And this is why we have almost no production sword companies posting on the forum anymore..
Now apologies if I come off harsh here, especially as you are new, but something needs to be said.
First off, this isn't a review - its a complaint, so I think it should be moved to a more appropriate part of the forum.
Secondly, most sword companies right now are in a pre-Christmas rush trying to get swords out that will be presents, and people are impatient, so they are under the pump and just tried to get your sword to you as fast as possible. They apologized for this and will try to make it right.
Thirdly, and this is a problem with all forums in general, once a few people set a tone, it becomes a 'sport' to bash a vendor or supplier who is not flavor of the month. DSA have had issues with competitors posting false information in the past to try and sink them. I am certain the OP is not one of them, but he IS picking up on the vibe laid down - and this really does have to stop.
Fourthly, yeah - in the past their tangs were not all that great. Below is a picture of one of their tangs from around 2007 in
my review of the Medieval Knight Sword:
Issues: shoulders are not rounded well on one side, tang is not straight - but it's not welded, not rat tail and the sword itself held up to extreme abusive testing. Most complaints about the tangs were around this time..
Now for comparison. here is a picture of an actual antique medieval sword that was used in BATTLE. No doubt if it was sent to a collector these days they would cry faulty QC and want to send it back.. Right? (this one is indeed on the thinner side, but I haven't seen too many tangs all that much thicker).
Finally, here is a picture of a raw tang from their 'excavation series' circa 2011 or so.
Moving forward, last year I tested on of their newer models -
the Sovereign.At the same time I also tested one of their
Herald series swordsLike night and day, the Sovereign handled beautifully and I am not exaggerating to say I did not want to put it down.
Both could not be disassembled, so I tested them hard on a pine pell - the Sovereign was solid, a little shockwave was transferred to the hands but it held up well - no looseness whatsoever after testing. The Herald series, came loose.
I still offer the Sovereign in the SBG store - but dropped the Herald series after a couple of complaints from people who did not read the reviews. This is what I do with ANY line that gets too many complaints - unlike what some people think, I do actually believe in the products I sell - if you doubt my veracity, you haven't been paying attention to what SBG is about. I never censor anyones post and allow all and any comments. Always have, always will. But it makes me want to stay off the forum too when people consistently bash the products and manufacturers I stand behind because they have their own agenda.. (worst one was Ricky Chen, but there are others and its not so hard to see what is going on..)
OP - this is not directed at you, but I had to speak up this time. Enough is enough with the bashing when there are enough facts out there that show differently. I don't sell or promote rubbish and I stand by my products. I will often lose huge amounts of money to placate customers who may have unreasonable expectations, but that is how I roll. If it gets too much, then clearly there is a problem and I will just stop selling an item.
Finally, the only other valid complaint on DSA is that their fullers may wander, there are hammer marks on the blade and the hilts are not always perfectly aligned. But again, like the tangs, NEITHER WHERE MANY OF THE HISTORICAL SWORDS! They were hand made, and this whole perfection thing is a modern sensibility, mostly from Albion who - as great as their swords may be - don't hand forge..
Am I saying DSA are perfect? Absolutely not - but they are better than many people make them out to be and they go out of their way to please customers and deal with issues in a polite and professional way.
Are there better choices? Yes - though it is model by model. Generally, I still love Windlass Steelcrafts, the new Ronin medieval swords are AWESOME and the margins much lower than they should be, so are quite amazing value. At the higher end, I actually really like Arms and Armor, not personally an Albion fan as my first experience with one of their swords was really sub par, and I don't like the fact that they are not upfront about their waiting times, their 'limited edition' runs of 2000 pcs (totaling several million dollars in sales) - though DSA does 'limited edition' runs in the thousands too) and the whole 'perfect lines' and CNC milling is not to my taste. I respect what they do though, and still recommend them on SBG for the high end.
Personally, I decided that I don't like their historical replicas much these days, so have concentrated entirely on their fantasy line and some swords that straddle between fantasy and history.
Anyway, sorry for the rant - and I repeat, this is NOT directed at the OP specifically and I personally welcome you to the forum and am sure that the issue will be resolved properly as soon as possible. But the continued bashing of vendors who, yes, have made mistakes in the past but are really trying their best to overcome them really does have to stop - and I think from now on, I may have to step in more often when people make comments that are effectively bashing, especially if they have their own sales agenda to push and take advantage of the fact that I don't post nearly as much as I might like to. But working 7 days a week about 350 days a year on emails, direct questions, servicing customers and just keeping the lights on here means that I simply don't have the time to do it always.
For those who DO have the time, and use SBG to push an agenda - it's a bit low, and while I may not say much about it usually, trust me - I am watching..
/rant over
Okay, well - nearly. This is an open forum. You can say what you like as long as it conforms to the rules - we don't censor, the mods are unpaid and they run it to the rules and let the chips fall where they may. But let's always stick to the facts, keep cool heads, and not get carried away with wild speculation, generalizations or claims that are not backed up.
I now return you to your regular programming. :-)
Thanks for hearing me out - but this whole bashing thing really is annoying, and the fact that almost no manufacturers or vendors are with us to improve products for you all and have open discussions because they just get attacked by disgruntled customers or people with their own agenda still bothers me. If we had been able to engage with them, the sword market would be a lot richer and cooler than what it is now. We lost Valiant, Ronin, Cheness, Musashi, Legacy Arms, Tinker, DBK, and a host of others due to the negative atmosphere towards sword makers. Seriously, if you hate sword manufacturers so much, why are you even a collector?
Okay, now /rant over. ;-)