The finest samurai swords take up to a year to make when you use the traditional crafting methods.
And nobody wants a used samurai sword.
Because the only used samurai swords are ones that failed to protect their owners.
That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for the sword.
Okay, so some swords were owned by samurai who retired or didn’t have any students to give them to.
But who would want the sword of a retired samurai or one who wasn’t good enough to attract students wanting to learn from them.
And nobody dares steal one from a murderous samurai.