Firstly, there is a sword discussion forum on BFC if you are interested in discussing swords and their intended uses more in-depth.
Next...try to understand where the swords are coming from. If you look at the sword market, you can readily break it into 3 categories:
Decorative: These swords are made to sit on a display stand, hang on a wall, or accompany a costume. As a whole, they are not designed for any kind of use, and as a result certain cost-saving production shortcuts can be made in regards to construction and materials. Face it, the vast majority of people who think "swords are cool" have no intention of really using their sword for anything serious. They're happy that they have a shiny piece of metal that could be sharp that looks like the one that character X used in the movie. Sometimes these are very poor workmanship as well, but the fact that they're long and made of steel (usually) seems to somehow nullify that for lots of people, and some even like to give the excuse "it shows you that it's handmade" to justify downright poor fit/finish. This is where a lot of the "sword-like objects" and "wallhangers" come from. this represents the vast majority of all swords currently sold.
Use-oriented: These swords encompass a growing amount of production pieces as well as many custom swords. From Hanwei and Del Tin up to Howard Clark and Louis Mills, these are swords that are intended to be used. Most are not designed for abusive treatment, though some are capable of handling abuse. These tend to be geared for the martial artists and some of the more snobby decorative sword buffs. Sometimes finish and such will be lacking, but on the average, swords from this category can easily replace the swords from the first category aesthetically. The downside is that the "usable" factor tends to involve a greater attention to detail with such things as heat treatment, geometry, and mounting designs...and thus typically necessitates a higher cost for the same level of "decoration." Some makers such as John Lundemo have done usable renditions of various fantasy swords (the Albion Armorers Atlantean, etc swords also fit in this category), but the cost is usually prohibitively high compared to those swords in the "decorative" category.
Abuse-oriented: This category does not really encompass very many swords, typically some modern-designed swords that are intended to double as machetes, and various swords from cultures that implemented swords as weapon AND tool. Those swords which are designed for very heavy amounts of use and abuse typically can omit many of the aesthetic pleasantries of the swords in former categories, which can save money to a degree. You will likely find Himalayan Imports blades to fit in this category, where the cost is not excessive but the durability is very high (I do not personally believe durability is the most important aspect of performance, but some people do, and this is a big benefit for them!). You will not often find novelty (movies, video games, other fantasy, etc) swords in this category.
Every now and again you'll find that some swords are blurred between categories, but in general I think these three categories summarize the sword market as a whole. Each category appeals to its audiences, and the decorative category likely is more popular than the latter two combined. I think it's important to remember that on the whole, the sword is an obsolete weapon, and most styles of sword were not designed to double as machetes. Just because you might find a katana that's designed for "use" doesn't mean it's meant to be taken out into the backyard and used to hack brush and trees. If it was, I think the Japanese smiths back in the day would have reconsidered their design philosophies a bit.
You really need to know what YOU want and let others make that decision for themselves. Not everyone wants to whack a tree or cut tatami-omote with their brand new sword, and they should be free to pick the products that suit their intended use the best.
