Philip Tom is a professional restorer of antique arms and armor.
Philip Tom has over thirty years' experience in research and restoration, having been a collector and student of antique arms since his school days. Through extensive study and examination of fine examples in museums and private collections on three continents, under the guidance of several mentors, he has acquired an astounding amount knowledge of historical development, manufacturing technique, and aesthetic traditions.
As an arms and armor connoisseur Philip addressed the Society of Ethnographic & Historical Edged Weapons Collectors of Israel, lecturing on Ming and Qing armes-blanches, in Tel Aviv in 2000. He acted as an advisor on Chinese armament to the National Maritime Museum in Haifa, Israel, for a special exhibition on piracy. He was a historical consultant for a documentary telecast "Oriental Firearms" (part of the Tales of the Gun series) distributed by the History Channel in 2000. Served as curator and conservator for "Sword & Brush: Art from China's Martial Tradition" in Washington DC in the fall of 1999. Philip Tom has a Master of Arts degree in History from the University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus.
Philip Tom is author of several articles on the subject, among which “SOME NOTABLE SABERS OF THE QING DYNASTY IN THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ARTS, (Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 36, 2001), a pioneering article that has become a classic among Chinese sword enthusiasts.