted upright in your yard. Or get one of those obscene French pig-stickers - an epe, or a rapier - which have always scared the b'jeezus out of me, and have at one of your good friends, also holding an epe or a rapier. I recommend the Spanish rapier style if you would like to study effective sword dueling.

I have a wall full of edged weapons - although my favorites are the paired pikes from the late 17th century - limited only by my wife's amused tolerance of my obsession. I think the best way to store your weapons will be highly hung on a wall, away from little hands but well within the purview of little eyes who will see them and their imaginations will soar...

 

[hso]

Unlike dad's guns most of us start out buying our own first sword. You have what most of us started out with, "sword-like objects". As you collect more you'll find yourself working into low grade swords and then into functional swords and doing a lot of reading to get the knowledge to better understand what you're getting. I still keep my early swork-likes as a reminder of my early enthusiasm, just like I keep my early knife-likes.

As Daniel has said, the piece you have is a wall hanger and isn't a functional sword. Think of it as a replica wall hanger submachine gun. It looks like a sten, but isn't functional and wouldn't be safe to use. The piece is made to look good, but the steel isn't heat treated and is a very low quality and would not withstand any impact.

You can get into good practical swords from Cas Iberia for very reasonable prices. Entry usable swords are available from them for ~$200

http://www.swordsofhonor.com/paulchenswor.html
http://www.swordsofhonor.com/prka.html
http://www.swordsofhonor.com/prra37bl.html

 

[Tokugawa]

a real good place to look at is richard steins japanese sword index- links to about eight jillion sword sites of all countrys and ages as well as one of the best japanese sword info sites out there.

 

[Beethoven]

I'll be perfectly honest with you;

that sword you have isn't a real sword and the knife isn't a real knife.

They are both movie reproductions from Blade and Rambo, respectively, and aren't worth anything.

Those Lord of the Rings swords aren't swords either; you can't use them for anything but hanging on the wall.

If you try to do anything other than hang them on the wall, they will break and will probably injure you and/or a bystander.

Don't waste any of your money on those things.

If you want REAL swords, here are three sites to check out:

http://albion-swords.com/

http://www.bugei.com

http://forums.swordforum.com/


Good luck. Swords (real swords) are cool.

 

[Cosmoline]

I've found axes a lot less expensive and a lot more useful myself. You can buy top-quality Swedish axes for under $120 with steel good enough to chop up an "art sword" into little bitty bits. Frankly when it comes right down to it there are just a lot more things you can do with an axe, including chopping down trees or cutting through a sheetmetal car door to get at someone trapped inside. I keep a Gransfors-Bruks felling axe in my truck and I've used it a lot more than my truck gun.

 

[hso]

I came home the other day to find my neighbor and friends cutting 1 liter + soda bottles filled with water with a couple of katana. The thing that impressed me was Tamara cutting the same bottles in twain with the Cas Iberia bearded axe she got a couple of years back!

Batter Up!!!