Sword Buyers Digest - Issue 135, May 2019 April had been an interesting month.. Indeed, some of the content in THIS the May issue feels like it would have been more at home in the April Fool's edition - but I am afraid that it is all too real, and its a mix of good and bad news.. First the bad news to get it out of the way - after a series of failed promotions we were forced to pull the plug the project we have been working on for the past 2 years, the Legendary Swords Project. I will explain in detail towards the end of this email, but the short story is that the site itself will continue, but that it will no longer be involved in attempts to make functional fantasy sword replicas. And the good news? Well, that almost makes up for it and is another project that has been 2 years in the making. Project X Japanese is back..! So with a lot to cover in this issue, lets get started with our featured article that boils down what I learned the hard way about the Fantasy Sword market - what works, what's good and why the best and most popular designs are almost always going to cost thousands of dollars..

The Fantasy Sword Market Deep Insight from the Legendary Swords Project Failure

I'm pretty sure I have mentioned it many times before, but while I love all types of swords - my favorites are Japanese Katana, Viking Swords and GOOD Fantasy Swords. Naturally my personal preference is for functional swords - that is something I have DEFINITELY mentioned before. But I like fantasy swords enough to appreciate them as sword art , even if they are sword shaped objects - some of them are so well made that it doesn't really matter to me.. One of the first that I fell in love with was the Samurai 3000 by United Cutlery.

What disappointed me was the backstory, or rather, a lack of one.. The official description only suggests that it is the blade of a new class of Samurai 1000 years in the future who use high technology to create this "Plasmium' sword but really doesn't provide any more details - and in my review from nearly 10 years ago, I mentioned how I was a little frustrated that there was no artwork or deeper description of this cool concept... Kit Rae's swords of the ancients are much more along the lines of what I personally liked as they had both artwork and a backstory with a detailed and imaginative timeline - and it was this respect for what Kit had done, and seeing the versatility and skill of the good people at Blade Culture International during my trip to the forge a couple of years back that started the basic idea for the Legendary Swords Project in the first place.. While I have heard many disparaging remarks about some of his works, his swords - which are made by United Cutlery - may be stainless steel and machine made but they are solidly constructed and can be wielded fearlessly if so desired, while I sure as heck would not want to swing the cheap imitations loosely based on his designs and style..

Essentially, apart from Kit Rae and United Cutlery (who also produce the equally decently made officially licensed replicas of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy), pretty much every other cheap fantasy sword is just badly made rubbish. And then there are the kind of designs that are just so bad on pretty much every level that they are vomit inducing..

Above the good, bad and the ugly affordable decorative pieces, there are also some more expensive and ornate, but still decorative swords made in Spain by Marto (which are often copied and offered as cheap and nasty versions, but they really are nothing like the real thing).

So with all the decorative swords accounted for and out of the way, we come to functional fantasy swords with carbon steel blades.. This part of the market is pretty much dominated by Windlass Steelcrafts and Darksword Armory, though most other major manufacturers have perhaps one or two fantasy swords in their line up that are slow but steady sellers (many of which have been in more or less continuous production for nearly 20 years). Some of these are truly original designs - others are based loosely on mythologyical tales or legends (I.e. Excalibur - such as the Windlass Excalibur pictured below).

But those that sell well are licensed replicas of fantasy swords from books (E.g. Wheel of Time, a Song of Ice & Fire, Lord of the Rings) movies (Conan the Barbarian, 300) or TV series (Game of Thrones, etc). These licensing fees can be pretty cost prohibitive. And even if cost is not a factor (which of course, for an industry as small and truly 'micro niche' as the sword industry) the copyright holders are often reluctant to have anything even close to a functional replica made in case it is used irresponsibly.. Some sword makers figure that the industry is small enough for the copyright holders not to take notice. But in the late 2000s, several major sword sellers found out the hard way that this is not true when the copyright holders of several popular Japanese anime and manga series took serious legal action against anyone selling unauthorized copies of their IP - and clawed back every single dollar of profit ever made and then some... All the rules change though when we move up to the higher levels with custom sword makers. The late great Jody Sampson was one such exception (he was the original designer of the Conan the Barbarian Swords) and his fantasy swords sold on the merit of his name and his aesthetic sensibilities.

While perhaps not quite as famous, the real action for fans of fantasy swords is found in the works of custom sword makers such as John Lundemo, Michael 'Tinker' Pearce, Angus Trim, MichaelCthuhlu, Brendan Olszowy and Jeffrey J. Robinson to name some of the most well known. These custom sword makers have more freedom to produce designs as per a customers request that are one of a kind requests from fans of a particular work of fantasy without falling afoul of copyright infringements and/or to make swords that only really appeal to the person who designed them.. And that is probably the biggest obstacle to seeing more affordable, functional swords on the market and the reason why our project never got off the ground. Unless they are either: A) Really cheap and decorative B) Based on an already popular fantasy series with an established fan base or C) Custom made to the specific tastes of just one person.. Then the chances are that only a handful of people will like a given non historical design. This really does make the fantasy sword market quite different from the rest of the sword industry and explains why our own project failed so miserably..It simply did not fit into any of these categories.. For me, while it was an expensive lesson, it was an invaluable one - and I plan to use the lessons learned to eventually return to the drawing board and the site that was built and has hundreds upon hundreds of hours invested in it will not be wasted. Perhaps in the future, it will move into one of the 3 categories above. But to finish up, and perhaps spark some enthusiasm for those collectors among you who may scoff at the concept of fantasy swords in general - an example of Jeffrey J. Robinsons work with his stunning version of the Antediluvian Sword from Conan the Barbarian..

For more information on what is currently available in the world of fantasy swords, click the link below:

Fantasy Sword Reviews and Info

Project X Japanese Coming back THIS month (and with a vengeance!)

It was one of our most ambitious and successful projects to date - to make the finest quality, traditional Japanese style swords outside of Japan at just a fraction of the price but as close as possible to the quality of a genuine modern made Japanese Nihonto. However, with the troubles the sword industry has been experiencing since the start of this decade, it became increasingly hard to finance. And for the last 2 years we have been locking horns with the forge and the Master Smiths who made them to try and adopt the Forge Direct approach - that is to say, having the swords made to order and with the ability to tweak and customize the designs. But finally last month they agreed to give it a trial run - and so in between everything else I have been working closely with the forge, their representatives and Ronin Katana to create Project X Japanese Mark II - and I am delighted to say we are only DAYS away from the official launch.. Only 20 swords will be made as part of this trial run. Each is based on the original 6 Project X Japanese swords such as the Kenshi, the Ryoushi and the Kurobuke.. Each one will have its own themed selection of customization options - for example, the Kenshi's basic customization options are based on the so called Banzashi regulations of the Tokugawa Shogunate, while the Kurobuke's custom choices are based on rough and ready designs used by Ronin, mercenaries, proto-Yakuza and the Kabukimono. For example, below are some of the possible tsuba choices for the Kenshi.

The idea is to make customization risk and pain free - tweak the base design a little or a lot, but it will still keep its theme and there's really no way to accidentally make an ugly or unbalanced sword. However, its possible to mix and match as much as you like - ultimately, the choice is yours. We know from the emails that we get every week that a of collectors have been waiting for another chance to get hold of this stunning Soshu Kitae laminated blades with no expenses spared on the fittings (i.e. full rayskin wrap, double saya laquer with buffalo horn accents, silk ito using hishigami - you name it, they have it). So if you are among those who have been waiting, the chance is coming very, VERY soon - so keep you eyes open as when we reach 20 orders, the project will get locked down until they come in and everyone is happy. If the forge finds them to fiddly or we find them too expensive to continue at our target price point, then this may be the ONLY chance you get..

If you are seriously interested, sign up to the Project X newsletter for the official announcement and get in quick to reserve yours before the trial run of 20pcs hits its target.

Project X Newsletter

Video of the Month

An excellent and thought provoking video from Shinkan-Ryu Kenpo discussing unpleasant but important information on what exactly the diagonal downwards strike called 'Kesa Giri' was designed to do to the human anatomy. A respectful and intelligent hypothetical analysis for students of the Japanese Sword Arts.

Best Forum Posts

What's Your Favorite: Windlass Steelcraft Sword Pretty much every collector of European swords has bought at least one over the years. Some have bought many. Forumies reminisce and discuss their personal favorites. Some sad last chances at MRL If it goes in the last chance bin at MRL, that's means its discontinued. This time around, quite a few classics are poised to go down the gurgler. Looks like we will need to update our reviews again soon.. Any mechanical advantages to different hamon types? What it says on the box - but I too got excited by the news about the new Samurai Showdown release. Brings back some memories that does.. Any Fantasy Swords Any Good? Related to our featured article, forumites discuss what's still around for fans of decent functional fantasy swords..

Legendary Swords The Wrap Up

At midnight May the 5th Eastern Standard time, all the swords from the Legendary Swords series will be removed for sale - effectively removing the essence of what the site was based on and the reason why it was created in the first place. All planned sword production projects for the series will be scrapped and all that will be left are some works of world creation, the bestiary, webcomics and some original sword related fantasy art.. It's not going to be easy for the site to finds its feet having lost its primary raison d'être - but I have really enjoyed working on it - especially the creative process of writing for the webcomic and efforts to build a Fantasy world from scratch for the swords to exist within, and the 'how they were made' section of each sword is at least of cursory interest even f the swords themselves will no longer be available. I am not entirely sure what direction it will evolve into - the site itself is a mix of planning with a large dose of ad lib and organic growth, and while this may be a set back and the projects change of direction is quite dramatic, it will continue in one form or another. So in the meantime, here is the last installment of the Gathering of the Heroes for the time being - chapter 8.

Has it been upsetting to see all this work more or less come to naught? You bet it is.. But was it worth it, for the lessons learned about the Fantasy Sword market, custom swords, sword making, and to help BCI stay afloat? Again, a resounding yes. In the meantime, you have 5 days to grab what's left before it is gone. The Sword of Dabu is already sold out and gone forever, and at the time of writing this newsletter there's less than half a dozen of the Vorpal Swords left and a couple of Castir.. Even Michael Ye is winding up his part of the project, with absolutely massive discounts on the final production runs of the Forge Direct Legendary Swords selection (Master Smith Swords all from $330 to $600 max - many marked down by over 50%).

See everything before it is gone by clicking the link below:

Legendary Swords: Final Closeouts

Thanks to those people who sent me messages of support and condolences for the projects 'death'. I was deeply disappointed but as the old Samirai adage goes 'Get knocked down 7 times, get up 8' - in other words, never give up hope and always strive for more..

Something of a bittersweet issue - but time to soldier on! Until next issue, May the forth be with you, stay safe and happy swordening. Paul

Sword Buyers Guide.com

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