A Question on Collecting

Lee · 27th April 2016, 12:37 PM

A most interesting thread indeed!

Modern bladesmiths do produce some fantastic work, very often surpassing antiques in terms of functional capability as well as fit and finish. I surely like Kronckew's short sword pictured above; such high quality work surely qualifies as art and should appreciate or hold its value (though these should be secondary concerns to a collector).

I have never had a huge 'war chest' of cash to pursue the collecting hobby, though I have probably been more fortunate than many. In order not to be overwhelmed, I would apply blinders and focus on something specific, though the collection shows evidence of too many diversions from when I found quality where I was not looking. One of the things that attracts me to this field of collecting is the incredible ingenuity that craftsmen 'before science' applied to overcome their often inferior materials and lack of scientific understanding of what was really going on. The antiques also, for me, carry a cachet of being from and part of a time when edged weapons were truly culturally relevant.

But, in the end, one should collect what personally thrills one's self and not what others tell them that they should like. If such items become a good investment, that should be 'icing on the cake' for the collector's estate.

27th April 2016, 12:37 PM	#10
Lee EAAF Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Upstate New York, USA Posts: 937	My own impressions... A most interesting thread indeed! Modern bladesmiths do produce some fantastic work, very often surpassing antiques in terms of functional capability as well as fit and finish. I surely like Kronckew's short sword pictured above; such high quality work surely qualifies as art and should appreciate or hold its value (though these should be secondary concerns to a collector). I have never had a huge 'war chest' of cash to pursue the collecting hobby, though I have probably been more fortunate than many. In order not to be overwhelmed, I would apply blinders and focus on something specific, though the collection shows evidence of too many diversions from when I found quality where I was not looking. One of the things that attracts me to this field of collecting is the incredible ingenuity that craftsmen 'before science' applied to overcome their often inferior materials and lack of scientific understanding of what was really going on. The antiques also, for me, carry a cachet of being from and part of a time when edged weapons were truly culturally relevant. But, in the end, one should collect what *personally thrills one's self* and not what others tell them that they should like. If such items become a good investment, that should be 'icing on the cake' for the collector's estate.