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John Lindsey
24th May 2005, 05:11
I was thinking of attending a sword show this year, but after a quick web search, it became apparent that there are very few shows left at all. The big shows in Florida, San Fran, etc are still around, but there used to be a lot more shows around the country. Texas used to have the Houston and San Antonio shows.

Are we seeing a decrease in popularity with the public? I wonder what effect the new swords like Bugei, and Chen have had, possibly resulting in martial artists seeking quality swords not attending shows to buy the low end blades?

There still seems to be the inner circle of hardcore collectors, many of whom are getting old now. Is there any influx of new blood into the hobby? I know that I have not been too active over the past 5 years, and I think one reason is that I don’t collect swords, and I while I respect Japanese blades as art, it is not a major part of my life.

Also, I wonder what role Ebay and the internet have had on sword shows.

Maro
24th May 2005, 07:48
They could come to Australia? I'm not sure if I've seen a blade show advertised here.

Any Aussies can correct me.

Jeff Larsen
24th May 2005, 13:16
Hi John,

There is a huge blade show in Atlanta, Georgia, June 3-5, 2005. Here is the link to what's there:


http://www.collect.com/krause/shows.asp?catalog_name=Krause&category_name=Blade+Show&showid=BSICF&Page=1

June 3-5 Atlanta, GA 24th Annual BLADE Show & International Cutlery Fair, Cobb Galleria Centre, I-285 & US 41, one exit off I-75 across from the Cumberland Mall, adjacent to the Renaissance Waverly Hotel. The world's largest combined show of handmade, antique & factory knives. Over 560 tables and 110 factory booths. Join the world's greatest national and international knifemakers, cutlery manufacturers, collectors, collections and knife lovers. Site of the Blade Magazine 2005 Knife-Of-The-Year Awards for factory knives, points for the 2005 BLADEhandmade» Awards, Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame induction & much more. Site of the annual ABS meeting and special Knifemakers' Guild section. Seminars include ABS World Championship Cutting Competition and forging demos, how to collect, how to make, the latest materials, etc.

Have fun and welcome back. :)

Jeff




I was thinking of attending a sword show this year, but after a quick web search, it became apparent that there are very few shows left at all. The big shows in Florida, San Fran, etc are still around, but there used to be a lot more shows around the country. Texas used to have the Houston and San Antonio shows.

Are we seeing a decrease in popularity with the public? I wonder what effect the new swords like Bugei, and Chen have had, possibly resulting in martial artists seeking quality swords not attending shows to buy the low end blades?

There still seems to be the inner circle of hardcore collectors, many of whom are getting old now. Is there any influx of new blood into the hobby? I know that I have not been too active over the past 5 years, and I think one reason is that I don’t collect swords, and I while I respect Japanese blades as art, it is not a major part of my life.

Also, I wonder what role Ebay and the internet have had on sword shows.

EldritchKnight
24th May 2005, 14:14
Ooh. That's not too far away from me. Thanks for the heads up, Jeff.

pgsmith
24th May 2005, 17:41
Hey John,
I think there has been an increase, not a decrease in popularity. However, times have changed. All of the older hard-core collectors started back when collecting was an obscure hobby. They would go around and find swords at flea markets and garage sales. Those days are long gone now. Also, information was a lot harder to obtain back then. Shows were an opportunity for all of these collectors to talk to each other about what they had managed to find lately. Now, they don't really have anything to talk about since interesting finds are so very infrequent. If someone does happen to stumble across something interesting, it's easy to send an email with pictures. Parts and supplies that you used to have to wait to get at a show can now be ordered on-line. You don't have to wait to see the polisher at the show to give him your sword and explain what you want. There just isn't enough reason these days to go to the trouble and expense of putting on a show.
Personally, I miss them. Not enough to organize one though! :)

Jeff Larsen
25th May 2005, 13:19
HI Jason,

Sure, no problem. I wished that I had extra money so I could go there and be "like a kid in a candy store."

Have fun there,

Jeff