In the last two decades the biggest change in the modern sword market has been how the internet and its users have come to be the marketplace. Its where customers gain knowledge about our products and services, where we sell most of our items and the space where we all come together as a community. Part of this dynamic virtual space are folks who have shared their experiences with products and their use via posts, blogs and videos.
As makers we produce these same types of content to educate and introduce our items, but by far the most popular videos are the independent reviewers and some of the history/use/martial arts content associated with swords and the medieval period. This has benefited us all and grown the sword world in a positive way.
In our Whiskey and Weapons session today Craig and Nathan dive into how this has enhanced and changed the market for replica swords. We talk about some of the challenges that reviewers may have and how the perspective of the customer can change over time. The community of all of us makers/users/reviewers/consumers benefit greatly from the amount of great content and quality of that material available today. It was not so long ago where much of this info was just not available in any format. (Yes kids at a point interlibrary loans where a big deal to being a scholar of the sword).
From the humble beginning of a few folks posting unboxing videos we have come to today where a vast array of subjects and viewpoints to follow concerning swords is always available. It is something we have watched evolve and change over the years. We see how the customer perceives swords and the quality of information customers have change and in most cases improve.
So we hope you have a dram of your favorite beverage for ruminating and a comfortable chair as we chat about some of our favorite reviewers and the view point of some makers in this glorious time to be interested in swords.
if you made it to the end of the video here is a McBane link for you :-)
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is Vice President of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography. He has given presentations on historical arms at events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985