Christmas Sword Buying Guide 2024

Our Christmas Sword Buying Guide is designed both for experienced collectors looking for the best bargain buys this Christmas season as well as people looking to buy a gift for someone they know loves swords, but has absolutely no idea what to get them or where to begin looking..

So with this in mind, let us begin with how to ensure if you buy a sword for someone else this Christmas, they actually appreciate it..

Quick Jump Menu

Buying Swords for someone else 101

Where to Buy the perfect sword?

The Biggest Mistake (and how to avoid it)

Last Minute Gift Ideas

The Top 10 Swords for Christmas This Year

Buying Swords for someone else 101

Probably the easiest way to buy a sword for Christmas that your friend or loved one will actually really appreciate is to see if they have created a wishlist..

Of course the difficulty can be actually FINDING their wish list - they could have put it on amazon, eBay, or an online store you have no idea about so the best option is check social media such as their Facebook or twitter accounts as many stores (ours included) allow wishlists created at the store to be posted to their social media account(s).

Now if you have done a bit of a search and come up with nothing (or you know your friend or loved one does not use social media) and they have not told you specifically what sword they would like, it gets a little bit harder..

The absolute worst things you can do is to either:

A) Buy them a sword they already have (easy to do if they have a large collection already) or

B) Buy them a sword they will not like.

The easiest way to avoid buying a sword they already have is to buy the latest product, in other words a model that has only just come out (if you know they have not purchased any swords recently, you are guaranteed to buy one they don't have).

Failing this, you should also consider buying a sword outside of what they usually collect.

For example, if they collect Katana, buying them a Chinese Dao would be a novel and appreciated gift. If they only have $50 swords bought at the mall or local Chinatown, splurging and buying well outside of their usual price range is another way to ensure they are absolutely delighted.

At the other end of the scale, you may wish to consider buying them some accessories, such a cleaning kit, sword stand (sword collectors can never have enough sword stands!).

Where to Buy the Perfect Sword?

Basically, to keep it simple, I recommend buying from one of three online sword stores, depending on when in the month you buy and who you are buying for/what you intend to buy.

The first place to check out would have to be the old standby, Kult of Athena

Not only do they have a massive selection of swords, but they make it easy by separating the wallhangers from the functional swords - just look for the "battle ready" logo and you pretty much can't go wrong.

Apart from the fact that they have such great pricing (few, if any, competitors come close) they also clearly label what is in stock and what is not, ship super fast, and inspect each sword before it goes out to minimize the odds of a Christmas day un-boxing disappointment.

And for those of you who aren't sure what to get that special someone, check out their NEW PRODUCTS SECTION as chances are the items there haven't been seen anywhere else yet and are very unlikely to already be in someone's collection already.

While Kult of Athena have something for everybody, at every possible price point, the second old standby would have to be Trueswords.com - especially for lovers of Japanese styled Katana.

They have been restocking like crazy the last few months and introduced literally hundreds of various grade carbon steel swords that you can find Here in their Hand made Swords Section

Again, whether or not an item is in stock is clearly marked and kept up to date, shipping is LIGHTNING fast and they also have many special offers coming and going as we get closer to the big day. Furthermore, the vast majority of the swords they have restocked are new products that have not been seen before and come in a wide variety of styles and colors - so there is most definitely something for every Katana enthusiast.

Finally, especially if you are looking for a unique item not available elsewhere, you should consider our own SBG sword store

We don't stock as many swords as KoA and Trueswords but we only sell 100% proven quality, real swords so you don't have to worry about sorting out the jewels from the junk - as we have already done it for you (in our own words "if we would not buy it for ourselves, you will not find it here").

Additionally, we have MANY SBG EXCLUSIVE offers in the store - all of which are best of breed and simply not available anywhere else..

Further down in this article is our list of the top 10 swords that are the most popular, best quality and ship the fastest from our store - in other words, the perfect swords for this years holiday season sword shopping..

The BIGGEST Mistake
(and how to avoid it..)

If it is a Gift for yourself, then it's no big deal - but if you are buying swords for someone else, the biggest mistake is to leave it until the last minute and count on overnight shipping to save you..

Why?

Well, for a start - especially at busy times of the year like Christmas, the number of parcels flying around all over the place dramatically increase the chances of the sword being lost in transit, damaged or arriving late..

This is especially true with international shipments, delays at customs, who are overwhelmed - could easily cause a sword to arrive in New Years rather than Christmas, and the chances of damaged items skyrockets..

Secondly, many items start to sell out as the holiday season approaches, and if you leave it too late you could easily end up missing out..

The best time to order is NOW - get it in early, take advantage of any sales you can - but for US orders you would not want to leave it any later than the 8th of December.. After this date, pretty much all bets are off..

However another reason to get in early is, what happens if the sword is D.O.A. or has a quality issue that you weren't expecting? With no time to arrange a return, you could well end up getting a lemon - which is all the more reason to only buy from vendors and brands known for consistently good QC. You can find a list of such vendors right here in our Sword Buyers Directory

Last Minute Gift Ideas..

What can you do if, at the last minute, you realize that you have forgotten that someone special who happens to be a sword lover? We don't recommend placing an expensive last minute rush ship order - chances are it will get mixed up, delayed or destroyed. Instead, how about considering some Gift Certificates so that the recipient can buy a sword of THEIR choice at THEIR pace!

Indeed, Gift Certificates are a great and inexpensive way to ensure a perfect outcome and send the perfect gift to be shipped at a safer, more leisurely pace.

Most sword stores offer them, all of our recommended vendors do - and can even be purchased right on the day itself so you don't need to plan ahead..

Whichever way you choose, happy sword shopping - I hope this brief guide has been of some help to make Christmas sword buying easy and fun instead of frustrating and annoying!

The Top 10 Swords for Christmas 2022

Below is our list for the top 10 sword recommendations for Christmas this year. All of these swords are in stock, top quality and ship fast - making buying the best swords for Christmas super easy.

At the top end, prices do go up, but so does the rarity and quality..

A true sword collectors dream list..

And finally, our top recommendation..

Our Hot Specials Page

For some real bargains check out our HOT SPECIALS section. As we get closer to Christmas, we will be adding new items and special offers so with fast shipping so you grab the best bargain buys guaranteed to make this years Christmas a happy one indeed..

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