Dear all,

Some of you may have come across my recent posting concerning my shipment of swords being recalled by the US Government soon after reaching my country.

Just to highlight that another fellow sword enthusiast had just gotten into the same predicament as myself today! One of the swords that had already been delivered had to be re-packed and sent back to US for inspection!

Both of us are shipping our items out of States via AccessUSA / MyUS.com without trouble for months UNTIL now. Seems like this company maybe under some scrutiny by the US Government. So I'd like to advise all fellow sword enthusiasts who are using/considering using the above-mentioned to ship their stuffs to HOLD YOUR HORSES for time being at least! If you send your stuff through them now, you may quite well end up in the same predicament as us.

I'll keep you guys updated once I gets a clearer picture of the situation, or whereabout my shipment of swords. At the moment, the last update on my DHL Tracking shows only 'in transit' to 'Wilmington, US', dated 7 Dec '07. The shipment was recalled on 3 Dec'07. Whatever happens since 8 Dec till now, or would I ever get my shipment in, no one in AccessUSA seems to be able to tell for sure.

Anxious Larry

FWIW, Wilmington has a deep water port. So, your package may simply be headed back to the place from which it was shipped. May just be coincidence, but here's an AP brief about Wilmington:

Delaware: Port Security Program
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 6, 2007

Workers at the port of Wilmington will begin being enrolled in a new program and receive identification cards mandated by the federal government in an effort to improve security. The Department of Homeland Security will begin enrollment on Oct. 16 after months of delays in starting the program. Enrollment will continue at 11 other ports through November, and officials hope to have the new IDs for all port workers by September. Congress ordered the administration to develop the card as part of port security legislation passed in late 2002.

If Wilmington is under close scrutiny right now they may have a hair trigger for this kind of shipment recall. If it's a GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR™ issue, the U.S. agency involved probably already has manifests and info on every shipper and receiver. This might have sounded paranoid until recently, but U.S. telecom companies have handed over tons of confidential customer data to the government, absent legal warrants, in recent years. I'm not suggesting that you have anything to fear (other than the callous disregard for your personal property). Just be aware that the U.S. government's interest in this shipment likely extends far beyond the contents of individual packages. :\

Jean, not Canada but Australia. The fellow sword enthusiast who got his "already-deliverd" sword collected back for inspection, that is.

Surely the US Government would not deem my humble shipment of 2 swords as "weapon of mass destruction"... or would they?? ;) Ok, I admit this other fellow sword enthusiast was worse as his shipment contains 8 swords (including one already delivered and re-packed back).. maybe his can quantify for "wmd".. or actually "mwd" (mass weapon of destruction) :p

Having said that, and having been living in a country which uphold security with "utmost respect", I've absolutely no complaints abt the extra inspection process; just sort of worried that my shipment getting lost in transit due to the 'new' procedures. Hopefully I'm able to receive my swords before or in time for Christmas.

:\ Larry

Dear all,

Just some heads up regarding the recent episode of sword shipment being recalled by US Government/Customs:

Good news! DHL has just delivered my shipment of 2 swords to my doorstep! Initial visual check by my mom says that the items are OK.

Bad news! They collected additional 40+ SGD from my mom (who happens to be at home) when she received the shipment. My mom's illiterate & could not explain whatever the additional charges are for.

I'll keep you guys posted further when I get the chance to examine the receipt, and examine the items for any possible scratches/rough handlings when I reach home tonite.

Great news!

It may just have been like when an airport realizes that one of its metal detectors has broken down--everybody has to go back through. If they thought this shipment had not been properly screened, they may have recalled it just to make sure it was OK. One would hope that our government wouldn't bring a suspected WMD back into a U.S. port after it's reached its foreign destination, though.

My heart missed a beat or two when I returned home to inspect the 'US Government inspected' shipment: there were only 1 box instead of 2 and the 2 swords were chucked quite haphazardly together. Some smart aleck simply unshield my HW Edward III and insert the blade through the side ring guard of my DelTin Schiavona, in an attempt to secure the 2 pieces together in 1 package but the pieces still rock about due to the odd shapes of the 2 guards. The Edward III was positioned diagonally at an angle in the box resting on its guard! Bad!

The code of arms on the HW Edward III's (which was bought from the used market) shield had fallen off; good thing there is an exposed piece of wrapping tapes from inside the box and the fallen piece got stucked there & not dropped off during transit. I'm not sure if AccessUSA or DHL had caused this, but I'd specifically instructed AccessUSA to ship my items in their original packaging, so by right I should see 2 separate boxes not 1. So good thing the fallen piece of code of arms did not get lost!

The DelTin schiavona is still wrapped in bubbles so everything seems good but there are some scuff marks on the blade of the Edward III - not sure if these were due to shipping or it came with it. Again, I would be more sure if the pieces were shipped in their original packages.

Oh, and the 42 SGD.. it's some form of tax I have to pay on top of 'CIFF & Duty'.. ( I believe AccessUSA under declared).

Whatever that is, I'm glad the goods reached me in time for Christmas! Thanks to all you guys who have given me your remarks, advises & comforting words. Appreciate it!

I'm waiting to hear what's the outcome of the shipment of my fellow sword enthusiast friend from Aussie. Will keep you guys posted further if I have any news.

Jean,

Would like to clarify that my Edward III sword is the HanWei version not the A&A's. The scuffs marks are mostly lengthwise, ie. along the length of the blade. Nevertheless, the thread on Polishing you pointed out will definitely be of great help to me.

Many thanks~