Hi Taylor,
The sharkskin doesn't look as nice beacuse it's undyed, natural skin, so there are variations in color and such. The rayskin has been dyed black, so color is nice and even. I actually prefer undyed rayskin and sharkskin, as I like all the variation in color and (sometimes) texture.

Hey, I note that you live in Oz: the sharkskin covered grip is Australian Tiger Shark.

--ElJay

I have a custom piece in the planning stages that I have been quoted as being about USD$1000.00, but I am aware that after all things told, it will cost a bit more... After that I am seriously looking at a Gustav Vasa Rapier... man that weapon is a thing of beauty... :D
The Kevin Cashen piece I have coming up in about... oh 3-4 years will be my most expensive sword.

I guess it would be hard to tell by the out lay of money I have spent in the last 7 months, but this was my self initiation into the world of sword and edged weaponry collecting hobby. I suddenly realized upon knowing there were high quality swords and weapons available and this awoke something in me I never new was there. So now here I am at 48 years of age, having realized a passion for something that is far more powerful and deep than any interest before in my life.

This happened at a time when a few extra thousand came my way and how fortunate that was for me. I am not a person who has a lot of money, in fact extra money to spend on swords, medieval weapons and books of the topic, does not come easily. But this is so important to me that I have sacrificed other interests, little luxuries like eating at restaurants, going to movies, or whatever else I have to skimp back on to avail myself the money to be able to buy high quality production swords. I simply cannot afford high quality custom swords, but I do buy the very best I can possibly afford and I deny myself many things to be able to buy high quality production swords from Arms & Armor and Albion Swords. People who know me may think I am nuts, but that does not matter to me, the swords by these two companies are worth every dime I spend on them and to me it is money very well spent. Yes, in reality they are a bit out of my economic situation, but I do what I have to do to make it possible to be able to buy them because I love them that much!
Nor do I regret one dime that I have spent, even though I did start out with a buying frenzy, every item I bought was well thought out and it was not a pace I intended to keep up, it was an initial investment to build myself a base to work from and now I have enough swords, weapons and books to keep me happy as I take the financial and selection decision time to the growth of my collection.

So even though it is pushing the limits on my financial situation causing me to have to sacrifice other things, it is very much worth it to me to buy these high quality production pieces and I am the happiest I have ever been in any hobby or interest in my life!

Sincerely,

Bob

I wonder why you resurrected a poll taken in September, 2003 in the early days of this website? It might be interesting to run it again.

The next sword I'm considering is either the Reeve or the Ritter. I'm torn between them, although at this point, I'm leaning a bit more towards the Reeve. I'm also considering the Liechtenauer, but that's taken the back seat due to the limited number of Reeves and Ritters available. Hopefully, someone will put down an order for the Chieftain as a graduation gift. :D

My next sword are The Dane from Albion I made the decision when I was serving in Iraq last year.
The reservation took place not long after i came home with my hard earned cash, and now I starting to getting exited on how the final model will come out.

Best regards from a Dane
Klaus jessen

Oh I forgot to mention my next sword and the price point. It's the Albion Vassal at $980.00 which I've already put a down payment for it thru www.kultofathena.com since they were among the first to put an order in for it and the store is only 17 miles from my house. This will be my first Albion, I have 7 swords and several other weapons from Arms & Armor.

There are a few other Albions that are calling me too.

Bob

My next sword is probably going to be the Laird. This one has been calling to me since I first discovered the Albion website last summer. My first Albion I wanted something from the time period of my interest, so I went with the Gaddhjalt. My next sword I will be going for quick handling, and looks, looks, looks. Other swords on my list are the Arms & Armor English Longsword, the Crecy, the Caithness, the Fiore, and the Kern, but I think it will be the Laird next. So $680 dollars is the ballpark figure. I've also thought about joining the Partick Barta waiting list, that could really be a slippery slope on my checking account :eek:

Kenton

If Albion had a buy six swords in 24 months and get the seventh free, or even if they had a buy 6 swords in 12 months get the seventh free and a buy six swords in 24 months and get the seventh at 40% or something like that, then I might "bite". But there is no way I could possibly buy six Albion swords in 12 months and still be alive for the seventh, as my wife would "kill" me! :lol:
Besides, I could not do it any way, not even on the 24 month scenario, to be honest there are still quite a few things I want to acquire from Arms & Armor. But to keep things in their proper perspective, I admire both these companies very much indeed, they are both 1st class all the way! Quite frankly I am "grateful" to these two companies because each of them are of the finest quality at very fair prices when you consider the caliber of their products and many of us are willing to sacrifice a lot of things in life for the opportunity to own fine swords. If it were not for Arms & Armor and Albion Swords then we the buyers would have two choices, buy the midrange quality swords that are mass produced or save up big bucks and commision one of the very highly skilled and extremely admired swordsmiths for a very fine custom sword.
Albion and Arms & Armor fills the gap between these two choices and I appreciate them to no end, because the other alternative would be to buy swords from one of the companies in Europe, which of course are very fine sword makers.
Here I am, very lucky to have Albion and Arms & Armor close enough that it only takes 2 days for UPS to get my sword to me. I could go on and on writing how highly I admire these sword companies but I will end here as I think I have thoroughly expressed my great pleasure with both Arms & Armor and Albion Swords :!:

One Very Happy Customer!

Bob

After buying several swords over the net and not bonding with any I will likely travel to test out my next sword. Las Vegas Blade Show, or the big SCA event in Arazona or such. Got a heap of iron I now need to sell.

Interesting poll....What's the price point of your next intended sword purchase?

In 2006, I will be picking up a ATRIM 1211 ($300), a custom tanto will hopefully be finished (over $1K) and a custom wakizashi (over $2K). Also, I have started my custom katana project (over $3K).

Sold most of my production pieces to help pay for these items. With the help of ebay, the funding should be there for the custom pieces. Of course, without the support/comfort from my better half, this would not be possible. :cool:

Jeff ;)

Well, I have two swords to purchase yet this year, the Arms & Armor "Highland Claymore" which is $755.00 but mine might run into a bit more money because instead of the 40 1/4 inch blade, I want a 44" or 45" blade on it and perhaps a tad bit wider at the hilt on the blade. The other sword I will purchase this year is the Albion "Vassal" which is $1,000.00.

I have the major "Hots" for both these swords and each of them will be the first of their type in my collection. I have no Scottish sword and the Claymore will be my "Beast", and I've been wanting a Falchion for a long time and the Vassal will be my "Beauty". Yes, the title of this forthcoming acquisition is "Beauty and the Beast"! :lol:

Sword Salute to All myArmoury Buddies!

Bob

One of the most interesting parts of this thread, has been that only 115 people responded to the survey. Surprising the response was so very small. Talk about a niche.

Yes Joe it does seem rather odd.

Bob

My sword purchases will continue to focus on swords I can legally use on my friends, i.e. practice weapons. I'd love to spend more on swords to hang on the wall or test cut with, but what I really need is swords I can hit people with :D

I would be happy to spend more for a better practice weapon, but I'm not overly keen on spending more for a prettier practice weapon.