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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2008 19:49:54 GMT
Yesterday I got to visit the Kult of Athena Retail store in Elgin and well, yea there store is amazing, so many sharp pointy things ;D I already want to go back, and I got my first sword, a hanwei bastard sword-antique In the end it was the one that just felt right, and i did get to try out the BKS swords, although they were out of my price range I did like the 32" fullered hand and a half form BKS (Newest addition to KoA) and if i had the money it is the one I would have chose from BKS. Fantastic job on the one I got to hold. The only problem now is the weather is horrible right now, it rained and the snow turned into ice and slush and now the rain has turned into sleet so I wont get to cut with it anytime soon. My girlfriend drove me and we were the only customers there but the phone was ringing constantly, and they were actually out of stock on a few blades (the one i specifficaly wanted to see was the Hanwei Claymore ) if you ever get a chance to go there.... GOOOOO!! The only downside I would say is the owner's could have been friendlier and more welcoming. P.S. Sorry I did not get this up sooner, I was studying hard last night and this morning since I just finished 2 finals and I have another one at 6 tonight P.S.S. BUY SWORDS AND HAVE FUN P.S.S.S. I only got 2 pics in the store and there on my girlfriends cell so i might gt them posted tomorrow (forgot a camera)
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Dec 9, 2008 20:41:26 GMT
Man I didn't know they were in Elgin! that's cool, I used to live out that way. I grew up in Illinois and have been all over the state north south east and west. I have lived in SE wisconsin too so I've been close to Albion as well. and yet I never knew.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2008 20:51:32 GMT
wait, Albion is in Wisconsin, that is news to me
My permanent residence is in Gurnee (Six Flags: Great America is less then a mile from where I live) , just south of the Wisconsin Border
Right now I am going to Northern Illinois University for Accountancy (well paying career = lots of swords)
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Dec 9, 2008 22:36:55 GMT
I lived in Round Lake for a while. nice town, liked it but I couldn't understand any of my neighbors
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2008 22:41:24 GMT
Yeah Albion is in New Glarus, WI.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2008 1:24:54 GMT
Hmmm. Just a little SW of Madison. About 100 miles from me! Do they have a store there or is it just a factory?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2008 1:39:13 GMT
i've been there and i can't wait to go back.
it's a store but i found it a bit hard to find since it was sorta mixed in the middle with a lot of commercial buildings and offices.
when i went, it was empty too. i stayed there for maybe 3 hours or so and was the only customer there the whole time but the owner dude kept having to step to the back to take care of some other stuff. he didn't have the "overly salesman" kind of attitude but not super accomodating either.
all in all, i'd go just to be able to check things out before i buy and i'm sure there's a lot of that going on around here.
Brian.
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Post by shadowhowler on Dec 10, 2008 1:57:16 GMT
Man I didn't know they were in Elgin! I'd guess you never ordered from them eh? Their shipping lables say from Elgin. I'd love to check out their shop... it would be like dieing and going to sword hevan... without the dieing part. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2008 2:10:37 GMT
all in all, i'd go just to be able to check things out before i buy and i'm sure there's a lot of that going on around here. Thats the main reason I went there, I wanted to know what I was getting before I bought it. It also gave me some ideas of what I want for my second sword (probably a Scottish Basket Handle ;D). Overall I am please with my sword but I also have to agree, they were not very accomodating, the woman behind the counter (It may have been the owner's wife) kind of just ignored us for the first 10 minutes or so, not even a welcome or how-are-you. It helps if you have an idea of what you are looking for because quiet a few of the blades are behind the counter area, so it is easier to just ask for what you are looking for.
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Post by Tom K. (ianflaer) on Dec 10, 2008 6:03:18 GMT
Man I didn't know they were in Elgin! I'd guess you never ordered from them eh? Their shipping lables say from Elgin. I'd love to check out their shop... it would be like dieing and going to sword hevan... without the dieing part. ;D actually I bought my last three pieces from them but I missed their location because I was so excited to tear into the boxes.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2008 6:05:25 GMT
I'd guess you never ordered from them eh? Their shipping lables say from Elgin. I'd love to check out their shop... it would be like dieing and going to sword hevan... without the dieing part. ;D actually I bought my last three pieces from them but I missed their location because I was so excited to tear into the boxes. That is not suprising, what is suprising is that someone took the time to read the shipping label to see its from elgin rather then ripping the box open to get at the prize inside
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Post by shadowhowler on Dec 10, 2008 7:47:35 GMT
That is not suprising, what is suprising is that someone took the time to read the shipping label to see its from elgin rather then ripping the box open to get at the prize inside Hey now... I can't help it... I used to be a shipping/receaving manager for an auto dealership. I'm used to quick-scaning the shipping lables and gathering info.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2008 23:41:31 GMT
I must've spent a good three hours just looking around the KOA store when I went last. Can't remember much though, I got sword anxiety. Got to hold the CAS River Witham though. And I get to go again this winter! I'll try to bring a camera and take some pictures. Speaking of which... I've got a giant list of swords to hold whence I get there; last time I only held the Witham.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2008 3:26:09 GMT
Speaking of which... I've got a giant list of swords to hold whence I get there; last time I only held the Witham. Yea when I stepped inside it was boggling how many different weapons I saw, I forgot half of the swords I wanted to hold but I did find the main ones I wanted to see. As for the setup it was actually nice since they kept the different types of blades together, vikings in one corner, rapiers together, claymores together, and so forth, I also noticed they tried to keep specific Manufacturers in one place. Overall it was a nice place.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2008 5:12:31 GMT
what's also really nice to see is that i was just there a few weeks ago over thanksgiving and since then, they've added a good handful of new products and manufacturers. it's always nice to see stores continuing to expand their lines.
Brian.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2008 2:23:30 GMT
Before I went there I took one last look at their site and the total products number on their main page was just under 1400, now it's at 1600. Add to this that my taste in swords has broadened significantly,
As shadowhowler said: "With how much stuff KoA keeps in stock, I bet their store is beyond awesome. I could spend days upon days their dry handling varrious weapons... they would have to throw me out"
Last time the guy at the counter kept asking if I wanted to hold something (though I think he was trying to get rid of my dad and I; as we interrupted a conversation he was having with someone else, and the mood got very awkward for the whole 3 hours I was looking around), but I was in another world.
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Post by shadowhowler on Dec 12, 2008 4:45:28 GMT
It's a little bit sad to hear they are not overly friendly at their retail location. This is a niche hobby we all share... and most of us are very passionte about it. A shame they are not more welcoming.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2008 17:28:36 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2008 17:50:38 GMT
It's not that they're unfriendly, just unused to visitors somewhat. Also the guy seemed to be waiting to react to things we did/said, and since I function the same way (reactive as opposed to active) and with my dad just kinda wandering around there was less interaction then checking out with a store clerk.
Also when you got some kinda weird kid getting all excited around sharp objects; and my dad who is a muscular guy, it was just a little awkward. I kinda liked it actually. He/they let me just roam around as opposed to trying sell something as many other sword retailers have been known to do.
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Post by YlliwCir on Dec 12, 2008 20:30:39 GMT
Yeah, how unfriendly can they be if they let you roam the place for a few hours. LOL I get up that way once a year anyhow, I really need to stop in.
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