[Lance Morris]

Hello everyone,

I was sitting here today looking at a gorgeous sword made by Angus trim and Christian fletcher (the redeemer)
And I generally it all the ways really love swords. It's a hobby and a passion.

But I can't quite think of why. The heroic actions I envision from past heros? The deadly power they represent?
So many options.

Yet... they cost so much money, most of the time they decorate my walls rather then me swinging them.


Why do you guys enjoy them?


Cheers

[Mark Moore]

I think you pretty much said it all, Lance. It's not that much different from collecting anything else really. It's the history, the variety, and the pure romance and mystery that often comes with the sword. Plus...they're just cool. ....McM

[Ben Joy]

In part I have to agree with what's already been said. Swords are historical icons of power, prestige, wealth, and are tied to so many stories, myths, and legends that it's truly enchanting to own a proper sword. However, for me at least, there's another side to it.

For me, in part, having a small collection of swords (and other medieval weapons) is the same reason I have a collection of guns. The ones that aren't decorative (none of my guns are decorative, mind you) are there for a purpose; and that purpose is one I hope they never see, as lethal weapons. I'd be just as willing to defend my home with one of my swords as one of my guns; and one doesn't require ammunition.

Some of it is the "Doomsday-Prepper" buried in all of us (who doesn't have some kind of emergency box at home? seriously). On the other hand, some of it is the practical sense of having a time-honored tradition of a high-quality family heirloom sword that is to be passed down the family lineage.

It's a sense of honor, respect, and responsibility.

[Mark Moore]

Well spoken, Ben. Well spoken indeed......McM

[Max L]

I don't collect for any real practical reason.

I enjoy history immensely, particularly medieval history. Its one thing to read about the battles and the lives of the people in this time, its another to hold the weapons, wear the clothes, eat the food, etc, that is of course to the extant at which we can recreate them. So I collect swords for the same reason that I do reenactment/living history. The connection to the history that I love reading about so much. It's also why I've totally lost interest in cheaper mass produced swords, even if they are perfectly functional weapons.

[Greg Ballantyne]

The design and build of a sword (not ALL swords, but some of them) can embody the concept of elegance. Elegance being the perfect blend of utility and artistry, if not beauty. There are a number of things that achieve elegance, and many, many more that do not. I appreciate things that achieve elegance - some swords (reproductions, in my case) along with other things.

[J.D. Crawford]

Because they're cool.

[Mark Moore]

You took the words right outta my mouth(and post), J.D. ! .......McM

[Henry R. Gower]

I'll be honest and admit I never asked myself that question before I read your post today. I have been interested in swords since I started watching Robin Hood and Ivanhoe movies as a boy. My interest was reinforced when my father took me to see the arms and armor rooms at the MMA in New York City. My dad was an experienced woodworker, so he made me a number of wooden swords to play with (over fifty years ago) some of which I still have(!).
After some thought, I suppose it is for the history, mostly. Aesthetics and the fact that it was a gentleman's weapon, also play a role. Interestingly, I never took up fencing, or had any interest in the practical aspects of sword use, like the cutting ability, that sort of thing. I once knew an avid, somewhat aristocratic, collector, who was showing a very valuable Japanese sword to me and another fellow. The other fellow wondered aloud, whether that sword had ever killed anyone. The collector looked somewhat shocked and answered, "I certainly hope not !" I guess that's how I feel also.
Henry

[Martin Fischer]

..., because my penis is too small.

[Mark Moore]

T-M-I, Martin....T-M-I. .....McM

[Zach Gordon]

“I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”


― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers Book IV, Ch. 5.

[Kevin T]

I would have to say for me, I enjoy swords almost entirely for imaginary reasons. They have featured heavily in many forms of fiction for a long time. How could I enjoy a show or play a game that was rife with swords and not wonder about them? It is sort of the same way for martial arts. I want to understand it on my own terms. What makes martial arts beautiful, what makes swords beautiful? I know what makes them ridiculous, that is well documented. But what makes them appealing? For me figuring out for myself where fantasy meets reality is most of the allure.

Concocting a situation where you might actually use one in the slaughter of other people is a strange concept. In modern day, you'd just be surrounded by guns and hauled away into a jail cell. But even in some sort of dystopian future where you wouldn't immediately be overwhelmed by a central policing authority and have your life ruined, someone else would almost certainly always kill you for the sword. "Ohh my that looks nice, I think I'll follow that chap and brain him with a rock while he is sleeping, then it will be my sword."

[Dan D'Silva]

To bask in the reflected glory of the ancients. I particularly like how the older connotations of nobility and heroism carry down, they lend a tension in my mind to the later rank-and-file hangers or sabers. And even in modern times, it gives you something to live up to.

[J. Nicolaysen]

Actually, it's not the case.


Swords like ME. They keep saying things like "buy me buy me buy me." Really I can't help it, I'm just trying to make them happy, poor things..




buy me buy me buy me.

[Leelund K]

[Leelund K]

[E.B. Erickson]

Too much Zorro, Robin Hood, Knights of the Round Table and the like when I was a little kid probably has a lot to do with my interest in swords.

I always found swords attractive, and can remember considering buying a sword with my saved-up vacation money when I was about 14. I decided not to make the purchase, because who knew what else I might find on that family vacation?

Things kicked into high gear when I was in college and on the fencing team. That's when I became aware of the history behind the sport. About that time I wandered into an antique shop that had swords, and I was hooked. I could actually hold these old items of history, and even own them to enjoy whenever I wanted to! That was in 1972, and I collected antique swords whenever I could put together the funds to make a purchase. I have pretty much stopped collecting in the last year or so, as swords of the type that I find interesting (English from 1600-1800) are becoming ridiculously expensive.

--ElJay

[Mikko Kuusirati]

When I was very young, I read some Lord Dunsany...

PS. ...and now as I grow older I begin to actually understand what he was saying! I don't mean I like swords because of nostalgia for my childhood entertainment, but that some of my childhood entertainment was blessedly not really meant as childhood entertainment and has stayed with me ever since, only the more relevant in adulthood, and that particular piece puts to words some of what I feel about swords.

[Richard Miller]

Almost every post about this had at least some elements of why I love swords. I think that if there was one reason that was really the tipping point for me, it would be my love for history. Especially European history. My Dad was in the Knights of Columbus, and he was also a history buff
One day I asked him about his (KoC) sword, and he told me that it wasn't a real sword (looked real to me) but that He'd take me to see real swords at the L.A. County Museum....They had an exhibit on Weapons of the Middle Ages. Real swords, spears, crossbows and full suits of armor.They even had a working trebuchet.
I never looked back.