A new ATrim sword store: Tried and True Armory -- myArmoury.com

Tom Kinder · Last edited by Tom Kinder on Sat 05 Feb, 2011 3:26 pm; edited 1 time in total

I would like to introduce to the myArmoury community my newly opened E-store, Tried and True Armory:

http://www.triedandtruearmory.com/index.html

We are a small and new company started by lovers of swords and swordsmanship designed to serve people like us.

I have been working with Gus Trim for close to a year now, occasionally doing reviews of his swords simply because I love them and want to see my favorite sword brand succeed. Recently Gus and I decided to take the plunge and have me start selling his swords, at which point I teamed up with my good friend Hiroshi Thomas and Tried and True Armory was founded.

We will be offering all the standard ATrim swords that Gus is currently making. With the blessing of Christian Fletcher we have taken over the sale of all the lower end ATrim sales including the Build Your Own ATrim line he had been selling until recently. This move supports us and frees Christian up to focus more on the higher end sword work that is his bread and butter.

Tried and True Armory will be offering several levels of ATrim sword.

Our Mercenary Grade line of swords are a select number of models that perform up to the ATrim standard but have been built with a budget in mind. Swords in this line that have fullers will have them left black from heat treat and the finish will be a rough satiny finish of about 120 grit. We currently have this line of swords listed at $350 for single handed swords and $395 for the 1415 which is currently the only long sword we are offering in the line. These are introductory prices and will eventually increase a small amount, but we are going to run this sale price for a while, possibly all month. We will make an announcement well before ending the sale.

Our Tried and True Grade line is a selection of standard ATrim sword models that we are personally familiar with and will have reviews up on-site so the customer can have a real in-depth look at the sword if they wish. this page and this line is currently in development but what we have up will give you an idea of where it is going. It won't be long before we have full reviews up for all those swords. We hope to eventually add every ATrim model we carry to the Tried and True line.

we are working with Mike Harris to produce not a line of swords but a slow and steady input of individual customized swords that will be made available as they are finished. The goal of this project is to produce a high performance sword that looks more like a historical sword than standard ATrim swords tend. These swords will be posted for sale on our "On the Shelf" page when they are available and I will make an announcement here about the same time they are posted to the website.

We will also offer the occasional Munition Grade sword. A Munition Grade sword is one that for some reason cannot fit into its intended spot as an ATrim model. Some recent examples of swords offered as munition grade are: a XII.1 that was very over specified weight. a good sword but not a XII.1 despite looking like one, a XIX.1 with a small machine scar that did not polish out, a Xa.2 and XII.5 that had some cosmetic waves in the finish. These swords are all good functional swords or Gus would just scrap them but they have little issue so we offer them as-is at a reduced price.

NEWS:
Right now the Build Your Own ATrim line is on hold until we can get all the parts moved from Christian Fletcher to us and get ourselves set up to offer our own take on this line. Once we open up the line it will essentially be an entirely new line. While I would imagine Christian will be happy to take commissions to doll up these swords he will not be doing it as part of the line as offered by us. We will still offer some manner of custom grips (though we will not be able to offer the same variety Christian did). We will be offering choice of pommels and guards.

Right now Gus is experiencing some difficulties with his grinding equipment so we are currently focusing on the Mercenary Line and even producing some Munition/Mercenary grade swords that are not part of the normal Mercenary line. we will post these swords on our "On the Shelf" page as they are available

We will be carrying Gus' Tactical Sword line though we have not yet worked out all the details on that so they are not listed on the site.

In the future we are looking to offer permanent assembly for all sword lines upon customer request for a reasonable fee. Leather transport and storage scabbards should be available soon.

We anticipate several new models to be released soon and have already seen two new ones, a type XII, and a type XIX.

We are accepting pre-orders at the website listed price right now for any model on the site, but we will only accept ten commissions at any one time in order to manage the work load being thrown on Gus and to keep wait times as low as possible.

We currently do not have any stock on hand but we will take 8 more commissions. we had a stock of 5 swords that flew from the shelves in our first 18 hours of business. we hope to have new swords on hand very soon.

Please be patient with us while we get our game together. I will likely be here making announcements on a regular basis.

I don't mean to tease you all too much but here's a few pictures of our first shipment of 5 swords.

Photobucket image

We look forward to working with and learning from you.

Tom Kinder
and
Hiroshi Thomas

Jason Elrod · Posted: Fri 04 Feb, 2011 4:16 pm Post subject:

Good to see a little movement in ATrim swords. It has been along while since we've heard anything new out of Gus. I'll be watching your website with interest for the new models.

Good luck with your endeavor! I hope you have many sales.

Tom Kinder · Posted: Sat 05 Feb, 2011 3:33 pm Post subject:

thanks Jason, you will be seeing new movement of ATrims now, I promise.

Gus has been quietly building himself back up these last couple years, he has cleaned out his back log and is in full swing once again.

of the five swords pictured above, only the Tac Kat is an old model. all the rest are new and there's more new stuff coming and at every step we have taken more things have popped up to help us out. things seem to be just falling into place right now and it is a very exciting time. I expect a new shipment of swords by middle of next week, some new stuff some old stuff.

I'll make an announcement as soon as we have new item available. we also have 8 open commission slots at this time.

Stephen Curtin · Posted: Sat 05 Feb, 2011 4:10 pm Post subject:

WOW Gus' stuff is looking better than ever, I had heard that he has been working on his asthetics lately, and it would appear to be paying off. Anyways good luck on the new business venture.

Jason Elrod · Posted: Sat 05 Feb, 2011 4:25 pm Post subject:

That XIX is very intriguing. It appears to have a hexagonal cross section which is correct for the type and is also not something that I remember seeing from Gus before. I look forward to checking out all of your new models.

Nathan Robinson · myArmoury Admin

Roger Hooper · Posted: Sat 05 Feb, 2011 6:40 pm Post subject:

Jason Elrod · Posted: Sun 06 Feb, 2011 3:43 am Post subject:

Keith Dahl · Posted: Sun 06 Feb, 2011 7:42 am Post subject:

Looks like a great site! I look forward to the Mercenary line. They look like perfect backyard cutters. The unpolished fullers actually look pretty cool. Cool

Will the 1557 still be offered once the Build Your Own ATrim line is available? I ordered one from Christian Fletcher's site almost a year ago, but had to cancel it due to some unexpected expenses. I will kick myself forever if this model is no longer available. Sad

Tom Kinder · Posted: Sun 06 Feb, 2011 7:53 am Post subject:

the 1557 will be available and it will be in the Build Your Own program. It will also be available outside BYO as a tuned model with Gus' preferred fittings. in fact if someone wanted to commission one right now they would only have to email us and we'd make arrangements. we currently have 7 commission spots open. we are limiting commissions to 10 in an effort to keep wait times to a minimum and to make sure not to bog Gus down.

every model of sword Gus is still willing to make will be available through us, we just have to get our web site caught up with all the models we inherited from Christian Fletcher.

personally, I love the black fullers

the XIX.1 really stands out for me as the most fun to handle of the first batch. it is a very interesting and different feeling sword. one of these days I will have to get one for my personal collection.

Ken Jay · Posted: Sun 06 Feb, 2011 2:36 pm Post subject:

Nice to see the ATrim line coming back with a new retailer. Good luck with your venture and wish you many sales! Happy

Richard B. Price · Posted: Sun 06 Feb, 2011 6:42 pm Post subject:

Good timing, tax season is here and my ole DN 1506 is lookin lonely on the wall all by itself. I loves Gus's work and look forward to seeing more of it.

A. Gallo · Posted: Sun 06 Feb, 2011 10:55 pm Post subject:

This is reallly cool and well timed

Over the years it became progressively more confusing knowing exactly where to order a 'real' Atrim - I was even one of the unlucky ones way back who placed an order on the infamous Allsaints website where your money would be dumped "into the system" (with neither you nor Gus knowing where/who the system was)

However, something like a year later I recieved it, and the end product has an excellent bang/buck ratio. To this day, my favorite sword to cut.

An up-to-date online store selling swords they have IN STOCK while Christian concentrates on the custom stuff? count me in.

I think it will be a hit.

Perry L. Goss · Posted: Wed 13 Jul, 2011 4:59 am Post subject: Tried & True feedback

Just a note. I have had dealings with Tom a few weeks back and everything went smoothly. Did not purchase as times are tough and money is tight right now at our house, but the customer service was great.

Deserves mention.

William Swiger · Posted: Wed 13 Jul, 2011 8:28 am Post subject:

I second that as I have bought 1 sword and have one on order. Good folks to deal with.