As the sword industry continues to struggle along as best as it can in these increasingly unreasonable and all too "interesting" times - it would seem the scammers have stepped up double time to fill the void caused by rising prices and sword buyers on an increasingly tight budget..

Amazon and eBay in particular seems to be increasingly listing other peoples works and even their original pictures as their own so you can't even fairly see how the cheap knock off compares to the real thing. Case in point, our own collaboration with Chris Palmer from Scorpion Swords - the Orc War Cleaver

We actually first found out about this when one of our visitors sent an email implying we were ripping people off selling them for double the eBay price and despite these sellers (as this is not the only one) wholesale copying the images owned by Scorpion Swords of their original sword designs, Chris and his wife were unable to get a response several months later - so be warned.. Apparently eBay is okay with this kind of thing, so even more than usual, caveat emptor - buyer beware...

It may be a very long time before vitality and balance is restored to our tiny industry - and while the patterns are the same across the board everywhere in every type of business, ours does seem to be one of the ones that is particularly hardest hit..

So support your favorite retailers in these dark times whenever you can - goodness knows they need it..

A copy of a legendary Ninja manuscript, the Kanrinseiyo, surfaced suddenly last month and has caused quite a stir. Almost all existing historical information about the Ninja comes from the Bansenshukai - which references this previously missing body of knowledge. Maybe it will answer the question about what was a "real Ninjato" once and for all...

Now I have seen everything - curious to know what the current world record is for balancing swords on your body in the shortest time possible? Don't try to beat it at home - would HATE to see it go wrong trying to balance fully functional sharps instead of wallhangers..!

While it has become increasingly difficult in recent years - generally as long as you register them it is still legal to travel with a sword locked away on a flight.. But that was not the case for this particular sword, which turned out to be something worth nearly USD700,000...(almost as much as the fines for the employer who ordered it might run to! Ouch..)

You never know what a metal detector might find in Norway - in this case, some pieces of a very rare 9th century Frankish or English sword, though the blade itself is still missing..

While no modern film can quite capture the authentic atmosphere of the Chanbara films of the 60s and 70s - some recent movies continue the age old tradition - here are arguably 10 of the best Samurai movies made in recent years - from the subtle to the sublime..

Normally you don't associate Australia with Castles - but some modern made 'reproduction' castle homes are a thing in Australia, and if you have half a million Aussie dollars handy, you could live like royalty..

Back in the day I used to occasionally have the TV on in background and slwoly started watching the History Channel's series 'Pawn Stars' after they caught my ear with a sword a customer brought in...

Over the years, they have seen quite a few swords - and at times, rather clumsily I might say, found some real treasures - though when it came to modern reproductions, they clearly never bothered to check out SBG or the forums..!

A real mixed bag, but quite an enjoyable (if sometimes frustrating) watch..

Chances are that if you collect swords you have had at least one close call - here forum members discuss some of their own worst blunders (injuries to wallets do not count!).

If you ever received a cheap Japanese sword cleaning kit you will know how useless those little hammer things are. Can they be fixed, and what are the alternatives? Forum members weigh in with their own solutions.

Combing a bare blade from Ronin Katana's Euro line with fittings from the Printed Armory and some TLC yields quite amazing results. Watch it take shape in real time.

SBG members RufusScorpius and Markus313 present a run down and video montage of their experiments with foam weapons and doorway defense to see what worked best. Always fun to see these kind of tests.

That's about it for this month - hope you found something of interest!

Until August, best of luck to you and yours and Happy Swordening to all!

Going, going, gone - last call on the cancelled Legendary Swords Series by Blade Culture International.