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Post by eastman on Jan 14, 2022 1:38:19 GMT
Maybe I need to open a Bed & Breakfast between O'Hare international airport and Albion (New Glarus WI) so international customers can fly over here and get their swords.
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Post by honjo7 on Apr 5, 2022 7:30:00 GMT
Just thought I'd let you guys know how it all turned out. My sword shipped from Albion in early October of last year. I had previously imported two Albion blunts using FedEx in 2019, and while they cleared the package through customs, they refused to ship domestically within the UK, requiring a rather expensive trip on public transport to collect them in person from the other side of the country.
Wanting to avoid using FedEx again, I used a forwarding service known as MyUs to ship to the UK, which had been suggested to me by several people in the sword community. Unfortunately, once the sword arrived at the MyUs warehouse, a customer service agent informed me that the only option they had for shipping swords outside the US was FedEx! I reached out to Kult of Athena to see if they could ship the sword for me, but they never responded. In the end, I decided I would just have to make another trip across country to collect the sword in person, and foolishly opted to use FedEx a second time.
Long story short - they lost my sword for three months and charged me over £300 in return fees (not including the initial shipping charge) when the package was eventually found. Fortunately, I was able to get most of this refunded by MyUS, though it was a long drawn out process, and required the threat of legal action.
I had the sword sent back to Albion while I made arrangements to have it shipped via another company. I contacted Kult of Athena again and this time they responded, offering to ship the sword for me using UPS. Although there have been many delays, I am pleased to announce that 5 months and 23 days after first shipping out from Albion, the sword has finally cleared customs (they didn't make it easy either) and is scheduled to arrive sometime today. Phew.
I'll upload some pictures later, and perhaps a video review sometime in the near future. I want to thank everyone who contributed to the thread with advice, especially pgandy, who I believe was the first to suggest I reach out to a vendor for a possible solution. I'd also like to thank Kult of Athena for helping me out of a surprisingly difficult situation. I think this will be the last time I import a sword from abroad, sadly.
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Post by randomnobody on Apr 5, 2022 13:58:34 GMT
Yikes, what a headache. Hopefully you get a sword without issues...
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stormmaster
Member
I like viking/migration era swords
Posts: 7,649
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Post by stormmaster on Apr 5, 2022 14:05:10 GMT
With how far that swords traveled and in probably unfavorable conditions hopefully it is without any rust
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Post by paulmuaddib on Apr 5, 2022 15:32:01 GMT
Glad your getting your sword. What a saga.
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Post by skelley on Apr 5, 2022 16:30:05 GMT
Congrats on finally getting such an awesome sword! However bittersweet it is, I'm glad your story has a happy ending. It makes me feel silly for worrying about a purchase of mine taking 2 and a half weeks to leave customs.
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Post by honjo7 on Apr 5, 2022 17:39:10 GMT
Well, I received the sword this afternoon. I'll do an in-depth review later, but I'm overall very pleased. There are three issues I have with the finished product, however; though some people might consider them very minor.
I'll start by saying the blade handles extremely well. I would describe it as a "long" longsword, rather than a greatsword. It feels very nimble in the hands and you can perform any technique as you would with a typical longsword.
Sadly, there are a few very minor rust spots here and there. When it arrived, there wasn't a drop of oil or grease visible on the blade. I could see the box had been opened, likely by customs, and there were a few fingermarks visible in several places. I think it must have actually been wiped down, for some reason. Fortunately, it's nothing that can't be easily polished out.
Now for some of the issues...
Below you can see that the central ridgeline doesn't line up with the centre-line on the hilt. It's purely aesthetic, but I noticed it immediately.
Here you can see the tip is slightly blunted.
Lastly, I think there is a slightly wider gap on one side of the blade than the other, but it's very minor.
Overall, I'm very satisfied. It's actually much more striking than these rather dull images would have you believe. It handles extremely well, I can now see I made the right choice with green leather and the half-wire grip. I had some reservations initially, having never used a sword wrapped with wire, but it's actually not abrasive at all; rather, it feels smooth. I'll do a video review later to give a better impression.
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Post by randomnobody on Apr 5, 2022 17:51:21 GMT
Overall a good-looking sword. Pity about the rust and tip, but at least those are easy to fix.
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stormmaster
Member
I like viking/migration era swords
Posts: 7,649
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Post by stormmaster on Apr 5, 2022 17:53:05 GMT
Definitely something I worry about that they would do that, especially after my own terrible experience with fedex
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Post by eastman on Apr 6, 2022 1:27:49 GMT
glad to hear that your Albion finally completed the journey
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Post by RufusScorpius on Apr 9, 2022 10:36:45 GMT
I'm happy to hear that you finally got the sword. But those defects are unacceptable. You should send it back and have Albion fix it for you. Just kidding about that. None of those defects are important, the sword can be polished and sharpened as a matter of routine maintenance and you will forget about the gap in a few days. As long as its solidly constructed and well balanced, then everything else becomes merely cosmetic.
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