Are you a collector or accumulator?

[sanjuro]

Franco.

 

I can live (or rather die) with the idea of being totally mu-to when my corporeal form ceases to be part of my existence.The dead do not love art nor do they covet it. (An assumption on my part). Sentience however, requires stimulation. I cannot imagine not having a sword or two to care for and admire whilst I still have an appreciation of material and artistic objects.

 

There was a time I owned a score of swords of various qualities. Since reason has now prevailed, I own a mere select seven, none of which I intend to part with unless the security I have long laboured to provide for myself is stripped away from me. This surely is a modest collection and not the hoard of an accumulator. Yet still I confess, I continue to struggle with the desire to own the best quality blades. Life is cruel in as much as it has not furnished me with unlimited funds. Otherwise and I would be an accumulator in the grandest style. :D

[sturmbichon]

I always start as a collector, buying one or two, then get into accumulating.

I started my K98 bayonet collection with buying one, to match with my k98 rifle, now I have over 350 bayonets...

I started my sword collection february 2010, (always wanted one since i was kid), but never dared to buy any, cause in France, the only market is ebay....

bought several books before, then bought my first... it was a nice one, so, keep on buying... Now I have 8. And knowing myself well, it's not going to stop at 8....

[Eric H]

cause in France, the only market is ebay....

 

However there are dealers, shops:

 

Espace 4....http://espace4.com/

 

Nihon Antiquaire....http://www.nihonantiquaire.com/g2zmenu.php?idPage=17

 

Japon Antique

Objets D'Arts Du Japon-Armes, Armures

Louvres des Antiquaires 75001 Paris

Tel:01-42-61-56-88

 

Eric

[sturmbichon]

cause in France, the only market is ebay....

 

However there are dealers, shops:

 

Espace 4....http://espace4.com/

 

Nihon Antiquaire....http://www.nihonantiquaire.com/g2zmenu.php?idPage=17

 

Japon Antique

Objets D'Arts Du Japon-Armes, Armures

Louvres des Antiquaires 75001 Paris

Tel:01-42-61-56-88

 

Eric

 

Not to offend anyone, but this kind of shop is far from proposing the same ratio of quality/price than we can find in the US market.

France never had any soldier fighting in the pacific, so there is ZERO vet bring back sword in France.

French did NOT had the same mentality as preserving military objects ater the war, anything military was not a collector, but a tool to be used. Unlike in the US where all thoses flags/helmets/daggers/swords.... end up in closets an were preserved as souvenirs and trophy's.

I have an almost complete K98 bayonet collection. Probably 330 comes from show in the USA or ebay.us , and 20 from french (or belgian or german) shows or web. Even i saw hundreds of them for sale in France (Be, Ge), they are mostly crap and maybe 10% of them are worth collecting. At best.

I've been in several SOS, probably over 50% of what I saw was worth collecting.

 

For swords in even simplier. What you see in shows in FR, BE, GE is either fakes or trash sold as rare nihonto and tagged accordingly.

Or you go to high end antiques shops...thoses shops simply buy on overseas website or collections, bring back to France, and add their premium on the sale tag.

 

What I learnt from all thoses years of collecting: buy from the country it was made in, or from the country it was brung back as souvenir. So for swords.... USA, UK, AUS or Japan !

[Lee Bray]

Well, if you think France is bad, come live in Hong Kong.

[sturmbichon]

Something I forgot to add... and several collectors feel the same.

Here, I hope to offend the dealers a bit, and hope they'll change...

 

when you enter thoses french shops, you don't feel welcome.

If you don't look like someone that is about to spend couple grands, or you are not an already good and wealthy customer, they have no interest in you, and show it. The nastiest answer I ever had from the one in the louvres, 10years ago or so, was "i don't have anything that would suit you" when I asked about the price of a sword in their window, since nothing had a price tag at that time. was it too hard to say 1000, 2000, even 10000 and i would have say "thank you"...

 

In USA, in Japan, and I'm sure in UK, I talked to several dealers, entered several shops, and have always been welcome. Best ! In Tokyo, the owner of Japan Swords show me the entire collection for more than 20 minutes, and I didn't buy anything ! I just came to ask if he can rewrap a tsuka.

 

So, I'll keep buying in USA, UK and Japan, and ignore local market, as most of my collector buddies do.

[Eric H]

Arnaud, Lee, for the informations...but now let's go back to the topic.

Eric

[nagamaki - Franco]

This surely is a modest collection and not the hoard of an accumulator. Yet still I confess, I continue to struggle with the desire

 

Hi Keith,

 

hmm, a mere select seven, modest collection , I don't know ? The more I mull over the definitions of 'collector' and 'accumulator' the more I'm convinced that 'a collector of even one sword' is in fact an 'accumulator in disguise' , which leaves a collection of seven in serious trouble

 

In the end this all doesn't matter, as "its the sword(s) that find the owner", taking all control out of our hands.

[sanjuro]

Alas Franco, I take no solace from your words, but see in them only the bitter truth. Verily, I am lost.....Surrender hope all ye who enter here.