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Hector Mendoza
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 Posted: Fri 04 May, 2018 10:57 am Post subject: Any suggestions as to what to do with this hideous thing? |
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Hi all,
While buying a Windlass Steelcraft Italian Courtier Stiletto I saw a 34 dollar dagger from Deepeeka and I thought to myself "how bad can it be?". I got it just to get the bill over 100 and boy was I negatively surprised. Terrible. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Worst part is I can't even touch the hideous thing without gloves because whatever shoe paint they used for the sheath is coming off!!!
I was half expecting the blade would rattle or come off the hilt but in that regard it is ok... so far... I want to see if I can leave it at least presentable as a wall ornament. Any ideas?
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Mark Moore
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| Posted: Fri 04 May, 2018 12:03 pm Post subject: |
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I thought about getting one of those $34 specials...now I'm glad I didn't. Yeah...that's pretty bad.  Now the stiletto...  .....McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Lin Robinson
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| Posted: Fri 04 May, 2018 12:44 pm Post subject: |
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So sorry Hector but Deepeeka is not known for having top notch stuff - although there are a few exceptions to that - and their stuff is priced accordingly.
I have handled many, many Deepeeka pieces, nearly all of which had defects in manufacture, styling, authenticity, etc. There is not a lot you can do about it, unless you want to spend a lot of time and effort and some money, trying to rebuild something that, when you finish, will still be worth $34.
The leather dies used in India, and Pakistan too, seem to be water soluble, and unable to hold the pigment onto the leather. I assume it washes off your hands fairly easily - it always did for me. What I tried to do with occasional success, was get just as much of the original die off as I could, mainly by rubbing with a coarse cloth. Once you stop getting dry pigment off, then try to redye the leather with Fiebings or some other good quality dye. If that works then apply some leather finish and things should look better.
Good luck with your knife.
Lin Robinson
"The best thing in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women." Conan the Barbarian, 1982
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Mark Moore
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| Posted: Fri 04 May, 2018 12:55 pm Post subject: |
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Deepeeka is putting out a lot of old-stock items lately....from back in the days when their reputation was reeeeally bad. I think this dagger is probably one such piece. The leather on the scabbard was probably scuffed and possibly even moldy. I'm sure they just gave it a quick dose of shoe polish and called it good. I have one of their Molay Templar daggers that is absolutely wonderful, but it is of more recent construction and better QC. If you clean it up a bit, you might at least sell it to recoup your money.  .....McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Sam Barris
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| Posted: Fri 04 May, 2018 2:22 pm Post subject: Re: Any suggestions as to what to do with this hideous thing |
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| Hector Mendoza wrote: | | While buying a Windlass Steelcraft Italian Courtier Stiletto I saw a 34 dollar dagger from Deepeeka and I thought to myself "how bad can it be?" |
Now you know. And knowing, as we have been told, is half the battle (the other half is presumably not trusting a weapon like that in a battle).
At least you weren't out a lot of money for it.
Pax,
Sam Barris
"Any nation that draws too great a distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools." —Thucydides
Last edited by Sam Barris on Fri 04 May, 2018 2:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Alan Schiff
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Fri 04 May, 2018 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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Might be a good candidate for a project. My brother got an older Deepeeka sword that wasn't great, but the heat treat on the blade is good. Removed the fittings and will eventually put a new hilt on it.
I'd suggest taking the dagger apart and seeing what's worth salvaging. Is it off center because of a bend or because of poor craftsmanship on the hilt? The grip should be redone regardless so it meets the pommel more aesthetically.
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Joe Fults
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| Posted: Fri 04 May, 2018 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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Kill it. Use fire. Kill it with fire.
"The goal shouldn’t be to avoid being evil; it should be to actively do good." - Danah Boyd
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Harry Marinakis
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| Posted: Sat 05 May, 2018 9:26 am Post subject: |
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| Joe Fults wrote: | | Kill it. Use fire. Kill it with fire. |
WELL SAID!
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Amy Reineri
Location: Newport News, VA Joined: 07 Jan 2018
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Sat 05 May, 2018 4:51 pm Post subject: The answer, oddly, is more polish |
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Just like dry-erase markers, shoe polish comes with it's own solvent built in and you can remove the old by simply adding fresh shoe polish and wiping BOTH off before the new shoe polish can dry - might take a coating or two. My guess is that the sheath was covered in a metalic-dye leather, which won't take a vegetable dye color on top of it. So the shoe polish may just be sitting on top of the leather - which was apparently not as dark as they wanted it to look. If that doesn't work, you could also use rubbing alcohol and some elbow grease to remove it. Or you could just make a sheath for it and throw this one away - or keep the metal and throw out the rest of the sheath and re-use the metal on a new sheath.
Wherever you go - there you are.
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Michael Beeching
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| Posted: Mon 07 May, 2018 9:50 am Post subject: |
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| Alan Schiff wrote: | Might be a good candidate for a project. My brother got an older Deepeeka sword that wasn't great, but the heat treat on the blade is good. Removed the fittings and will eventually put a new hilt on it.
I'd suggest taking the dagger apart and seeing what's worth salvaging. Is it off center because of a bend or because of poor craftsmanship on the hilt? The grip should be redone regardless so it meets the pommel more aesthetically. |
I have read in the past on Deepeeka's own website that their steel is often of a decent flavor of spring steel, but generally isn't heat treated. Therefore, for someone willing to do the hard work, you might be able to make decent swords out of their products...
Are you telling us now that they're actually heat-treating these things? That would make them a little more tempting for those of us wanting to work on a project sword without risking a large fraction of capital to do the work.
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Alan Schiff
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Mon 07 May, 2018 1:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Michael Beeching wrote: | I have read in the past on Deepeeka's own website that their steel is often of a decent flavor of spring steel, but generally isn't heat treated. Therefore, for someone willing to do the hard work, you might be able to make decent swords out of their products...
Are you telling us now that they're actually heat-treating these things? That would make them a little more tempting for those of us wanting to work on a project sword without risking a large fraction of capital to do the work. |
I know in the past some of their blades were heat treated and some were not, don't really know about currently. The blade my brother got was an older "scratch and dent" in a KoA mystery crate. I forget which model, but one that is no longer offered IIRC. If I were interested in a Deepeeka I would see if KoA has it in stock and ask if it's heat treated.
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Mark Moore
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| Posted: Mon 07 May, 2018 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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The heat treating on my Templar dagger seems to be pretty good. A file pretty well skates off the blade, and it took me a while to get an edge on it. Pretty good steel if you ask me.  ...McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Dan Howard
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| Posted: Mon 07 May, 2018 3:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Michael Beeching wrote: | | I have read in the past on Deepeeka's own website that their steel is often of a decent flavor of spring steel, but generally isn't heat treated. Therefore, for someone willing to do the hard work, you might be able to make decent swords out of their products... |
There are very few consumer protection laws in India and the ones that do exist rarely get enforced. Depeeka says whatever they want on their website to generate sales and are big enough to afford bribes to keep authorities off their back. In reality they use recycled steel and have no idea what sort of quality it is; each batch is completely different. Even if they do heat treat the sword, it won't help if the steel doesn't have the right level of carbon in the first place. There is no way to know whether a Depeeka sword came from a good batch of steel until you buy it and test it yourself. Best to buy from an American or European distributor because then you are protected by local consumer laws.
| Alan Schiff wrote: | | If I were interested in a Deepeeka I would see if KoA has it in stock and ask if it's heat treated. |
This won't help. You need to ask them what sort of steel it is made from. Heat treatment is useless if it isn't applied to the right type of steel. KoA won't be able to honestly answer that question unless they test the blade themselves because even the manufacturer doesn't know. Usually distributors just repeat what the manufacturer tells them with no independent verification.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen and Sword Books
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Alan Schiff
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Wed 09 May, 2018 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Dan Howard wrote: | | This won't help. You need to ask them what sort of steel it is made from. Heat treatment is useless if it isn't applied to the right type of steel. KoA won't be able to honestly answer that question unless they test the blade themselves because even the manufacturer doesn't know. Usually distributors just repeat what the manufacturer tells them with no independent verification. |
It's well-known that only certain steels can be properly heat treated for use as weapons or tools. My point was that KoA is more likely to actually check a piece rather than simply reiterate what the manufacturer states. Of course they may not do so, but it doesn't hurt to ask. They probably won't know the exact alloy used, but that doesn't really matter if the end result performs properly.
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Mark Moore
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| Posted: Thu 10 May, 2018 5:06 am Post subject: |
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Some of the Deepeeka stuff on KOA is listed as 'battle ready'--a term I hate--and some is not. One could only think that the battle ready stuff is heat-treated and the rest is display-only. Seems to me that KOA makes *some kind* of distinction amongst them.  .......McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Dan Howard
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| Posted: Thu 10 May, 2018 7:16 am Post subject: |
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"Battle ready" usually means that it is heavy and cumbersome. The quality of their steel is random.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen and Sword Books
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This is a standard topic