Knife enthusiasts don’t need much of a push to step over the boundary between user and collector. Any number of things could catch the eye — a maker’s name and a good price, or a new approach you haven’t seen before. You get intrigued and add a knife to your assortment. Take a martial arts class, and suddenly you have an urge to acquire weapons — new interests generate new needs.
Most of us collect accidentally, but Collectors do this systematically, acquiring information on the history of both manufacturers and models and searching out either antique bargains or modern good investments. Gauging potential worth is a real art, with some pieces gaining value and some fading out of favor. Considering that baseball cards and comic books now bring hundreds of dollars in spite of an original value of ten cents or less it’s interesting to think about the possible price of today’s limited edition fantasy swords a century from now. Sometimes it’s all about finding the right piece, and sometimes it’s just a matter of holding on to what you have.
Whether you’re interested in the preservation of real history or in owning the swords representing Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings fantasy realm, there’s a blade to match your fancy. The new concepts that constantly flow into the marketplace are a rich source of unique knives and weapons we may not see again. Stuck away in an attic generations after we’re gone, any one of them could be someone’s million dollar find.
Puma has such a reputation for quality and persistent value that some collectors own hundreds. The Puma Wapiti is a fine knife with great potential.
For nostalgic reasons as well as because this is an excellent replica sword in terms of worksmanship consider the Jo Shelby Saber, a piece of nearly forgotten history.
No one has time to learn every weapon in the Shaolin arsenal, so those who train in those arts become collectors of the weapons we don’t know. The combat version of the Shaolin Monk’s Spade is a fine example from that unusual tradition.
