DIFFERENT LEVELS OF COLLECTING

[Rich]

Good commentary. I have one rule for collecting (I collect all sorts of
sharp pointy things :-) - that is: collect what you like, but like what
you collect! I've always found researching and knowing something of
the history, culture, etc always enhances my enjoyment of the piece.

Rich (aka old puukkophile)

The Japanese Sword Index
http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/nihonto.htm

[Robert]

Vandoo, Excellent post. I fall into the lowest end of the food chain myself. I will never have the finances to travel to the countries whose weapons I love so much and have often had to make a choice of spending more than I can in reality afford to buy something that I really like or waiting for something more reasonable to come my way. Most of the time I depend on other forum members to help me to identify my purchases and to my thinking this is not an unacceptable practice. Being of limited mobility and living in the country with little but the Internet to help me in my research makes thing difficult to say the least. I've seen swords on this forum that I would love to have but at the same time would not trade my humble collection for them. All I can say is if I can offer any help or information to anyone at any time I am more than glad to do so. The one thing that I do not and never will understand is the withholding of knowledge for ANY reason. My best wishes to all in their pursuit of knowledge, collecting and happiness.

Robert

[Tim Simmons]

Also living off an oily rag. One can get obsessed with hunting for things. Now I often feel it is not worth having unless I can find it below the general price, simple or grand. But I did live in Scotland. None of those jokes- How do you cure a Scotsman of sea sickness? - put a penny in his mouth. Scots are very generous people.

[Spunjer]

One can get obsessed with hunting for things...

i think you nailed this right on the head, tim. i must admit that when i first started collecting, i was going thru phases:

phase 1- i see a sword on ebay

pahse 2- i bid on it, so subconsciously or conciously, i feel like it's mine already

phase 3- i think about it for days, even counting down when the bid is gonna be up.

phase 4- in the final minutes, if i'm home, the F5 button (refresh) in my pc becomes my friend

phase 6- i win the sword. it's a rush!

phase 7- now it's the waiting game until i get it. this is the longest week ever.

phase 8- mailman comes. it's christmas! i literally rip the package. i dote on it for a day or two.

phase 9- then i wrap it up in a towel and store it.

phase 10- back to ebay.

[Flavio]

Hey Spunjer, it's the same for me!!!! Maybe this is a true pathology

[Ann Feuerbach]

Nice post. I am another category...I borrow priceless objects from museums and collectors, learn about every millimeter of the object, I know the craftsmen, the materials, the stages it went through, sometimes I loving need to clean it and do things to protect it for the future, spend hundreds of hours in an intimate setting, I know more about it than my friends and relatives (sad to say)...alas then I have to give them back! Heart breaking when you know something so well and you never know if you will see your "old friends" again.

[Lew]

Originally Posted by Spunjer

i think you nailed this right on the head, tim. i must admit that when i first started collecting, i was going thru phases:

phase 1- i see a sword on ebay

pahse 2- i bid on it, so subconsciously or conciously, i feel like it's mine already

phase 3- i think about it for days, even counting down when the bid is gonna be up.

phase 4- in the final minutes, if i'm home, the F5 button (refresh) in my pc becomes my friend

phase 6- i win the sword. it's a rush!

phase 7- now it's the waiting game until i get it. this is the longest week ever.

phase 8- mailman comes. it's christmas! i literally rip the package. i dote on it for a day or two.

phase 9- then i wrap it up in a towel and store it.

phase 10- back to ebay.

Spunjer

I am a lot like you SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE!

I also like Tim try and find the bargains but now and then I will spring for the big buck item If you guys ever visit you will be able to peg my house easily
it's the one with all the swords bulging out the front window . So many weapons to collect and no more space to store them

Lew

[Spunjer]

nothing wrong with being like me, bro. you don't don't need any help. you're alright, lol.

all joking aside, tho, collecting these swords is the fun part part; knowing that they're home is the satisfying part...

[spiral]

Well I try for top catogary collection, within a given sector., { 90% of my collection are kukri} with as many at budget prices as possoible, but occasional real push the boat out jobs, then on live on rice for a month.


But its worked. Research & knowledge can sometimes overcome wealth, within particular feilds, except when the sellers & dealers realy knows exactly what there selling{fairly rare with kukri.} or at big auction houses where the rich nearly always win, whether they know exactly what an item is or not.

When I was training as a counselor , i came across a paper , where the mostly male collecting insticnt was described as a perversion of our original daily or weekly stone age hunting instinct, where one goes out to look for ones prey, finds it, tracks it, move in for the kill, then takes it home to both show are capabilities & ability to provide as well as providing for our family/tribe.

For me, I can see & feel that in my collecting as well.

Seeing what some of you say about the stages , seems like whover wrote that paper , & peggid it exactly.

Wish I could recall who wrote it.

Spiral

[katana]

Originally Posted by spiral

where the mostly male collecting insticnt was described as a perversion of our original daily or weekly stone age hunting instinct, where one goes out to look for ones prey, finds it, tracks it, move in for the kill, then takes it home to both show are capabilities & ability to provide as well as providing for our family/tribe.

For me, I can see & feel that in my collecting as well.

Spiral

BANG ON , Spiral......thats it in a nut-shell

[Dajak]

Hi Vandoo the best things I did always get not from ebay not from an gallery
but from old time collectors

There is no way that it is a big advantage if you have more money

KNOWLEDGE AND THE WILL TO SEARCH FLEAMARKET ETC is in most ways more important than money

The knowledge to examing a piece on authentic age is very important
also connections so studying is an advantage just that you don t pay to much money for an piece the quality on ebay at the moment is bad on indonesian weapons so they put on not so old stuff and make this standard
a very bad thing but happend also with african stuff objects etc.


I did try sometimes to buy an object offering a lot off money but the owner would not sell it
and more in for an trade so I always buy old nice things for a possible trade.

The most Tribal Art dealers are the last possibility to buy something in my
opinion but there always a few you can buy stuff for an normal price
from the whole world I just need one hand to count them

It is also like this philipine weapons you find them the most in the US

But Indonesian you find in the Netherlands

North Borneo and Indian stuff in England

Regards Ben

PS Japanese stuff for me also to expensive

[katana]

Well Tim, Lew, Spunjer and Flavio, we all seem to have a very similar methodology when seeking new acquisitions ...... but it does tend to be addictive.........should we get psychological help