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Post by Afoo on Jul 7, 2017 15:46:31 GMT
So, I recently ordered a Schiavona from Armory Marek as a gift to myself to mark a rather special life event. The cost was around 400 Euro/460 USD/590 CAD including shipping and scabbard. I ordered it sharp - and Pavel e-mailed me to confirm that I wanted it sharp (to which I replied yes). Seemed all well and good. However, when I picked it up yesterday I promptly found that this was not the case - as you can see in the attachment its the bluntest thing I have seen since I marked my students exams. Now, this is not a review of the sword (that will come later), but rather a place to seek advice as to how to proceed. I e-mailed Pavel yesterday but still have no response. However in my mind I have come up with two potential options; I could push for a full refund including shipping costs,- with the shipping cost (70 Euro/100 CAD one-way), there is no way I am going to get a replacement, so the refund would just be me washing my hands of the whole thing. Alternatively I could push for a partial refund to the point where I am happy to keep the blunt version. I am tempted by the later since I do like it and I do sympathize with small companies run by people who work for a living, but the former option has merit just out of principle - imagine this had happened to someone who expressly ordered it for test cutting or as a gift to a friend, and for whom this would be completely useless. With customs fees and shipping this is not a cheap package either and, if I am paying hundreds of dollars for something it better be done right. Anyways, feedback is welcome ,and I will endeavor to keep this updated with how things progress.
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harrybeck
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Post by harrybeck on Jul 7, 2017 16:48:00 GMT
You could ask him to pay for professional sharpening?
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Post by Afoo on Jul 7, 2017 16:57:03 GMT
Its not just blunt, but has a sparing edge which is 3-4mm all throughout. This goes well beyond professional sharpening.
Also, not aware of any professional sharpeners in Canada - if anyone has any leads though I would be interested.
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Post by 28shadow on Jul 7, 2017 17:59:55 GMT
You could tryg to contact him to let him know of the mistake.
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Post by Afoo on Jul 7, 2017 18:35:47 GMT
I have - waiting for response. Will update if I hear anything
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Post by Elrikk on Jul 7, 2017 18:36:00 GMT
I think you should send it back at their expense for an exchange or a refund...
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Post by demonskull on Jul 7, 2017 23:58:02 GMT
Is it peened ? If not maybe he can just send you a sharpened blade. It would be the cheapest solution for both parties.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2017 0:57:03 GMT
As always, communication and contracts key.. Was there any visual confirmation (pictures) before final payment was made and as the sword was being packed for shipping? Any pictures of the blade shown cutting paper?. I hate to assume it was an honest mistake in the order queue and someone ordering a blunt received a sharp.
I also hate to remind people that as pricy as a phone conversation might be, might this not have helped make sure everything was going to be a ok?
Not much you can do if he says a complete refund with return shipping is impossible but you never know. If it were me, I'd ask for a significant refund and keep the sword, selling it or not.
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Post by Afoo on Jul 8, 2017 5:10:53 GMT
It is peened - quite nicely actually. I did not call, but have e-mailed several times. They in-fact asked me via to confirm that I wanted it sharp before they started making it, which I said yes. I am inclined to believe it is an honest mistake, but will see what the response is.
ArmoryMarek is strange in that they do not take paypal - only bank transfers, which made me uneasy (and not to mention a pain in the ass). I only went for it because they seemed like an established name and the reviews looked good. Let that be a lesson at least to avoid doing business in that fashion again - especially now when a nuclear option would be handy to have.
I like the suggestion about professional sharpening, if anyone knows anyone in Canada I can start making inquiries. As far as I am concerned the ball is in their court, though its nice to be able to propose an alternative which may work better for everyone involved.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Jul 8, 2017 9:25:50 GMT
I ordered two sharp longswords from Armory Marek. I think both of them were sharpened blunts. I wasn't too fond of them. I think communicating with Armory Marek in English was not the best and I should have made the order in German. Or after having the swords for a while maybe not doing the order at all, and ordering from different forge/smith.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Jul 8, 2017 13:21:55 GMT
ArmoryMarek is strange in that they do not take paypal - only bank transfers, which made me uneasy (and not to mention a pain in the ass). Oh my. That leaves no recourse leaves you strictly at the mercy of the vendor.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2017 14:04:15 GMT
As a matter of fact, most of the eastern european smiths simply sharpen their sparring / full contact weapons. Only exception i know is Lutel Handicraft, but their blunts on the other hand are much too "sharp" and too pointy for sparring / full contact. The Kriegsmesser i received two months ago ws also a nice exception, but i couldnt find out about the maker yet. Also i have been told that Jiri Novak can deliver good sharps, but i havent tried so far.
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Post by Afoo on Jul 8, 2017 15:32:33 GMT
So, their reply was in rather broken English. However, the gist of it is that the order form I put in originally did NOT specify sharpening, so that is what they follow. They also say "Also we don´t make more any sharpened blade for sword, only for combat." - which doesn't make sense to me
Now, this is true - when I put in the order form I did not specify sharpening simply because I did not know they offered it. However, in subsequent e-mails they said it was possible to modify my order. Here is an except from my reply, which tells the story
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I understand that the order form did not specify. However, on May 22, I wrote the following via e-mail
"Actually, would it be possible to modify the previously enclosed order to have the Schiavona sharpened? Or at least NOT blunt"
To which you replied
"Hello,
The blade lenght is same for all models schiavona , Also is possible make sharpened blade. Payment accept via Bank transfer, before delivery."
On May 25th, I wrote again to confirm the following
"Would just like to confirm that I am indeed getting the schiavona i4 (sharp) + sheath, and that no further action is required until prior to delivery?"
Again, on June 19th, before you started work you again asked me if I wanted it sharp
"We make now the your order, so here is Bank Information for payment [...] Confirm me please , if you want really the blade sharp."
To which I replied:
"[...] I would like it sharp, thanks"
So yes, while I did not specify that the sword should be sharp on the order form, we had discussed it several times through e-mail, and was clear that it would be sharp. Also note that all of these communications occurred prior to sending payment.
...
The last part sums up my position - the original order did not specify sharp, fair enough. However, I was subsequently assured that it could be made sharp, and confirmed that this was my intention SEVERAL TIMES prior to making payment. I understand that it could have easily been a miscommunication, or something that they forgot when churning out the order....but in that case whats was the point of confirming everything with me in the first place if you had no intention of following through
Unless what they meant by "Also is possible make sharpened blade. " was that the blade *could* be made sharp - just not by them (ie: yes, you can make the blade sharp yourself) which is not the most obvious interpretation, but possible given the language barrier.
In either case, the fact that I did not order it sharp from the get-go betrays the fact that I am fine with the blade in its current state. I just think its rather duplicitous to go through this whole discussion without ever having any intentions of fulfilling it.
I asked for a partial refund, though I am not optimistic given their tone and the fact that bank transfers are such a pain in the ass. There are also some black spots on the blade, so would be interested if anyone was aware of a sword polishing/sharpening service located in Canada which I could look up
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Post by Afoo on Jul 8, 2017 15:37:18 GMT
I ordered two sharp longswords from Armory Marek. I think both of them were sharpened blunts. I wasn't too fond of them. I think communicating with Armory Marek in English was not the best and I should have made the order in German. Or after having the swords for a while maybe not doing the order at all, and ordering from different forge/smith. Yeah, thats what I have found as well. I guess we are too used to having that fluid communication when ordering from other English-speaking sword makers and have the confidence to discuss and modify orders throughout (see my previous post). On the flip side, if they are not clear on what my intents are, they should have asked for more clarification rather than promising that it would be done. I hate to be crass, but you chose to do business in English, so you should be responsible for being able to operate in that language, and I should not be responsible any errors you made as a result - especially in the era of google translate My French is decent due to me being in Canada. However, if someone were to do business with me in French and I screwed it up due to a miscommunication, then it would by my fault not theirs - my fault for not being proficient in the language I choose to operate in, or seeking clarification for anything which was ambiguous.
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Post by zsg1313 on Jul 8, 2017 23:52:22 GMT
Not sure if you were still looking for someone who could do a sharpening in Canada but I wouldn't hesitate to ask Wally Hayes. I don't believe that's his style but his work is incredible.
As a side note myself included have had some very bad experiences as sellers using PayPal. I use it, but on a new account now not tied to a bank.
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Post by Afoo on Jul 10, 2017 23:07:35 GMT
So, I got a 40 Euro (15%) partial refund. As I mentioned before, I am not super devastated by the blunt edge, so this is acceptable. Certainly beats sending it back. I may spar with it or sharpen it myself - still not sure yet. Thanks for all the advice and suggestions
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Post by astyanaz on Apr 18, 2021 23:25:21 GMT
This is a little too late to help on this problem, But where I live there are places that specialize on sharpening - mostly for farm tools and such things. Maybe people that need it could find a place like that and do the final smoothing themselves.
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