Food For Thought

[manicdj]

Originally Posted by Valjhun

As Ariel said our kind of collecting is a sort of investment.

However I dissagree with him about the value decrease in the future. I honestly think that thoose nowdays kids who play games like Prince of Persia, Berserk, Ninja Gaiden ecc. and watch moovies like KillBill, Last Samurai ecc. at a certain age will be enthusiastic to buy some stuff they saw in thoose beloved games/films and they'll be prepared to pay big bucks for it (even more than we do today, 'cos we/you weren't not so much under the affect of the mass-media ;o). I think that interest in collecting will fall over the years, but the number of people who will be enraptured to put a pair of katana or shamshir on the wall will drastically increase due to thoose movies and games.

Beeig myself still pretty young (I've just turned 26 and I still play games and I'm certainlly not ashamed of that) I can confirm that all my coevals are shocked upon my collection. Further, I was selling a 3000$ katana made by osafune sukesada the previous week and I've sold it just yesterday to a pampered youngser just yesterday for a double price. When he saw my little collection he almost felt to a down, he wanted my 13 Luk Keris so badly, 'cos he had seen it in Prince of Persia (yes, games are sometimes stupid), but unfortunatelly it wasn't for sale (I regret it a little, thou).

So do not underestmate the power of modern media... Just take a look at the big bucks United Cuttlery and other licenciaries are doing by producing and selling sword and other regalia from the films. I guess that someone would be prepared to buy a real japanese gunto (also appeared in many movies) rather that thoose modern made trash, if he would KNOW that he can get it for just the double price...

Well I also predict an even greater increase of Nazi and Soviet memorabilia. Why? Well I guess that bad guys were always and will be for ever verry popular.

On the other hand I'm almost certain that stamps, coins, or more "stupid" things like pencils and lottery tickets or antique toalette paper (what the hell???) and all that meaningless stuff will fall into oblivion sooner or later.

Well, for the end, if you, older collectors have probblems with afterdeath disposal of your collections, I offer volounteer to take it over and I promise to maintain your collections properly

I agree with the above, And the sobering thought is this,, for the kid's of today's age of teck toy's and gadgets, what will they do with sharp and pointy things they buy ?

[ariel]

Originally Posted by BluErf

Whoa, that's an old film! But to watch it, I've have to get a VHS player... Chucked the player about 10yrs ago...

Sorry to say that, but this remark just underscores my point: we live in an era of replaceable things and holding on old objects that have no immediate practical value may not be the smartest startegy from the financial point of view. The next generations will look at us with faint amusement...
Do not get me wrong: I am a collector and this is my passion. I collect for myself and not for my ungrateful grandchildren. I do not do it for investment purposes but just for my own joy, for the love of history and for the pure pleasure of posessing the most beautiful objects of art I know. Nothing will change my attitude.
It is just the times are a'changing....
Hope I am wrong!!!

[Emanuel]

I think some of you may have a flawed perception of kids. A 10-year old will not differentiate between the different styles of weapons and may prefer high-tech toys. A 12-18-year old will be attracted to swords due to media, as Valjhun said, but any interest will be fleeting as they have no money to sustain it. The 18+ year old has the ability to start collecting on his own and a good number of such youths will and do take up this activity. I got my first toy sword at 12. At 19 I got a modern repro of a medieval sword and a fanciful "kris sabre" unlike any true keris/kris. These got me wishing for the real thing and ebay became the incarnation of Santa. This wonderful forum and its members did the rest. "Kids" will always be attracted by the "real sword", and as soon as they'll have money and responsability, young people will start collecting. Education will ultimately refine this collection, and develop the love of history and culture.
Sword collecting may undergo waves of interest and deglect, but it will not die out. "Kids" may not know what to do with pointy weapons in this day of age, but young people do.

The legislation and registration business is indeed disconcerting but hopefully the powers that be will be made to realize their madness and cease this nonsense.

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by Manolo

The legislation and registration business is indeed disconcerting but hopefully the powers that be will be made to realize their madness and cease this nonsense.

Unfortunately, it is a rare government, indeed, that increases the freedoms enjoyed by its citizens.

[Valjhun]

Originally Posted by ariel

Sorry to say that, but this remark just underscores my point: we live in an era of replaceable things and holding on old objects that have no immediate practical value may not be the smartest startegy from the financial point of view. The next generations will look at us with faint amusement...
Do not get me wrong: I am a collector and this is my passion. I collect for myself and not for my ungrateful grandchildren. I do not do it for investment purposes but just for my own joy, for the love of history and for the pure pleasure of posessing the most beautiful objects of art I know. Nothing will change my attitude.
It is just the times are a'changing....
Hope I am wrong!!!

Ariel,

The practical value of our objects is home and office decoration. And there will always be people with our incomparable taste. Someone might like the top artist sculptures and painting, others like us, like beautiful historic objects. At the top level, just compare Picasso to the japanese smith Masamune. I guess that there is more people that love Picasso today, but tomorrow? Personally I fail to attribute any beauty to Picasso, but that's an opinion. The fact is that looking from the most logical mind, where do you find more importancy? In a katana that was forged by a THE smith, regarded as the best cutting device ever, wich spilled the blood of many courageus men, wich is per se an object of exrtreme beauty, or an outrageus ugly piece of canvas wich was made by an semi-crazy sifillistic idle man? Well that's an extrem, I'm only trying to say that a antique arm has no less practical value that other objects of art...

[Tim Simmons]

Another angle, if society is to assume civilisation, culture and indeed wealth continues on a upward curved graph line then with most of the artifacts we collect particularly the really "ethnic" stuff will become more and more objects from another world. People will never loose the fascination for these things. Just look at the demand for repro stuff of various qualities, often the same price and not infrequently a lot more than the real thing. Tim