First post on these boards.

I am not a sword collector at all but have recently come across an opportunity to buy an Albion Conan Barbarian Atlantean. I have a choice between an original unsharpened one and a sharpened one. I am a big Conan fan of both literature and film and this is something I couldn't pass up.

I am interested in opinions by collectors and sword enthusiasts with far more knowledge and experience than myself about whether a collectible like the Conan Atlantean should be sharpened or not?

These Albion blades are battle ready to begin with but sharpening them would really take it to the next level I suppose. It would turn them into legitimate weapons. However I have read arguments (notably by Patrick Kelly in his review of the Conan the Barbarian Atlantean from Albion on this site) that putting an edge on a collectible blade like this would remove the "mint" description and damage long-term value. I am curious about the thinking behind this train of thought.

I also find it interesting that some of Albion's newer film sword replicas now come sharpened as "default" rather than the other way around as was the case with the Conan swords. For example, the Death Dealer axe, the Discerner Blade, and the Alpha Omega Dagger and Sword all come sharpened unless you specifically ask for it not to I suppose.

Personally, as I am not a collector of swords, I am a little leery of buying a sharpened collectible. I understand I will need to clean my sword regularly with oil to keep it from rusting and the prospect of accidentally slicing my finger off on a razor sharp blade is not appealing to me. On top of that I have a 16 month old daughter to think about as well.

On the other hand, having a sword hand-sharpened by the late great Jody Samson would mean a lot to me as well. I understand all Conan blades that needed sharpening were done by him personally and I assume the one offered to me to had been done by him as well. To own an Atlantean worked on by him in some form (even if just sharpened) would be a big deal. I can always mount the sword on a wall well away from my daughter and take extra care cleaning it I suppose. Hopefully, I don't need to oil these swords more than 1-2 times a year? But then what about Patrick's views on future value and collectability?

I'm torn about this and would appreciate comments and perspectives. By the way, price is identical for either choice.

Dennis

Welcome to myArmoury.com. Thank you for taking the time to participate.

You might be interested in this recent topic: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=18515

Or these older ones:

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=16010

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=2264

In my opinion, a sword is historically meant to be a weapon. So it had to be sharp.

So a modern-made sword intended to be a recreation of a historical weapon also needs to be sharp in my opinion.

Regarding fantasy weapons, I guess they are also supposed to be weapons and therefore sharp. I mean, I can't imagine Conan, and even less Aragorn, carrying an unsharpened sword.

One also needs to consider that edge geometry involves distribution of metal and therefore weight. An unsharpened version of a sharp sword is not only dull, but also heavier.

So, if I were to commission a custom-made fantasy sword, it would be sharp.

On the other hand, if one has an existing replica which is not sharp, one needs to consider the maker's original intent and also resale value. For instance, a CAS Iberia Lord of the Rings sword is due to material and construction not intended as a real sword, so trying to turn it into a real sword is nonsense. The Albion Conan swords are quite expensive and sharpening it (or modifying it in any other way) would probably strongly decrease it's value as a collectible.

Regarding safety, I believe that one must store any weapon out of the reach of children. An unsharpened sword is still not a toy and may paradoxally actually be more dangerous because it seems less dangerous.

Hey... I saw the albion conan sword once, and i dont see why you should sharpen it. It felt like it weighed 10lbs, in no way was the sword a weapon. You could not cut with it or anything, it was just to damn heavy. I also got to see on of the originals used in the movie, it wasn't sharpened either. Since its a recreation of a sword used in a movie, shouldn't it match the original? Basically you would just make it more difficult to display, for no reason :confused:
so u got my advice :lol:
Z

Thanks everyone for the replies and insights.

Thanks also to Nathan for the welcome and redirecting me to some old threads that I have read.

Seems to me that in terms of collectability, it is a toss up for the Albion Conan swords since Albion themselves and Jody Samson specifically offered the blades sharpened at the customer's discretion. As such, it can technically be argued that a sharpened Conan Albion is consistent with the original state of the collectible.

In any case, I think I'm going to stick with the blunt versions. The only reason I wanted a sharpened one anyway was the knowledge that Jody Samon hand-sharpened every Conan Albion himself it that was what was requested and I really wanted a sword that was worked on by him.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll see if I can post some pics once I get the swords. I'm on a payment plan so it will take awhile but I plan eventually on getting all both Atlantean versions and the Master's as well.

Dennis