Hi everybody,

Doug Taylor here. I've always wanted to own a sword, but for one reason or another have managed to put it off for over 20 years. A few years ago I began collecting Bowie knives, and they led me to the ultimate edged weapon...the sword (of course)! I began looking at information on the Internet, and found this fantastic forum. I've (so far) ordered 6 books, with many more to follow. I had no idea that swords had such a huge and international following. I am beginning to see how an interest in swords and all things to do with them could become a lifetime advocation, and I'm looking forward to learning much over the next several years. I've selected the Albion Squire line Bastard sword as my first sword, as I really like the hand & half types the most (so far). I'll be placing my order very soon, and in the mean time I'll be reading everything I can on this forum. If there are any members in the Southern California (L.A.) area who might like to contact me, please feel free to do so. I'm a new guy, so I can use all the help I can get. Thanks to all for this great forum!

Doug

Welcome Doug! I will be 50 years old this summer and it was just in the last few years that I discovered my passion for swords. I too favor the hand and a half sword, I have 6 of them in my collection from Arms & Armor, I also like single hand swords a lot too and for some reason my favorite single hand sword is the single edged blade version, I have 2 of these from Albion.
All my life I walked around with no idea that I had a passion for swords, especially European, even though I was a martial arts enthusiast of unarmed combat. To my complete surprise after learning of wear and tear arthritis in my spine and that my karate days were finished, I came to realize that my passion for this hobby is 10 fold the passion I had for any other interest in my life!
Never been so happy :!: And myArmoury has done so much to expand my horizons and I know this website will do a whole Lot for you too!

Great to have you here!

Bob

Doug,
Hello and welcome to myArmoury.com. :) Congrats on your first purchase; it's a good choice. I'm sure you've seen it, but Bill Grandy did a review of that very sword a while back. It can be found here: http://www.myArmoury.com/review_alb_15th.html

If only we could all be so wise as to make Albion our first purchase... I know I didn't, and I'm having to make up for lost time (and $)...

Welcome Douglas. You have started down a long path of addiction, :D so learn to enjoy it. :) Should you really want to drool over some extremely nice swords, try http://www.templ.net/english/, but Patrick's work is only for the most advanced addicts. :lol:

BTW, I am a Bowie fan myself. Are your's replicas or originals? I have a number of mediocre to very nice replicas that I have collected over the years, the mediocre ones being from my earlier days in the 1960s.

Welcome Douglas!

In this particular hobby, there is simply no better place to start learning and collecting (and occasional drooling) than myArmoury. This site is frequented by novices and scholars alike and everyone else in between. Be sure to check out the articles (click on 'Features') and reviews. You'll meet some outstanding and knowledgable people here, just as I have!

I'll echo everyone else in saying you've made an excellent choice in your first sword; you can't go wrong with any Albion product! ;)

My first sword was a cheap wallhanger -- actually, I still have it :surprised:

A Bowie collector, huh? How many Bowies do you have?

Greetings,

Just wanted to say welcome, and best of luck! Cheers!

Best regards,

Barrett Michael Hiebert

Thanks to everyone for the friendly welcome!

Not to hijack my own thread, but in answer to the Bowies: I presently own twelve, three of which are limited production items. Two of these three are Jerry Fisk Southwest style Bowies (made by Camillus) and the other one was made by the Buck custom shop. The rest are high end standard production knives, except for my two "Primitave Bowies" made by Atlanta Cutlery (Windlass Steelcrafts). I have three Ontario Bagwell's and others are by several of the major manufacturers. I have two "made to order" Bowies on the way from Joe Yeates (Yeates Bowies). These are the "Iron Mistress" and the "Frontier" models. I should get them this fall. The other two that are "on the way" are Randalls, and I will receive them the year I retire (2010). Randall has a three-year lead time! The Randalls I orderd are the "Smithsonian" and the large "Arkansas Toothpick." The Bowie history and legend is very interesting, but nothing compared to that of the sword. The Bowies are fun, but the swords are awesome! If I were to recommend a "token Bowie" to those who don't yet own a Bowie and would like to, it would certainly be the Atlanta Cutlery "Primitive Bowie." Now this is a knife! It won't begin to compare to a Case, Buck, Boker or Linder....but it has it's own unique appeal. It is huge, very eye-catching and won't embarrass you (too much) by it's overall lack of quality. It is well made enough to be considered a "real" knife, affordable, and will make you smile every time you pick it up. If you want an over-the-top, kick-in-the-pants Bowie, then this is the one to get. It will take a sharp edge with some agressive file and stone work. I keep one in my work locker for those days when I'm having a stressful time operating the power plant. Bowie rant over.

Thanks again, I probably won't be posting as much as reading. Best!

Doug

You may wish to check out the Imperial Weapons replica of one of James Daniel Searles' Bowies. IMO they are some of the classiest of the original Bowie styles and the Imperial Weapons version is a very good replica for the money.
http://www.imperialweapons.com/knives/Ip-203.html
Clyde Hollis' previous replicas were of the Musso Bowie and the Iron Mistress Bowie. I saw the other day where one of his Musso Bowie replicas went for $600 on ebay, so the demand is there for them and the Searles Bowie is his best yet.

Hi all,

Well, my first sword is finally shipping! The Albion Squire Line Bastard sword I ordered last April is on the way! But I've decided to torture myself a little bit longer. My birthday is January 12th, and I've decided to wait until then to take possession of the sword. I'm not even going to take a peek at it! I'll leave it in it's shipping container and have my wife check it for rust about Thanksgiving (just in case). We live in Southern California where it's pretty dry, so I don't anticipate the sword rusting by January. Why do I want to wait? To make it "special." I suggested to my wife that I buy one sword per year, and maybe arrange to receive them on my "just after Christmas" birthday. Last year she gave me a Bowie knife on my birthday, so I kind of like continuing the edged item tradition. We'll see.

Doug