|
Post by rusanstar on Nov 2, 2023 17:57:44 GMT
To shinycanoe
As you know only few appreciate this hobby. Sword collecting Or Medieval, renaissance fencing is very minor hobby. that's why They don't need to enlarge their capacit
|
|
|
Post by fester on Nov 2, 2023 18:04:12 GMT
To shinycanoe As you know only few appreciate this hobby. Sword collecting Or Medieval, renaissance fencing is very minor hobby. that's why They don't need to enlarge their capacit But apparently it is a hobby that has grown considerable over the past few years. In 2014 I only had to wait a little over 2 months to get an Albion sword. Now it is taking 22-24 months which means their volume has increased considerably in the past few years. There are alot more videos of people into collecting swords, etc. Do not know why the trend is increasing but it might still be a minor hobby but it is much larger than it has been in the past. Look at all the new vendors out selling swords. It is a booming business apparently.
|
|
|
Post by shinycanoe on Nov 2, 2023 18:34:50 GMT
To shinycanoe As you know only few appreciate this hobby. Sword collecting Or Medieval, renaissance fencing is very minor hobby. that's why They don't need to enlarge their capacit I agree, and that would be a reason not to increase production capacity. Expanding capacity only to have oversupply would be counterproductive. I am one of the people new to this hobby, I have not been participating long enough to know if these increases in wait times are a result increased interest and demand, or if we're still experiencing the supply shocks that started in 2020. But looking around I see that producers of high end production model (setting aside custom work) swords and scabbards are all severely backlogged. So is this an underserved market or will things return to shorter wait times without increased production?
|
|
Zen_Hydra
Moderator
Born with a heart full of neutrality
Posts: 2,631
|
Post by Zen_Hydra on Nov 2, 2023 19:15:51 GMT
As mentioned above, the market for Medieval European sword reproductions is quite limited, and the market for high-end, well researched, and meticulously executed swords is even smaller.
Albion has worked hard to develop their product, their process, and reputation. If I recall correctly, the Albion team has lost at least a couple people who died over the last few years, and let's not forget that we are talking about a team of skilled laborers and artisans. There is a lot of work which goes into making these swords, and you can't just bring in new staff and train them overnight to fill a now absent role. Albion takes a lot of pride in producing a high quality product, and they certainly don't want to damage their hard earned reputation for excellence by churning out poorly executed swords just to burn through their backlog of orders.
The increased prices may enable Albion to take on additional staff and increase their output capacity. What's unclear to me is what the forecast is for the high-end sword market. All I have is my narrow slice of anecdote via various social media sword-enthusiast communities. To my eyes, the hobby seems to be less active than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. It may still be recovering, and again I am no market analyst with some sort of special insight, but there seem to be fewer voices and a lot less enthusiasm in our post-COVID world. Hopefully, I'm wrong and just not connected to the right social media groups. I guess we'll just have to see how things play out.
If raising their prices allows Albion to continue making products that we love for many years to come, I am happy to pay it.
|
|
|
Post by alientude on Nov 2, 2023 19:20:03 GMT
I think there might be a misconception on the size of Albion. It's less than 10 people from what I understand. I think the amount they produce is astounding considering that. It's also important to realize they may not want to grow bigger. Not every company focuses on growth.
As for competitors, there are some - Valiant Armoury has really been upping their game recently. The big problem for them is getting their brand out there. When I was at Combat Con this year, the first that VA attended, I heard multiple people on the HEMA side of the community (not the sharp sword collectors) who had never heard of VA before, who thought they were Albion swords that VA made scabbards for.
|
|
|
Post by pellius on Nov 2, 2023 22:09:24 GMT
Two years is too long for me personally to wait, but some of the more revered makers purportedly have a ten year wait if they are even accepting commissions.
It’s rather remarkable that there are so many Albion’s out in the world. While any given model might be slow to pop up used (lookin’ at you, Doge), there always seems to be a few available. With their steadfast dedication to quality, their used swords seem to command new prices indefinitely.
I shudder to imagine the Euro sword market if they ever close up shop.
|
|
|
Post by eastman on Nov 3, 2023 0:55:49 GMT
To shinycanoe As you know only few appreciate this hobby. Sword collecting Or Medieval, renaissance fencing is very minor hobby. that's why They don't need to enlarge their capacit I agree, and that would be a reason not to increase production capacity. Expanding capacity only to have oversupply would be counterproductive. I am one of the people new to this hobby, I have not been participating long enough to know if these increases in wait times are a result increased interest and demand, or if we're still experiencing the supply shocks that started in 2020. But looking around I see that producers of high end production model (setting aside custom work) swords and scabbards are all severely backlogged. So is this an underserved market or will things return to shorter wait times without increased production?
I'm guessing you've never been to New Glarus WI?
Albion Sword is located in a small town in the middle of farm country. There isn't a pool of highly skilled swordsmiths to hire locally (total population about 2200 people). They would have to invest a lot of time and effort training someone to make swords to the Albion standard. So any growth would be slow.
|
|