Nearly THAT time again…

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Ok, definitely time for a blog update – and quite a bit to report!

First off, Batch 19 should be shipping out from the forge by the end of the month – I’ve just sent a couple of update emails to everyone in this batch along with some pics, but here’s a couple of pics for everyone else.

Some great use of the various configuration options

Gotta love those hamon – the blades rock

Of course with batch 19 nearly clear it means that Batch 20 may well be only a week or so away from opening up on new orders (as it takes a while to process everyone’s orders, compile the master order sheet for the forge, etc – and I don’t want the forge to be sitting idle in the interim).

So if you have been waiting for a shot at creating your own custom Katana in this next batch, you may not have to wait all that much longer!

The only other thing I should mention is that along with batch 19 we will have another limited run of the SBG Black Dragon Katana coming in.

A ‘peek’ at some of the Black Dragons in the incoming shipment

So it’s definitely all hands on deck at the moment, that is for sure!

I’ll post again soon with some more news on batch 19 and a firm date for new orders on batch 20 so talk to you all again shortly!

Thanks all,
– Paul


Low Stock and a Special Offer or two

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Hi everyone,

It took a bit longer to take care of all the loose ends after my trip, and as our stock levels have become increasingly thin into June there really wasn’t all that much to post about anyway..

We are expecting restocks of our extremely popular Ronin Katana and Cheness Cutlery swords towards the middle of July, but in the meantime I’ll be the first to admit that the store was looking a little bare.

So to this end I had a chat to Hanwei and was able to wrangle a deal to tide you all over until the restock arrives, a very special price on two of the Raptor 5160 Spring Steel blades – the Shobu Zukuri Katana and the Wakizashi – both available at a price below the usual WHOLESALE cost.

With prices increasing across the industry, this is likely to be the last chance to pick up one of these swords at this kind of price – it may not be the most amazing deal we have been able to put on the table for this series, but the days of amazing clearout specials are well and truly over.

Instead, it is quite simply a great opportunity to pick up a solid cutter at a slightly lower price than you would pay if you were a sword WHOLESALER – and you may also notice that with the optional Ricky Chen Deluxe Sharpening service on offer you can take it to the next level and get this sturdy sword honed with an edge that is so sharp it feels like you’ll cut your eye looking at it!

Next month should see a lot more activity as the restocks come in, and if all goes to plan, we will open up for new orders on Batch 20 of the SBG custom Katana (Batch 19 is basically completed and about to ship, just waiting on a few of the more complicated designs to be completed and some pics from the forge before posting on the other blog).

Plus, our long awaited collaboration with Ronin Katana, Project X is picking up momentum and I have just finished writing an official announcement that will be published in next months issue of the Sword Buyers Digest – very exciting stuff for higher end Katana enthusiasts around the corner indeed!

But in the meantime if you are bargain minded and weren’t able to pick up one of the Raptors from last years super sale don’t wait around on this one – while we will always try to bring you as many manufacturer direct discount deals as possible, special deals like this one are becoming rarer as the industry tightens up, so don’t miss out..

– Paul

Quick Update

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Just a quick update as to where we are up to.

Right now we are firmly in between batches 18 and 19. Batch 18 has been a real pain this time around, delayed first by Chinese New Year the ‘stragglers’ were further held by customs for a ridiculously long period. While most swords have been shipped out, the majority of the sword sets have been sent back to the forge by customs and will apparently need additional documentation (never happened quite like that before, but the procedures for importing blades in quantity are nebulous and change constantly). So we have had no choice but to comply, bite the bullet, and reship them back to Canada.

Anyway, I’m contacting these last few individuals personally after this blog post is finished to let them know and figure out our options.. Not fun I can tell you.. 🙁

Fortunately, things are looking a lot smoother for batch 19 (officially batched on the 11th of April). To help customers keep track of where we are up to I have changed the counter on the SBG custom sword page to count down until it is due (must admit, I think I am addicted to these counter things!)

I hope to be posting some photos of batch 19’s progress on this blog early next month. Naturally, we wont be taking new orders until batch 19 is completed and in transit, so for those who are waiting for another opportunity, for the time being the above counter is a rough guide.

Will post another update soon – as always if anyone has any concerns at all please contact me personally and I will get back to you asap.

– Paul

Back to business

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Hey everyone,

Thanks for bearing with me while I have been away. I had a great trip, but right now have a fairly large number of emails to sort through which I should have addressed by the end of the weekend, so if you are waiting on a reply, please bear with me just a little bit while I sort it all out.

Anyway, for everyone who took advantage of the 5% delayed shipping discount – thanks for your business! All the orders will be processed over the weekend and should start moving next week accordingly. And just because the backlog and the fact that our affiliated warehouses are closed over the weekend and any orders placed until Sunday will not start top ship until next week too, I have extended the coupon code to work until midnight Sunday (USA eastern standard time).

In the meantime, because there are so many emails to go through if you have a matter of extreme urgency please email me again and I’ll get back to you as a priority.

Thanks for bearing with me – I’ll post again once the hubbub has calmed down a bit. 🙂

– Paul

Vacation Discount

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Hi All,

Well, officially any orders placed from today will not ship until after I get back on the 25th. However, to make up for the inconvenience, while any orders placed now will not move quickly, you can save 5% by entering the coupon code May 2012 (or if you have trouble with the code for some reason, 133673915) and we will reduce the cost of your order by 5%.

Shipping of orders placed up to this point will continue as usual (updated by my assistant Karyn) and as mentioned earlier if you have any questions send me an email and I’ll do my best to get back to you.

Thanks for your understanding.

– Paul