Issue # 172 | September 1st 2022
From the Desk of Paul Southren
It is indeed 'that' time of the year again! Usually I feel that the year just zips by, but 2022 has been a very long and quite unpleasant year that I personally very much look forward to seeing the back of..

While the sword industry overall is actually fairly well stocked compared to the 2 previous 'lost' years, and has more restocks due to hit the shelves before the silly season gets up to speed, just like last year it really is still in a very precarious, roller coaster of a place..

The only real upside? Well, right now there is still a fair amount of stock that has not gone up in price again quite just yet. So let's take a look at some of the early bird offers out there and see what else is going on in the world of swords generally this month..
Best Early Bird Sword Buys for Nov '22
As the old adage goes 'the early bird gets the worm' or in this case, the early-birds will get all the good swords for Christmas before they either:

  1. Go up in price due to increased production, shipping costs and inflation or
  2. Get snatched up and are not restocked until sometime in 2023..

Here's some of what we feel are the best deals out there at our long time friends and supporters at Kult of Athena:

VALIANT ARMORY CRAFTSMAN SERIES
These high end swords hand crafted by Sonny Suttles & Son are in very limited supply with high demand and will definitely not be in stock by the end of the month that is for sure!
Long Leaf Blade Sword with Scabbard
$1445
Irish Ring Leaf Blade Long Sword
$1595
DEEPEEKA 'GEMS' & BALAUR ARMS
At the other end of the spectrum, those in the know on a more limited budget will likely pick clean any of the 'diamonds in the rough' available from Deepeeka. It can be a crap shoot, but here are a couple worth looking at, as well as a few popular items from Kult of Athena's house brand, Balaur Arms:
Gothic Longsword
$171.95
Vestre Berg Norwegian Viking Sword
$216.95
Type XIV Knightly Arming Sword
$203.96-$258.95
ONE OFF PRE-OWNED KATANA
True bargains and rare swords just waiting for someone to pull the trigger..
Pre-Owned – Thaitsuki Furui Shishi Sanmai
$1799.95
Pre-Owned – Kaneie Silver Dragonfly Katana
$1049.95
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ANY POTENTIAL OVERSEAS ORDERS:
With all the chaos with international shipping these days, we STRONGLY suggest that if you are ordering something from overseas to get it locked in and shipping your way, well, YESTERDAY. There are rumblings that all is not well even with the third party shipping services, so it's best to try and deal with any possible issues well ahead of the inevitable annual (general product) Christmas shipping deluge..
Swords in the News
It is still something of a mystery, but archaeologists in Sweden have uncovered a burial site dating back between 600 to 1000 AD years ago with two classic migration era swords stood upright as a tribute to their fallen ancestors.

Usually a day spent outdoors with a metal detector reveals only a few cans, bits of wire and other junk. So imagine the surprise of the Scottish treasure hunter who found a solid golden, highly detailed and ornate pommel valued at over £30,000 must feel! You just never know what you might find..

Sword Canes are one of the few exceptions to sword legality - with many states and countries outright banning them. But in more liberal states, are they legal to carry for self defense and is a permit required? Here is a take on the local laws regarding sword canes in permitless concealed carry state Kentucky.

These lists are always a little dubious, but this one that ranks the swords from the Lord of the Rings at least puts a less well known blade at the top of the list.

Adam Savage from Mythbusters fame takes a behind the scenes gander at the original LoTR Glamdring prop made by Peter Lyon at the legendary Weta workshop in New Zealand.

A brief, but interesting article giving a peek into the world of U.K. Sword Smith, Owen Bush.
Video of the Month
Created as an video guide to basic iaido training by Shogo in Kyoto, Japan - this very cool and easy to understand introduction to three basic/core iaido training techniques is a must see video for fans of the Japanese Katana.
Of course, nothing beats in person instruction (and as Shogo-san notes, every school does it a little differently) - but this video is a great introduction to anyone interested in practicing the basics at home.
Best Forum Posts
A new member posts about their budding interest in starting a solid sword collection with three different 'tracks' and down the rabbit hole they go...

Forumites discuss their recent experiences with two of the industries giants. What are they like to order from in the latter half of 2022? Find out here.

It might well be impossible to send a sword to (or back to) China, but what about parts you want incorporated into a custom sword design. Forum members weight in with their advice and experience.

It is just a thought experiment, but there is some good advice to be found in this thread. Most notably, avoid the situation whenever and wherever possible!
Worth a look..
While for mid range medieval swords the recent Royal Armories/Matt Easton release by Windlass Steelcrafts (click here to see it on the MRL website) has been a very exciting one, quietly United Cutlery have been expanding their offering of functional blades, and all accounts are that - despite a few minor misgivings here and there - their latest offering, the Honshu branded $342.99 Historic Claymore has been quite the hit.

The best indepth review of it currently has been provided by Aussie YouTuber Shadiversity and is well worth a look to get an idea of what to expect from this particular sword, and the line in general.
That about wraps up this edition of the digest - next month will be our usual Christmas/New Years issue to wrap up the year. So until then stay safe, stay well and happy swordening!

  • Paul Southren