January Winner

February 20th, 2010

February, 2009 we selected our January winner in Brothersmith-Swords 10th anniversary celebration.

Congratulations to JF of Crivitz, Wisconsin. He received a XL1087 CSA Rifle Sword a retail value of $ 81.00.

Sword Gun

Thanks to the folks at www.psychicscience.org for the use of their random number generator.

What is a good Functional Sword?

January 11th, 2010

We have explained what a functional sword is, son now we look at what’s a good functional sword.

The answer is of course, what you are going to do with it and how much you are willing to spend. If you intend to use the sword in a rigorous manner then be prepared to spend a lot. Some stage combat and reenactments require a top quality sword for heavy use. For safety sake buy only top quality swords. Don’t think a $39.95 sword will do it. Sometimes you will get lucky but cheap swords will not hold up.

For most of us a $150.00 to $300.00 sword will do just fine. These are carbon steel swords that can hold up to moderate or light use. There are many of them out there so the selection is large and varied.

I personally prefer Windlass, Hanwei and Ritter Steel, in that order. The main reason is availability. These swords are available which keeps the prices down and quality up.

Windlass is my favorite because they are good quality, consistency and look and feel better than most. A great example is the 500784 Musketeer Rapier. It is not only a good sword but feels good in your hand and looks great. There are many other examples in the Windlass line.

Hanwei swords are great. Maybe even the best swords available. However, the can cost a lot but offers a good selection of top quality, well made swords. Like Ritter Steel swords the $150 to $300 swords are a bit heavy and plain. Overall they are some of the best but could cost a lot. They are well worth looking at.

Hope this helps in your buying decision.

December Winner

January 5th, 2010

January 6, 2010 we selected our December winner in Brothersmith-Swords 10th anniversary celebration.

Congratulations to TW of Hickory NC. He received a 300228 Leather Cuirass a retail value of $ 159.95.

 

t-23554-84

Thanks to the folks at www.psychicscience.org for the use of their random number generator.

The next prize will be given on February10.

November Winner

January 5th, 2010

December 7, 2009 we selected our November winner in Brothersmith-Swords 10th anniversary celebration.

Congratulations to CM of Sammamish, WA. He received a 2047 Chinese Broadsword a retail value of $ 139.95.

 d-23518-374

 

Thanks to the folks at www.psychicscience.org for the use of their random number generator.

The next prize will be given on January 10.

October Winner

November 11th, 2009

November10, 2009 we selected our October winner in Brothersmith-Swords 10th anniversary celebration.

Congratulations to AB of Midland Texas. He received a 300228 Leather Cuirass a retail value of $ 159.95.

 

t-23554-84

Thanks to the folks at www.psychicscience.org for the use of their random number generator.

The next prize will be given on December 10.

What is Up With Shipping Charges?

November 9th, 2009

As is normal for this time of year we get a lot of questions about express shipping. We only offer 3rd Day Select on  www.brothersmith-swords.com but will ship 2nd or overnight if the customer request and is willing to pay additional shipping cost.

This leads to the next question “How Much will it cost?. Here is the problem, we can’t tell until we ship it. Here is why:

1. UPS charges normally by the weight of the package.

2. They also compute a dimensional weight on larger packages which can double some charges. They use dimensional weight for all express shipments.

3. Another charge is for rural delivery and extended rural delivery.  If you live outside a major city it will cost. It can cost us more to ship a package from our location in Virginia to a small town in North Carolina than here to a big city in California.

4. Fuel surcharges are assessed on all shipments.

5. A charge is added to all shipments to residents.

UPS has a utility that estimates the shipping cost but it based on weight only and is worthless.

 

I hope this answers some questions about express shipping and the challenges. One thing you can be sure of is we will add no more than UPS charges us to upgrade an express package.

This leads to another question. How do you calculate what you charge for regular and 3rd day now?

It’s not very hard. We charge based on the subtotal of the order.  After being in business for 9 years we’ve gotten pretty good at our estimates. This year we did not increase shipping charge even though UPS and USPS did.  We spent $2000.00 more on shipping than we charged last year so we know our rates are more than fair to our customers.

Hope this clears up some questions about shipping charges. As always we will do the best we can for our customers.

September Winner

October 5th, 2009

October 4, 2009 we selected our September winner in Brothersmith-Swords 10th anniversary celebration.

Congratulations to SS of Little Rock, AR. He received a XL1087 CSA Rifle Sword a retail value of $ 81.00.

Sword Gun

Thanks to the folks at www.psychicscience.org for the use of their random number generator.

The next prize will be given on November 1.

August Winner Selected

September 3rd, 2009

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Congratulations to RH of Maumee, OH our August 2009 winner. He will receive a 2142 Functional Golden Warrior Samurai Wakizashi valued at $ 79.95. Don’t forget free gifts for orders over $50 are still being given away. Have a great month.

July Winner Selected

August 1st, 2009

August 1 we selected our July winner. Congratulations to SL of Orem Ut. He will receive a 1575 Practice Tai Chi Sword valued at 109.95.

1575 Tai Chi Sword

Thanks to the folks at www.psychicscience.org for the use of their random number generator.

The next prize will be given on September 1.

June Winner Selected

July 1st, 2009

July 1, 2009 we selected our first winner in Brothersmith-Swords 10th anniversary celebration.

Congratulations to M&K C of Elburn, IL. They received a XL1087 CSA Rifle Sword a retail value of $ 81.00.

Sword Gun

Thanks to the folks at www.psychicscience.org for the use of their random number generator.

The next prize will be given on August 1.