Issue # 212, June 2026

This month’s update is another short one...

The world in June 2026 is so loud, chaotic, and unpredictable that trying to draw attention to anything - let alone the state of the sword industry - feels almost impossible. So for now, we’re keeping our heads down and continuing the work behind the scenes...

SBG 2.0 is still moving forward, but we’ve decided to hold off on revealing more until the global noise dies down enough for people to actually see it!!

The plans are still exciting, still ambitious, and still aimed at giving the community something better than what exists today - but timing matters, and right now the world is drowning in distractions. So the time to release anything, is definitely not - right now, that is for sure...

Meanwhile, it is unfortunate but the sword industry continues to face the toughest conditions we’ve ever seen. We kind of stopped reporting on that a while ago, but basically it's the worst case scenario plus some - in practical terms the fallout from the 2025 trade wars hasn’t eased: tariffs remain, hidden taxes keep appearing, and shipping costs have climbed to levels that would’ve seemed absurd just a few years (or even months) ago.

The bottom line with no domestic manufacturing base capable of producing swords at comparable quality or price as imports and at the same time, collectors everywhere are being squeezed by the rising cost of living, it’s something of a perfect storm. And the impact on everyone in the industry has been brutal (to say the least)...

Despite all this, we’re still here - and that’s thanks entirely to the people who believe in what SBG stands for.

If you’ve supported us before, thank you.

If you’ve been meaning to but haven’t gotten around to it, this is one of those months where it truly helps...

Ko-fi Kofi SBG26

We’re scaling back our Kickstarter plans for now simply because the world’s attention is elsewhere, but as I said the work continues behind the scenes regardless.

We’ll have more to share soon.

For now, we’re doing what we’ve always done: pushing forward, quietly and stubbornly, because this community is worth fighting for - and that is, well, that is the way of the sword isn't it?

So until next month, take care of yourselves folks and happy swordening to all..