It might just have finished (PSA - get your cheap pumpkins for test cutting NOW) but this article explains many of the medieval origins of this most fun festival..

We might be forgiven for thinking that in the age of the gun, the sword is relegated to a historical curiosity - but in the world of Dune, there is a very practical reason why swords and knives are used instead of guns when guns were effectively removed from the arms race.. Interesting thought experiment from a blade-centric sci-fi classic.

While the sword may be a relic of a bygone age, the skills modern fencing hone are very much applicable to all kinds of modern military strategy. "Chess at 90 miles an hour" as explained by Lt. Col. Robert G. Childs, 234th Intelligence Squadron commander.

In a sign of the times, 10,000 exclusive digital versions of the Sword of Gou Jian were sold out in seconds.. The article is divided into 5 pages, so tab to read the full, and very curious, story.

Stirred up close to the surface after 900 years of rest beneath the waves, an Israeli diver got quite a surprise when this 3.3ft blade made a surprise appearance.

The rest of us can only drool and dream, but the personal collection of Napoleon Bonaparte will be put up for auction by the Rock Island Auction Company..

A personal story from Martin Robinson in the U.K. about how the art of Japanese swordsmanship and the Samurai code of Bushido may be needed now more than ever as, inspired by old Samurai movies watched during lockdown, he explores these old traditions and finds much more than expected..

We have all read some pretty inaccurate 'guides to genuine Katana' before - but this one has to take the cake and seems to document a guide to buying authentic Katana in an alternative reality!

I really wish I could say that I had been wrong, but sadly it appears that the predictions I made for the sword industry in the June Edition of the digest have become a stark reality (and even scarier, I had been right about the direction it was heading up to that edition - and again, I wish I had been wrong..)

Predictions such as:

And:

Pretty much describes the situation we are in right now - but with none of the positives I had hoped might be on the horizon..

In short, there has been no circuit breaker - and now we are seeing nothing but almost total stock shortages, much higher prices sweeping (or about to sweep) across the industry and - well, it is going to be a very strange holiday season coming up, that is for sure!

Normally around this time of year we would suggest that now is a good time to start to think about securing some swords for Christmas, but with worldwide shipping even worse than it was back in June and with NO respite seemingly in sight, I suspect that every restock that comes in from now on will:

All in all, it is not a very good time to do much sword shopping - and as we head into the holiday season it is going to get crazy..

To help you make sense of it all, our friends at Kult of Athena have a couple of articles on their blog about what to expect as we approach the holiday season in two articles:

The silly season is looking to be extra silly this year, and it does appear that the majority of the restocks that would usually arrive in late November will likely not land until early 2022...

And maybe then we will see a glut, but with much higher costs - yeah..

All I can say is, I hope that there is some kind of circuit breaker soon...

While we all love the sword - every sword enthusiast knows deep down in their hearts (or should know) that it was not the sword but the bow and the spear that were the deadliest and most effective battlefield weapons.

This exercise shows why:

The fun special effects make it an enjoyable watch - no doubt if you are like me despite the bad odds, bet you are rooting for the swords..

I really do feel sorry for our fellow sword enthusiasts on 'old Blighty' (Oliver Cromwell would be turning in his grave) - but the most recent updates seem that to get a sword now may involve a round trip to Northern Ireland.. The shape of things to come I am afraid..

A good leaf shaped blade makes for an imposing looking sword - but one forumite asks the $64,000 question: why were they almost exclusively found only in ancient Greek and Roman times?

Every now and again Katana collectors hit a wall trying to take off a super tight fitting tsuka. Here is how to get it off without cracking it.

One forum member got busy during pandemic lockdowns - here is how two of his grip re-wrap projects turned out. Maybe you might feel inspired to give it a try too yourself?

Another short issue in an increasingly difficult time - and it will certainly be a very 'interesting' holiday season ahead..! So while things are a bit stormy, until next time stay on your course, stay sage, keep calm and happy swordening!