Quote Originally Posted by Lachlan09 View Post
Are Andrea Ferrera blades still made today ?

One type of sword made today which definitely would be an investment, an instant classic, would be a Japanese shinsakuto katana, made by a master craftsman in the traditional way. Right from the lengthy process of smelting of those precious nuggets into tamahagane and nabe-gane steel in a special tatara clay furnace and the Shinto priest’s blessings, to merging the hard and soft steels and forging the various layers, painting the edge in a clay coating and quenching to leave the distinct wavy hamon on the hardened edge and getting that curve. Weeks of polishing and sharpening, then mounting in an exquisite tsuka handle, menuki ornaments, habaki lock and tsuba guard and saya/jindachi-zukuri scabbard.

Many thousands of dollars and well beyond my price range !!

I can only afford the cheap stainless steel copies from e-bay !
Seems like I've read that such swords are not allowed to be sold outside of Japan, as they are considered national treasures or some such.

Anyways, if I had multiple thousands of dollars to spend on a sword, it would definitely be an original, historic piece. I have spent in the $700-$1500 range for reproduction blades and guns from well-regarded modern makers, and they'll hold their value no problem, but to spend beyond that I'd be looking at antiques...!