[Mark Moore]

The title says it all. Some decent eye-candy for the collector of long arms. Just click the link and hit 'new additions'---pretty cool stuff to browse through. www.kultofathena.com ............McM

[Mark Moore]

I particularly like the English halberd and the Half Moon halberd. I would have a pair of those crossed on my wall. The Glaive is pretty cool also. ....McM

[J.D. Crawford]

It's frustrating that this company is able to flood the market with new products, seemingly almost every day, when quality North American manufacturers are unable to fill orders of well established products in a timely fashion.

[Mark Moore]

When you say -'this company'- do you mean KOA or Deepeeka? Sorry you are a hater, either way. I happen to like Deepeeka products, and enjoy the CS from KOA. I simply brought this message forth so that new and old collectors could have a look and decide for themselves. .....McM

[Roger Hooper]

[Mark Moore]

So do I , Roger! As I said, I only offered them up as a point of interest for folks to look at. Not everyone here on myArmoury has an Albion or A&A budget. I think some of their stuff is pretty cool. If you have a different objective, then so be it. As for me, I had rather have a huge collection (which I do.), of lower-end priced high-quality products like Hanwei and Windlass. It irks me that KOA is falling headfirst into the low-end market......but.....Whatchagonnadoboutit? KOA is getting slaughtered by Amazon and Ebay. I doubt they will survive another two years. Sad....very sad. ......McM

[Houston P.]

Mark, I don't really think that your collection has nearly as much to do with your budget as it does with personal tastes. As you said, you have a rather large collection of lower price point pieces. The other side of the coin for us poorer collectors is to only buy a piece or maybe two per year. That's really where I fit in. Almost any spare cash I get is put back for an Albion, or perhaps an occasional trip to an event to sharpen my skills with Renaissance era weapons.

[M. Eversberg II]

I have limited experience with Depeeka products, though they are a name that I have long associated with being low-end, being one of the first companies those within the blade collecting community pointed out as being crap to me. Some of their items look terrible - not just in the details, but in overall form (things like boxy grips or really chunky looking furnature). Some of their items look alright - even attractive - but don't hold up to fitness. There is one particular sword they sell that I intend to purchase before long.

FWIW their polearms are (generally) interesting looking. Some are questionable, and I'd probably reject them if I knew more in depth about polearms. Others look just fine - I've actually wanted that "glave" for a while now - something about a kitchen knife on a stick is funny to me.

Their smaller items are probably "OK" as well, but I can't say for sure.

[Lin Robinson]

My wife and I ran a Scottish-themed sword, dirk and miscellaneous edged weapons business for fourteen years before selling it three years ago. It was something of a struggle at times but we did not live out of it so it amounted to an expensive, time-consuming hobby. However, we enjoyed vending at Highland games and Celtic festivals and meeting the people.

We sold Deepeeka, Museum Replicas and Hanwei blades primarily. Except for a lot of stuff we got from other sources, mostly made in China, Deepeeka was the low end of the quality spectrum. However, toward the end of our ownership, they began to improve, if not the over all quality, the "looks" of their stuff. I had a hard time keeping some of the items in stock, i.e. when I had them, they flew off the tables. Apparently somebody was buying it because we began to have trouble restocking. When we sold out, I kept a couple of Deepeeka pieces and was happy with them. However, we always sold them as decorators and did not encourage our customers, most of whom wouldn't any way, to use them.

I think J. D. is not "hating" anything with his comment. He is simply bemoaning the fact that foreign makers can produce stuff in great quantities at lower prices than American craftsmen and manufacturers are able to charge. It has been that way for a long time and is unlikely to change anytime soon. Economics are at the bottom of that. Few people are willing to pay $1700 for a Viking sword, excellent quality or not, when they can get one for less than $500 which fills their perception of what they need. Some folks are unwilling to put the cash aside and wait until they can order the more expensive sword. In my own case, not quite two years ago, I took delivery on a Shiloh Sharps rifle, something I have wanted for many years. I can afford that now but when I was in my prime I could not. Raising a son through college age just meant I had to settle for a Pedersoli for years. The unfortunate part is that I am so darned old that I probably will never get to wring the potential out of that wonderful rifle or shoot it nearly as much as I would like to. But that is just how it is.

[Arne G.]

[J.D. Crawford]

[Joe Fults]

Polish guys have some drawbacks too...and I suspect their lines are growing.

[Mark Moore]

When I said that KOA is getting slaughtered by Ebay and Amazon, I got that info straight from 'Michele' at KOA. I found a Cold Steel Viking Axe on Amazon for a whole lot less than KOA's price. I sent word to KOA to see if they could beat or match the Amazon price. They could not, so I took my chances and ordered from Amazon. Michele basically told me that KOA can't compete with Amazon's prices. They will often sell at cut-rate prices, take their losses, and use it as a tax write-off. I don't really agree with business practices like that, but if it saves me money on a product I want....hey. I had RATHER bought from KOA, because I trust them---Lord knows I've bought plenty of stuff from them! But still, they claim to be able to meet or beat anyone else's prices. When they cannot do that, what do you think the customer will do? All I know is I have an axe on the way at a very good price. I will still buy from KOA, but I will also shop around first. If that makes me a bad person, then so be it. But I think most anyone else would do the same. ........McM

[Roger Hooper]

One problem of buying a sword, etc. from Amazon is quality control. I doubt that anybody takes a look at the sword before they send it to you. They probably never open the shipping box. If something is wrong with it, I'm sure they will take it back, but you've wasted a lot of time.

And they are not always cheaper - For instance. The not yet in stock Kingston Arms hand-and-a-half Tourney blunt is listed at Amazon at $259.00. Koa told me that they will be selling it at $196.00

[Mark Moore]

Well, I've done business with Amazon several times and have yet to receive a bad product. Of course, there is always a chance. It HAS shipped at least. I'll just cross my fingers and hope for the best. .....McM

[Mark Moore]

I did notice that KOA just got in some new swords from Kris Cutlery, including a nice little baselard. They also have a pretty nice cutlass from Windlass. .....McM

[M. Eversberg II]

I'll say, the only weapons I've bought off Amazon were a few Cold Steel items that KoA had not stocked ever at all.

M.