It’s funny how quickly things can change when you are dealing with proud types like Master Smiths..
They have argued from day one that our prices on these swords were too low.. But we wanted to be able to offer these swords to people who otherwise could not afford the full retail price or the trip to the forge in Longquan to buy them directly..
I am not sure which sword did it (though I can guess) but they found our low markup devalues their work, and just a few hours ago I was told in no uncertain terms that we have until April the 10th to wind up the Project once and for all..
It is a shame it came to this.. I should have known as I saw it happen years ago with Chris Zhou and Musashi Swords. The Master Smiths are proud people, and even prouder when it comes to swords that are symbols of their lineage and heritage..
They have been gentlemen about it, make no mistake. Our conversation on this line was civil and polite. But the end result was that from April the 10th the main smiths we work with on Forge Direct will no longer accept new orders from us..
It does not mean that the entire project will end. Two of the Swords are actually a new collaboration with Master Xianlong who made the original Jian of Marquis and the Dragon Dao for Project X and he is still willing to work with us and we will expand on the two designs he currently has agreed to make for us. But the vast majority of the designs we have offered from the beginning will be off the table starting the 10th of April..
So Here is the Deal
The Smiths have agreed to one FINAL run. And they have also offered us a price amnesty, as we were able to argue that at such short notice, it is not always possible to pay even our relatively low prices that so upset the Master Smiths (you may have seen it before, but the typical price of these is TWICE what we offer them for..)
So what we are willing to do is forgo our share of the profits and give YOU all one last chance before they are all gone for good..
Almost ALL the old Archives designs are back for one last time. After the 10th of April, they will all be archived permanently – never to be sold again.
It is a shame it came to this – and we will try to keep Forge Direct rolling with Master Xiaolong, but it will take some time.. For the time being, we have archived the Spring Collection and brought back all 8 classic Forge Direct Designs at 25% off for the very last time..
What more can I say. If you want to own your own piece of Chinese and SBG History, you have until April 10th..
