Why do you have a sword?

Personally I don't actually buy a lot (just don't have that kind of money), but what I do buy is for a number of reasons. I study nihontō because it's a deep, rewarding subject with many complexities — cultural, historical, artistic, scientific, etc.

Foremost for me would probably be the artistic element. Why does anyone buy art? To appreciate it, study it, look on it, "possess" it in a fashion that goes beyond legal possession. The best swords (at least, those in the Japanese tradition) have workmanship that can only be brought out and enjoyed by playing with the light, with careful up-close examination. They reveal their best facets with time, and you can see new elements or qualities on a second, fifth, or twentieth viewing.

And re: the possessive aspect… collection is a funny thing. You start out feeling like if you had one good example you'd be set. But then you want one of each form. Or one from every time period. Or each major school. Or certain provinces. Or you start to specialize… you want to do a deep dive and be able to compare & contrast items down a specific lineage. Examples that illustrate different qualities, etc.… the list is potentially endless. In every collection field, there is the expression: "what is the right number of pieces? N+1, where N is the number of pieces you currently have." Of course this is a tongue-in-cheek bit of avarice, and wise collectors focus their efforts down to quality over quantity I think. BTW, a common variation of the expression is "N-1, where N is the point where your SO leaves you." ;-)

There's also an element of sharing, perhaps even showing off. ;-) It's one thing to talk about your hobby / passion. It feels a bit hollow however to then illustrate your conversation with… book photos? Internet pics? Meh. People find things that they can touch, pick up, move around to be much more "real" to them. One nihontō dealer has the slogan "feel the history" — corny or not, that feeling is pretty undeniable and has no substitute.

/r/SWORDS Thread