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Post by Lionhardt on Dec 6, 2020 15:09:56 GMT
I disagree on not being made in Canada. I have many of their swords. I had issues with ONE of them. After discussing some changes with them, they took it back, made a new blade for it, exactly how I wanted and had it back to me in a couple weeks. Note, the blade they made me does not match any of their other blades offered and it was exactly the dimensions I was looking for. So, it would not have been possible for them to quickly get one from India to exactly match my specifications. And they couldn't have stolen it off one of their other swords; they HAD to have made it from scratch for me. So I stand by them. They have been nothing but fantastic to me. Now their "sharpening"?....not so much... But their products are great and blades must be made in house. That is an interesting input and good testimony. Thank you for this but of information? Are you still in possession of the said sword? Would love to see some pictures :-) Here you go sir! Doesn't appear any different than the one they offer. But it is slightly shorter than any of the blades they offer with this blade. definitely one of my absolute favorites. The blade is just so nice and stiff!
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Post by Kane Shen on Dec 6, 2020 16:22:51 GMT
That is an interesting input and good testimony. Thank you for this but of information? Are you still in possession of the said sword? Would love to see some pictures :-) Here you go sir! Doesn't appear any different than the one they offer. But it is slightly shorter than any of the blades they offer with this blade. definitely one of my absolute favorites. The blade is just so nice and stiff! That’s a great looking arming sword! Their arming swords handle pretty well.
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Post by Lionhardt on Dec 6, 2020 16:34:05 GMT
Thanks. Yeah, I talked to DSA about their design for it. They purposely gave it a slight fantasy flair, with the hilt being pointier than your usual arming swords. I love it.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Dec 6, 2020 18:47:31 GMT
Without personally seeing the rusted swords I don’t see any real pitting and I’d think they would clean up with the proper treatment. I know, at that price it’s disappointing. Actually at any price that’s disappointing but especially at the that price. DSA ought to instruct their inspectors to wear gloves and not to put their grimy little fingers on the metal while checking things out.
PS Baking soda will not remove rust. What it will do is to neutralize any acid or base that would be causing the rust. But removing rust, no. There are products for that. But removing rust does not remove any pitting that resulted from the rust. #000 steel wool w/WD-40 is a good old stand-by. But not for pitting nor stain removal. They can only be removed by an abrasive. The type depends on how aggressively you wish to attack it and the final finish desired.
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Post by Kane Shen on Dec 6, 2020 19:22:37 GMT
Without personally seeing the rusted swords I don’t see any real pitting and I’d think they would clean up with the proper treatment. I know, at that price it’s disappointing. Actually at any price that’s disappointing but especially at the that price. DSA ought to instruct their inspectors to wear gloves and not to put their grimy little fingers on the metal while checking things out. PS Baking soda will not remove rust. What it will do is to neutralize any acid or base that would be causing the rust. But removing rust, no. There are products for that. But removing rust does not remove any pitting that resulted from the rust. #000 steel wool w/WD-40 is a good old stand-by. But not for pitting nor stain removal. They can only be removed by an abrasive. The type depends on how aggressively you wish to attack it and the final finish desired. I used Flitz polish, too and it didn't do much either. In any case, I sent the swords back upon communicating with DSA and a month later replacements arrived at my doorstep. They are in much better shape, but I still observed some very minor corrosion on the fittings. I'll give them a pass, at least they tried. I'm not an overly picky person, but the degree of mishandling of the first batch was downright infuriating.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Dec 6, 2020 23:31:19 GMT
I used Flitz polish, too and it didn't do much either. In any case, I sent the swords back upon communicating with DSA and a month later replacements arrived at my doorstep. They are in much better shape, but I still observed some very minor corrosion on the fittings. I'll give them a pass, at least they tried. I'm not an overly picky person, but the degree of mishandling of the first batch was downright infuriating. Returning them was the correct action. I've never used Flitz, but if that didn't do it something more aggressive or more elbow grease. I live in the tropics and Mr. Rust is constantly knocking at my door it seems.
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Post by Kane Shen on Dec 25, 2020 18:44:58 GMT
I used Flitz polish, too and it didn't do much either. In any case, I sent the swords back upon communicating with DSA and a month later replacements arrived at my doorstep. They are in much better shape, but I still observed some very minor corrosion on the fittings. I'll give them a pass, at least they tried. I'm not an overly picky person, but the degree of mishandling of the first batch was downright infuriating. Returning them was the correct action. I've never used Flitz, but if that didn't do it something more aggressive or more elbow grease. I live in the tropics and Mr. Rust is constantly knocking at my door it seems. Glitz Polish is quite aggressive at removing material including the steel, right? That’s why it will scratch the steel and leave marks if you don’t brush down the same direction as the original strokes the polisher left.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Dec 25, 2020 18:55:20 GMT
Returning them was the correct action. I've never used Flitz, but if that didn't do it something more aggressive or more elbow grease. I live in the tropics and Mr. Rust is constantly knocking at my door it seems. Glitz Polish is quite aggressive at removing material including the steel, right? That’s why it will scratch the steel and leave marks if you don’t brush down the same direction as the original strokes the polisher left. If that’s a question to me, I don’t know as I’ve never used it. But making strokes in the same direction as the original finish would be reasonable.
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Post by thenubianking on Jan 5, 2021 23:22:10 GMT
Hey everyone,
I am new here, and wanted to comment on my short experience with the quality of DSA blades. So I ordered two swords with my first order, one for myself and one for the girlfriend. They are two handed swords, the sage (gf) and Vindaaris. This was a large investment for me, I have found swords fascinating since I was a teenager and have shopped for many years and finally settled on DSA after seeing a few videos of their swords undergoing extreme tests and surviving. I would never test my gf's sword as if i broke it I would feel genuinely terrible, so I took my sword, sharpened the edge with a fine polishing stone, so that it had a very good edge. I then let my brother who weighs approximately 148 pounds and is 5'4 chop down with the sword on a cedar 2x4 that was the center board of a cedar saw horse. Generally speaking a cedar 2x4 is very soft and not very strong. On the first strike, the sword snapped. The edge contact and grip he had on the sword was not perfect but it was acceptable (no poor form). Hearing and seeing the blade snap on the first test when my brother was not swinging as hard as he could, was underwhelming. I inspected the blade and there was no bends or chips, only a clean break about 12 inches down from the tip (the actual point of contact with the wood was about 6 inches below the snap. I contacted DSA about the sword and said it had failed on the first strike, they asked me to send the sword back. Once they received it the sent me a generic email stating that the sword had many gouges and had clearly been abused, but that they would replace the blade this one time. To be completely honest (feel free to grill me if I am out of line) I felt a huge level of insecurity in DSA when I saw how they responded to the break. The response I was hoping for was "yes, it seems to have been defective and a microfracture, here is a new blade." Because of their boiler plate response which I found clearly inaccurate it really made me lose any confidence in the company I had had up unto that point. When I had looked at the break in the steel and the grains it looked like a poor heat treatment, and the break was a perfect diagonal line across the blade with a small tooth of steel jutting out from the line at the edge of the blade. Seeing the vindaaris destruction test, and then seeing my snap on a 2x4 and then being told that was extreme abuse, really made me question my understanding of swords. Should a 2 hand sword be able to chop a 2x4 that is set with it's widest (4 inch) sides facing the sky and ground.
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Post by Arthur Dayne on Jan 6, 2021 0:05:22 GMT
"Should a 2 hand sword be able to chop a 2x4 that is set with it's widest (4 inch) sides facing the sky and ground." If anyone should be grilled it should be DSA and the promoter guy who did the stupid Vindaaris video on Youtube The sword is already really heavy and overbuilt www.darksword-armory.com/medieval-weapon/medieval-swords/the-vindaaris-1328/ LENGTH 50″ HANDLE LENGTH 10″ BLADE LENGTH 36″ BLADE WIDTH 1.6-3″ CROSSGUARD LENGTH 10″ GUARD DEPTH 1/4″-1/2″ HANDLE CIRCUMFERENCE 3 1/2″ WEIGHT 4 lbs 12 oz P.O.B At Ricasso Yeah I don't blame you for thinking it can chop into 2x4 on the 4 inch side without damage and to be fair, at that weight and chunkiness it shouldn't be taking any damage if properly made & heat treated. The one you got probably slipped through the QC, good thing they offered to replace the blade. I've chopped into 2x4s before with my old Valiant Armoury Kriegsschwert back when the Signature Lines & 1060 Chinese blades were still offered and that didn't break and that's under 3 pounds.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Jan 6, 2021 19:54:46 GMT
"Should a 2 hand sword be able to chop a 2x4 that is set with it's widest (4 inch) sides facing the sky and ground." If anyone should be grilled it should be DSA and the promoter guy who did the stupid Vindaaris video on Youtube Is that a video that Woodard made on his own or does that have factory backing with DSA standing behind it? I see nothing where DSA is endorsing this. Woodard states “my standards” at mark 0:21. What about DSA standards? If an individual on his own makes abusive tests and the subject matter accomplishes the task and then another individual buys the product and has less success can one hold the factory responsible?
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Post by thenubianking on Jan 6, 2021 21:06:25 GMT
Thank you, Sir Arthur Dayne and pgandy for responding. Sir Arthur Dayne, this is the exact video I saw that really gave me a sense of comfort for this particular blade. It was a two handed chopping strike and the damage to the 2x4 was minimal. I mean it is by no means a perfect test and perhaps the sword should only ever be used to strike with one hand rather than two. But I just wanted some more experienced individuals take on this. I will be practicing with tatami matts this weekend (depending on amazon shipping) on the sage and the new bladed vindaaris, I will update and let you gents know how it went. pgandy, aesthetically both swords are perfectly polished and aligned with no perceivable imperfections, I really hope my last blade was just a lemon and a victim of a heat treatment mistake. I also picked up the ken onion worksharp and will be using that to get a cleaner edge on the blade to limit any drag during testing.
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Post by Kane Shen on Jan 7, 2021 7:40:43 GMT
Hey everyone, I am new here, and wanted to comment on my short experience with the quality of DSA blades. So I ordered two swords with my first order, one for myself and one for the girlfriend. They are two handed swords, the sage (gf) and Vindaaris. This was a large investment for me, I have found swords fascinating since I was a teenager and have shopped for many years and finally settled on DSA after seeing a few videos of their swords undergoing extreme tests and surviving. I would never test my gf's sword as if i broke it I would feel genuinely terrible, so I took my sword, sharpened the edge with a fine polishing stone, so that it had a very good edge. I then let my brother who weighs approximately 148 pounds and is 5'4 chop down with the sword on a cedar 2x4 that was the center board of a cedar saw horse. Generally speaking a cedar 2x4 is very soft and not very strong. On the first strike, the sword snapped. The edge contact and grip he had on the sword was not perfect but it was acceptable (no poor form). Hearing and seeing the blade snap on the first test when my brother was not swinging as hard as he could, was underwhelming. I inspected the blade and there was no bends or chips, only a clean break about 12 inches down from the tip (the actual point of contact with the wood was about 6 inches below the snap. I contacted DSA about the sword and said it had failed on the first strike, they asked me to send the sword back. Once they received it the sent me a generic email stating that the sword had many gouges and had clearly been abused, but that they would replace the blade this one time. To be completely honest (feel free to grill me if I am out of line) I felt a huge level of insecurity in DSA when I saw how they responded to the break. The response I was hoping for was "yes, it seems to have been defective and a microfracture, here is a new blade." Because of their boiler plate response which I found clearly inaccurate it really made me lose any confidence in the company I had had up unto that point. When I had looked at the break in the steel and the grains it looked like a poor heat treatment, and the break was a perfect diagonal line across the blade with a small tooth of steel jutting out from the line at the edge of the blade. Seeing the vindaaris destruction test, and then seeing my snap on a 2x4 and then being told that was extreme abuse, really made me question my understanding of swords. Should a 2 hand sword be able to chop a 2x4 that is set with it's widest (4 inch) sides facing the sky and ground. That, is an extraordinary tale! You should get that refund with no question asked. Thank you for sharing your experience.
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Post by Lionhardt on Jan 11, 2021 5:42:52 GMT
Let's not spread misinformation about them. They worked hard to clear their name. Some of their swords are made in india, but they are open about which those are. The rest ARE made in Canada. Enough is enough.
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Post by Dandelion on Jan 11, 2021 8:38:38 GMT
Let's not spread misinformation about them. They worked hard to clear their name. Some of their swords are made in india, but they are open about which those are. The rest ARE made in Canada. Enough is enough. They are ASSEMBLED in Canada; and there is as much suspicion and even more evidence about that than proof in their favour. You would know that if you would have followed the whole tragedy over all the years. The batch production/availability, chinese letters on the sword tangs, india shipment list, the whole dodging around when it comes to visit their shop/share SUBSTANTIAL videos etc. etc.
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Post by Dandelion on Jan 11, 2021 8:41:55 GMT
I'm not exactly shocked. At this price range, they can't afford Canadian labour. Just like when Valiant Armoury used the 1060 steel blade back then, the blade was obviously churned out in some third world countries. Now that they produce blades themselves, prices are all in 4-digit. This. You can't lie away basic economics.
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Post by Lionhardt on Jan 11, 2021 14:14:27 GMT
I'm not exactly shocked. At this price range, they can't afford Canadian labour. Just like when Valiant Armoury used the 1060 steel blade back then, the blade was obviously churned out in some third world countries. Now that they produce blades themselves, prices are all in 4-digit. This. You can't lie away basic economics. Well, we shall see. I live about an hour from them. As soon as this darn border opens I will go and try to see for myself.
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Post by Dandelion on Jan 11, 2021 15:43:21 GMT
This. You can't lie away basic economics. Well, we shall see. I live about an hour from them. As soon as this darn border opens I will go and try to see for myself. Good luck. Be prepared to face endless excuses and workarounds. You literally would be the first one to see their REAL smithing business.
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Post by illustry on Jan 11, 2021 16:11:55 GMT
Well, we shall see. I live about an hour from them. As soon as this darn border opens I will go and try to see for myself. Good luck. Be prepared to face endless excuses and workarounds. You literally would be the first one to see their REAL smithing business.
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Post by Kane Shen on Jan 11, 2021 16:44:09 GMT
Let's not spread misinformation about them. They worked hard to clear their name. Some of their swords are made in india, but they are open about which those are. The rest ARE made in Canada. Enough is enough. They are ASSEMBLED in Canada; and there is as much suspicion and even more evidence about that than proof in their favour. You would know that if you would have followed the whole tragedy over all the years. The batch production/availability, chinese letters on the sword tangs, india shipment list, the whole dodging around when it comes to visit their shop/share SUBSTANTIAL videos etc. etc. To their credit, one of our members did tour their facility and gave a testimony in our Facebook group. Eyal didn’t deny their blades are imported from China when asked. So there you go. I would prefer them to be more upfront about it like Valiant Armoury back then. Coming from different contractors in China could be the reason why the quality of their blades fluctuates over the years.
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