Why aren't the SBG Forum Member Designed Swords Selling?

I think Skallagrim and Mat Jensen would be great ideas, they seem more open to fantasy stuff (Skal in particular). "Drunken Danu Review" has a nice sound to it

Paul is already having trouble subsidizing the free swords for the contest winners.

If anyone can promote a sword, its Skall. Of course, he is very honest though so if he didnt care for a sword it might not be positive promotion it gets...

If I wasn't so poor I would send him my own copy. Maybe we can have like.... We can donate a small portion each to fund this idea?

Awesome feedback everyone, I will be going over it all again with a fine tooth-comb and taking all these comments on board. It's a heck of a project, though I will not be able to do a whole lot more on it until next month as I am preparing to move internationally and as you can imagine, after nearly 7 years in Japan there is a whole lot of stuff that needs to be packed up, thrown away, sorted through, etc - and as Japan is so very 'unique' none of the standard ways of doing things apply..

Anyway, to clarify a few things - we did have fund set aside for the production run when the project started - and the prototypes are all bought and paid for at my end, so there is no trouble subsidizing the actual free prototypes to be sent out. However, late last year we experienced something of a perfect storm which has drained the coffers almost completely - sword sales are down across the board like never before, we had to temporarily close down Forge Direct for several months due to issues in China (but the invoices kept coming of course), then we got hit out of the blue by a huge auditing expense of Sword Buyers Guide (I am talking many thousands of dollars, which was totally unexpected but needs to be paid) and finally I found myself in the position that I could no longer afford to stay in Japan or renew by visa, so have been preparing to move internationally - and have been flying back and forth between two countries and now have to face clean up costs in the thousands as well.. So it completely ate up all the funds set aside for the actual production run..! Argh...

This means that, at least for the time being, there is no extra monies set aside for sending swords for review or for the actual production run. BUT, I do have a plan B that I am working on (and a plan C) - pretty stressful times overall, and I am working so hard right now that sleep and food is a luxury (thinking to get some adult diapers to save time on going to the toilet! Lol - just kidding! But you get the idea...)

Not easy, but everyone has their issues - and this business has made me pretty tough mentally (plus living in Japan for the last 7 years with its culture of 'endurance' has rubbed off on me) - at times like these I always am reminded of a quote from the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi that goes along the lines of "never die with a sword unsheathed" - in other words, when things get tough, you get tougher and draw on every ounce of reserve to survive it (The Book of Five Rings is my bible, I always think along these lines - and am flexible enough that if an enemy - i.e. a problem - goes high, I go low, and if it goes low, I go high. In other words - I am always looking at things from different angles to see where the opportunity is, and once spotted, I go in hard).

Plan B will be VERY interesting - and actually will change the direction we have been going with this project for the better - as a new direction became apparent and I am working out the details now, and - well, I think a lot of you will be rather pleased by what is coming down the line soon, but I digress..

So anyway, stay tuned for that..

In the meantime, the prototypes are now pretty much complete and I will be contacting the designers to confirm everything is in order before arranging final shipping. In the meantime, here is a pic of the completed Sword of Danu and its accompanying scabbard.



Will have stats and ballpark pricing on these at a later date - like I said, the actual production may be delayed much more than what was originally planned, but like any plan, flexibility is needed - and the wheels are in motion to make it all come together as soon as possible.

But again, thanks for all the great feedback!!

- Paul

that's a work of art and my favorite of the winners so far, its amazingly done even down to the sheath fittings

Now THAT is more like it!  An excellent sheath, great attention to detail on the blade and really, really nice fantasy flair for the hilt!! 

Paul, THIS will sell, provided the stats aren't too heavy and the price isn't too high!!

I'm liking each of the first round winners more and more as the prototypes come together.  Get that fantasy world/website out there, get some hard numbers on stats and price and get some real life reviews out there and this whole thing could take off!

Yes it is.

However, I did not know what kind of scabbard BCI can pull of, so the Castir's scabbard as of now is quite plain.

I already contacted Paul to change the scabbard to something a lot more fantasy and fancier, with a chape and central ridge.

I'll expect delays, though, but it will be worth it.

Yeah he did.

But I guess he did so because I contributed a lot to the website he's building.

Heck, between the two of us, the only thing the fantasy world still lacks is a Chosen One and his plucky team of heroes and heroines.

Everything else is pretty much done.