Sword Buyers Digest:

Issue #195, November 2024

Welcome to the penultimate issue of the Sword Buyers Digest for 2024 (gotta love that word, I think I first learned it when watching Monty Python as a teenager - was it life of Brian or the Holy Grail, can't remember).

As typical of this decade, it's been another crazy month and with the US elections, global warfare and economic downturns dominating the news, take some time to leave the troubles of the world behind for a moment and lose yourself temporarily in the world of swords...!

It's the biggest annual sword sales and exhibition in Japan (now in its 36th year) with no less than 69 Nihonto dealers in attendance (pretty much ALL of them from all over Japan), on Nov 2nd ad 3rd at the Tokyo art club. If you happen to be in Japan right now, drop everything and GO!

There's really nothing worse than altering or faking an antique sword, but apparently new advanced imaging techniques have revealed that many supposed Iron age Iranian antique swords have been recently altered, patched together like Frankenstein to increase their value..

Want a free antique sword? How about two? A crazy find Magnet fishing?

When you aren't fishing for fish, how about fishing for swords? At the top video of the link is a curious video where a gentleman finds not one but TWO antique swords! If you live near a historical battle site, maybe it's worth investing in a Magnet - you never know..

Wonderwoman needs a bigger sword..!

From the Absolute comic line, Wonderwoman is being revamped with a sword that would make Cloud's Buster Sword or Guts's Dragonslayer look inadequate. Check it out and find out why they decided to give her such a massive blade and what it looks like.

Vampire Hunter Blade is also upgrading his sword..

And if Wonderwoman's sword was not enough, the iconic Marvel Vampire Hunter Blade starts life anew to trying to reconcile what he is with what he does, and forges a new sword as part of the process. Curious as to what it looks like? Get some first glimpses as he hammers it to 'beat out the weakness'..

How (but not why) Disney took away Aladdin's Sword in the Capcom Game

You might recall that years ago when Disney released the Aladdin movie, there were two games released one by Sega and the other Capcom. But for some reasons, Disney would not allow Aladdin to have a sword.. Seems that Disney's recent silliness started a long time ago after all..

Fencing Highlights from the Olympics

Full of drama, twists and turns - with the French on home soil, Americans cheered on and Japanese rising through the ranks. Whatever your opinion may be of this modern sport with ancient origins, if you are a true sword lover - you'll appreciate and understand the skill and the speed required to win a match.

Ancient Mycenaean art re-interpretered reveals female sword bearers

Pottery known as 'Kraters' from the Late Helladic period (about 1550-1050BC) has been re-examined and researched and may well be depicting female sword bearers, though whether it was purely some kind of ritual or something deeper is not yet understood.

Bricks and Mortar Store in Wyoming gets a plug

Bricks and Mortar sword stores have become harder to run due to lower expenses of internet based sword stores, but hats off to 'Swords n Stones' in Wyoming, who has recently featured in the 'Cowboy State Daily' in a behind the scenes article that shows the joys and the challenges of running this kind of super cool physical shop!

Around the middle of last month I learned a few things that I wish I had known or been fully aware of since 2013.. I will not reveal the details now other than to say that what I discovered and pieced together meant that we had to make an official announcement on the blog and on the forums and take some rather drastic action, immediately severing all ties to Ronin as a company..

Below is a quick excerpt, click the link for the full announcement..

And it has also been announced and discussed a little on the forums here

Needless to say, as our store had over 100 Ronin related products in it, it's created quite a mess to archive them all. So for the time being, while we retool and re-vamp everything (and expand, as we often passed up opportunities out of loyalty to Ronin) we have put a 10% discount offer on all remaining stocked items until we have found suitable replacements for the various items effected (which is proving to much smoother and easier than first expected, but we are taking our time to avoid making a bad situation worse by rushing).

Anyway, in case you didn't see it before, here's the offer:

While the whole experience could demoralize some people, in my case I feel very invigorated, aggressive and am using anger as a tool to to double, nay, triple down on improving the site and store so that it does more than just return to a similar status that it was before, but to make it all much, much BETTER and stronger than ever before..

Below is a first example of some new content - a kind of 'gift' to the sword community generally, and that is an expansion and refinement of something that was started on the forum years ago by SBG member stormmaster...

That's right, we have created a totally free directory (free to be listed, free to read) of who we at SBG consider to be some of the world's best independent sword makers - passionate individuals with a proven track record, their own website and a willingness to put their face out there on the web and stand proudly behind every bespoke product they make.

Most are based in the USA, Czech Republic and Europe - anyway, have a quick look - feedback is more than welcome, and we hope to expand the list over the coming weeks, months and years ahead both via email and THIS thread over on the forums.

Check it out:

Odds are you are probably younger than I am, but if you are around the same age and like me, have been into swords in one form or another as long as I can remember, then here's another dose of good old sword nostalgia..

The NINJA craze of the 70s and particularly the 80s was truly off the charts - and as you might expect, there was an early mail order sword market, mostly found in martial arts magazines.

While prices on most things have gone way up since the 1980s, swords are an exception.. Just take a look at this ad below:

This ad is from the early 80s, and while the image is a bit hard to read - it comes in three options, die cast blade for $32.95, 'Better' Blade that is die cast zinc with chrome plating for $47.95 and the ultimate 440 stainless steel version for $69.95..

These days, such swords would not even sell at all, for the same price as the 1980 stainless steel sword with fake rayskin and cheap everything you can pick up a half decent 1045 carbon steel blade with iron fittings from a bunch of different stores..

And it seems to have been even worse in the 70s.. Here's an ad for a Ninja sword from 1973 - with a 'metal' blade for the bargain price of $114.95..? In 1973, that's roughly the equivalent of $810 in today's money..! (and as you will see in this months VoM, THIS sword might be the one that created the hotly debated 'myth' that Ninja used straight Chokuto style blades).

How much longer swords will defy inflation remains unknown, there's a lot of changes coming soon that will definitely cause prices to rise further. But there's still a huge gap in value in what you can get today and what you got in the past thanks to the internet and sites like SBG, My Armory, etc.

Got any more cool magazine sword ads from the past you could scan and send in to us for another issue?

Best posts from the official SBG Sword Forum

Dave Kelly's massive collection up for sale..

You may or may not have interacted with him on the forums, but sadly Dave has fallen victim to dementia and old age, and his relatives are selling off his wall to wall, whole house full collection with this assistance of Nicholas Tang.. A good opportunity for some, but always sad when one of the old school guys fades away..

Variations in modern day reproductions sori (curvature)

Most modern replica Katana these days all have a very similar curvature (called sori) - but not all. It's not a long thread, but it's an informative one and takes a deep dive into the subject and four main types of curvature variation..

Up and coming sword maker Davidoa

With a humble attitude and what looks like natural talent, SBG member Davidoa tests the sword he documented the making of on a different thread here - and it's quite impressive. Keep going Davidoa! Perhaps we will see you in the new sword makers directory one day soon..!

Emphasis on the quick draw in Japanese Swordsmanship

Why is it in so many different Ryuha (schools) of Japanese swordsmanship that the sudden quick draw and strike in one action is central to all of them..? Find out why and take a dive into Japanese history while comparing the Samurai to the European Knight (though thankfully it's not a variation of the 'Knight vs Samurai' theme that kept popping up in the 2010s!).

It's kind of a follow on to the Ninja sword's for sale in the 80's nostalgia article, but in this video YouTuber Don Roley does his best to try and debunk the hotly debated 'myth' that Ninja swords were straight blades and that the Bujinkan style was the real deal..

Was it really Steven Hayes who started it? Don Roley takes a deep dive, so have a watch and make up your own mind. I have often been on the fence because of the Iga museum example, but Don even kind of debunks that so maybe, this comes close to ending the debate and revealing the origins may be from a magazine ad from 1973..

Hope you enjoyed the November issue of the Digest.

It's going to be a busy and very interesting few months ahead I think as we do what is necessary to keep SBG going well into the future. Until then, time to stock up on any cheap pumpkin deals you can find left over from Halloween and let the battle between man and vegetable begin (or is Pumpkin a fruit? I personally don't like the taste of the stuff, so it's only good for cutting IMHO..).

Get ready for the Black Friday and Cybermonday Sales too - and as always, Happy Swordening!

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