Taste and Collection

[Emanuel]

Originally Posted by Iain

I've always had the bug for military history. Swords are also of course every boy's dream. I started off in my teens with the European Medieval scene - of course antiques are bit out of the question here, so I was into reproductions and the odd bit of sparring. But I noticed I had a tendency to just admire the swords hanging on the wall.

Then I started to realize that for the money I was dumping inside reproductions I could have some reasonably nice originals from different parts of the world.

Pretty much how I got started I always got the question "Are those real swords?" I didn't know anything about SLOs and the real deal then, but it got me curious. Then came ebay and my first KLO (keris-like object) a relatively costly embarrassment but a great lesson. That led me here and to a wonderful member here who took the time to teach me about real keris. Then the forum took over and the rest is history

I have a great interest in history and art. Weapon study covers both interests. Then the aesthetic and technological aspects took over, leading me to blacksmithing...that's burgeoning nicely now. I'm a generalist in most things so my collecting tastes are quite broad...mostly ethnographic non-industrial manufacture.

I foresee many years ahead of this hobby...if all goes well...