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Sword Buyers Digest - October 2010 October 01, 2010 |
| Hey,
First off, we have the big announcement that many people are been waiting for - the official launch of the brand-new SBG sword forum! But that's not all - not by a longshot.. Because with new reviews, articles and tutorials added to the Main site - as well as some of the absolute best deals on mid-to high-end Japanese katana that I've EVER seen - this really is a jam-packed issue that I hope has something for everyone! So without any further ado, let's get right into it! CONTENTS
1. NEW SWORD FORUM: official launch
It's been nearly 2 months in development, but I'm pleased to say that the new SBG Sword Forum is finally operational and good to go! Finally, we have moved out of our “rental” forum with pro-boards, and moved into a place of our own - taking the best of the old and combining it with fresh new ideas to create what we hope will be the most vibrant, open and friendly sword forum for many years to come.. There's still plenty of room for development, and over the coming months we will continue to evolve and refine the forum to take up to a whole new level.. But right now, the time has come to move in and see our new forum for the first time..
As soon as you sign up, you get a PM welcoming you to the forum with some useful links to help you settle in.. I'm really looking forward to seeing you all there - I hope you like it folks! ^_^
Apart from the new forum launch, September was probably one of the craziest and the busiest months in SBG’s history – for starters 5 new reviews were added, along with 5 articles on sword care and repair, and 4 articles on sword customization! NEW REVIEWS NEW SWORD CARE ARTICLES NEW SWORD CUSTOMIZATION ARTICLES All of the newly added tutorials have also been linked as easy to find reference materials on the relevant sub-forums of the new forum, and there are still quite a few more pending over the coming months, though forum members are especially encouraged to add their own tutorials which if they ‘make the grade’ will be immortalized on the main site in due course. I should also mention here, as this month’s issue is obviously dedicated to the new forum launch – we will be skipping over the sword industry news this month (as it was fairly quiet anyway) – but last month saw a tutorial for making your own medieval sword appear on SMG here – along with several related sub articles, such as this one on how to wrap a medieval swords hilt with both leather and wire.
You’ll also find that most of these articles are referenced in the new SBG Sword Forum for ease of use an access as we increasingly mesh the forum and the main site together to reinforce and strengthen each other, and there are MANY more articles in development that will be added over the coming months to both sites, so be sure to check our News Blog frequently, or better yet, sign up to our RSS feed on that page accordingly.
With the craziness of the Hanwei 2 for 1 Raptor deal finally behind us, and Cheness having gone on vacation until around the 22nd – you’d think that October would be a quiet month for the SBG Sword Store.. But in truth it’s probably about to get a whole lot busier.. For a start October will see a whole heap of previously ordered swords from the SBG Professional Grade and Entry level swords ship out over the course of the month, and at the same time (so that the forges aren’t twiddling their thumbs) – the time for another round of pre-orders has well and truly come.. Indeed, as of TODAY we are taking new pre-orders for the Kuramono and the new Kuramono elite (explained in more detail later in this issue)… And within the next 2 weeks, we will also be taking orders for the SBG Entry Level line..! Busy enough right? But if you scroll on down to the bottom of the newsletter to the ‘bargain hunters and clearouts section’ you’ll see a couple new special deals from Hanwei that are likely to overshadow EVERYTHING else that is going on until they are sold out (and at the prices below, well, I don’t think that will take all that long). I think I need a holiday (and if I put my prices up a bit, I could probably afford one too! :-P).
From the ‘Old’ Forums – for the last time…
The Perfect Gift for your other half
Modern Tactical Swords
Rust issues – different strokes for different folks
Tinker vs Valiant Arming Swords
I must admit I have always had something of a soft-spot for the Egyptian Khopesh – and the stunning custom Khopesh by John Lundemo on the old forums here had me drooling..
They certainly were a lot more sophisticated than just a ‘sickle sword’ – as this history channel video aptly demonstrates (not to mention historian Mike Loades seems to have a pretty good idea of how to USE a Khopesh – his technique demonstrations are exceptional!).
THE HANWEI MADNESS CONTINUES! Last month saw a truly amazing clearance offer by Hanwei where they offered any two of their Raptor series Katana for the price of one.. But it would seem that while the Raptor 2 for 1 deal may be over, the slow economy has impacted rather heavily on demand for their mid to high end swords – and the madness goes to a whole new level with the same kind of crazy deal with their Musashi and Tori Katana range..! I honestly don’t know how long the following deals will last – but when you consider we are offering the Tori series Katana for $499.99 SHIPPED (which normally have a MSRP of $1,399 – and the usual lowest price range on the internet is around the $670-750) and the Musashi for $329.99 SHIPPED (MSRP $899, typically selling for $450 to $500) – well, all I can say is that they are going to sell out like hot cakes!
And if you want to go in with a friend (or just want to make the most out of this offer), you can get any TWO of the Tori series swords (Elite, XL and XL Light) or $399.99 EACH or TWO of any Musashi’s for an insane $279.99 EACH!!! I really don’t think it gets any better than this, so get in while you can!!
Well, that about wraps up the October edition of the digest! Look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in the new forum, otherwise - have a fun Halloween and see you again next month! Paul Southren |
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Forgive me if this issue seems a little bit rushed, but once you see what's been going on (and what is still going on) I think you might understand time is in short supply at the moment!
