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Sword Buyers Digest - May Edition 2015
May 01, 2015
Hey,

Slightly later and lighter than usual, but better late than never.

And as you will soon see if you keep reading, there is good reason for the slight delay..



CONTENTS

1. From the Desk of Paul Southren

2. Video of the Month

3. Best Forum Posts

4. Evolution of the Sword

From The Desk of Paul Southren

This is going to be a much "lighter" edition of the Sword Buyers Digest than usual. Partly due to time constraints - as April was tax time, but also because the Sword Buyers Digest has become a bit of a victim of its own popularity.

As it stands, we currently have 14,536 subscribers - and while sending emails to newsletter subscribers doesn't cost anywhere near as much as mailing a physical newsletter at the average cost of sending an email is 2 cents per email, with so many subscribers, the cost of sending the newsletter is starting to add up..

Currently, we don't offer advertising to our list.

Sure, we sometimes link to specials offered at the SBG Sword Store if we think what we have during a given month will be of interest to subscribers - and this month is no exception - but it's the smallest part of the digest.

Our focus has always been to provide a lighthearted overview of the latest sword news, movies, best forum posts, videos - well, you know the drill (if you don't know or just want a refresher, every back issue of the digest since it started way back in December 2005 is available online here). As such, it is getting expensive to continue the current format - and while we will be retooling over the months ahead, for the time being to be able to keep going as we always have done, we are asking for your direct support.

So here is the pitch - if you have enjoyed the digest over the years and want to help us keep going and expanding into the future, now is your chance to offer your support with a "tip". Offer as much or as little as you can, we will use the money raised to purchase mailing credits and any extra will be added to a prize pool for future issues.

You can paypal us directly to our paypal account email address: paul@sword-buyers-guide.com

Or if you don't have a paypal account, we have added a donation button to the top of the sword-buyers-digest page here:

Click here to make a donation

Additionally, if you have an existing or budding sword business and wish to advertise with us, please contact me directly via the email address above and we can discuss your needs. As long as you or your business has a good reputation in the sword collecting community and your ad will not distract from the general feel of the newsletter, we will consider any and all proposals.

Thanks in advance for your support. While this issue will be a little lighter than usual, I now return you to your regular programming!

Video of the Month

I will admit it, when I have a little free time I sometimes indulge in a video game now and again. And predictably, my favorite games are about or heavily feature (you guessed it) swords.

My personal favorite game is without a doubt Mount and Blade. But here's one of interest that is also quite old school and recommended by our friend Skallagrim as the most realistic sword fighting game he has seen to date.

Will definitely have to check it out. And even if video games are not your thing, be sure to check out Skall's youtube channel, it is frequently updated and well worth a look!



Best Forum Posts


SBG forum: Katana made in Japan (and fakes)
How much do they cost, what to expect and some scams exposed. I even decided to add my $0.02 and we exposed a few nasty practices…

SBG forum: Suggestions for low cost medieval swords
Another thread I could not resist joining, what would be the best buy for a medieval sword at under the $350 price point.

SBG forum: Get your Orc on!
A cool new Orc inspired fantasy piece by Tinker Pearce! Great to see him back making some swords again.

SBG forum: Bottle into the bottle cut? What the..?
ometimes weird things happen when you cut water filled bottles. This is one of the weirdest..!

Evolution of the Sword


I sometimes wonder what swords would look like if they were still considered to be a "valid" weapon of war.

In some ways, it could be argued that the Machete is the most recent evolution of the sword. It is tough, multipurpose and modern. So a Machete designed with combat in mind is one path the sword may/has taken. But the most recent sword historically in use on the battlefield was the Saber, and while originally designed to be used on horseback, the curved one handed blade is an ideal cutter on foot as well and extremely versatile.

Well, we need wonder no longer - as there are three swords brought to life my Cold Steel that could well be regarded as very modern, functional designs leveraged from tried and tested battlefield swords that have all seen action in one way or another in the last 150 odd years..

You can see these new designs, from the New Chaos Kurkri, Thompson Saber, Chinese Machete and more on the front page of the SBG Sword Store. And check out our most recent post discussing the concept further On the store blog In the meantime..

Check them out at the SBG-Sword-Store here


Well, that's it for this issue..! With your kind support, the next issue will be bigger, better and with new articles and additions.

Until then, stay safe and happy swordening!


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