Anyone deal with Badger Blades?

[DanR217]

I'm a regular over in the Busse forum, but lately I've been wanting to branch out a bit and I was turned onto Badger Blades by someone who met the smith in person and liked what he had to say. I checked out his website, thought his prices were reasonable, started off wanting an all steel katana but changed my mind to a polished, bronze fit one.

The shipping was fast, but when I got the sword I immediately noticed the handle poking through the box with the pommel exposed, not very good packing... There were quite a few dark blemishes on the blade and it didn't seem like it had been stored with oil on it, but if there's one thing I've learned it's not to whine about a couple of marks. After a bit it started to bug me and I don't know how to polish well, so I sent the guy an e-mail asking what was the best way to remove blemishes. He e-mailed me back that night and asked what kind of blemishes they were, I e-mailed him back describing them and haven't heard from him in a few days.

His show schedule says he's at a Renn fair right now (and is quite often) but my previous e-mails went unanswered for some time (even after I told him I was interested in his work, but I needed to know I could get a hold of him if I had a problem) and my phone calls and voice-mails to his shop have gone completely unanswered or returned. I even left a voice-mail at his shop saying I know I'm being picky, that I'm willing to pay the shipping back to me, if I could just send it in and have him clean it up. Why you would send off a dirty blade is beyond me and the way it was packed almost ensured it wouldn't make it, unless he has someone else doing the shipping from his shop while he's at the fair, not off to a good start...

My gut instinct said not to do it from the get go, I like good customer service. If you can't provide customer care because you are too busy, that's a problem with your business model. I'm getting a little frustrated at this point and I'm considering filing a dispute with PayPal. I'll give him a few more days to respond, but I don't even want to use the sword until I hear what he wants me to do.

All that said and not being a sword guy or held any high quality swords to compare it to, the katana feels great and other than the few blemishes it looks great to. You can definitely tell it's hand made, whether that's a good, bad or indifferent thing I don't know, but I like it. It's not very sharp, but he says on his site he leaves them semi sharp for people who want to do re-enactment fighting or whatever. The balance is awesome, it feels light enough to swing all day even though I guess it is a bit heavier than other katanas.

So yeah, anyone have anything good, bad or indifferent to say about his work/customer service?

 

[horseclover]

A few simple searches for Badger Blades may point to some pros and cons. Semi sharp for re-enactment sounds dangerous to say the least and as mentioned some searching on your own part may have saved grief in the first place.

To be honest, I don't believe PayPal will help in the matter at all. You received an item more or less as described. As to a few blemishes you seem unable to deal with, I can nly wonder what you would do if your personal vehicle got a scratch or mud in the hub caps. Mine may seem an extreme response to this but it seems to me you may have jumped into a purchase without much foresight and research of the product line.

If you search out my own feelings on circus sideshow acts, you might also find Busse mentioned. Both Badger and Busse read as hype to me and despite the OUTSTANDING following of Busse products, you may see some similarity in the promotional aspect of such items.

Badger has been around a long, long, long time and if busting up cinder blocks is what you consider a nice sword then you headed in the right direction. Thick blades well geat treated in anachronistic form. What else could anyone hope for?

Really and I don't mean to offend but it sounds like you got what you paid for and a little scrubbing will make it as good as new. Oh wait, the blemishes were free of charge

Best, really

GC

 

[DanR217]

Yeah, who cares about professionalism or customer service? I tried everything up to a felt dremel wheel and flitz to get the marks off, it's not like dirt on my hubcaps, thanks for patronizing me though. I'm obviously not as smart as you, I like Busse knives...

Oh wait, you said, you didn't mean to offend (riiiight) so you can say what you want.

So you've dealt with badger blades? I'm pretty sure I asked for people that have dealt with them, keep you superfluous comments out of here if you just want to trash my choices.

In case you're having trouble understanding, horselover, which I bet you are, the issue now is that I can't get a hold of the guy...

Oh, and what katanas aren't anachronistic? I forgot, tons of modern wars are fought with swords... I wanted something reasonably priced that I could learn and practice with without having to worry if I was going to mess it up beyond repair, and yes, I paid an axtra 25% so it would be shiny and look nice, mortal sin, I know.

 

[horseclover]

Yes, I have dealt with Badger by having read of their pros and cons since the 1990s. In suggesting you might do a little searching about feedback, you might encounter similar issues you seem to be troubled with.

I offered support for your choices and you are welcome to them but I also offered what may be advice for resolution. I can applaud you may have attacked a blemish with a felt wheel and Flitz; Well gee, maybe something a little more aggressive might clean that up..

As to your counter in snide remarks, I am quite used to them. In terms of anachronism, even a beginner in understanding Japanese swords might realize Badger Blades katana are a bit anachronistic. You can take that as a slight. You can take my entire first response and this reply as a slight. That is your burden to carry, not mine.

Good luck with the sword whatever you choose to do and good luck in pursuing the maker.

You might want to reread the recently revised PayPal guidelines. Or not.

Cheers

GC

 

[SeaxyBeast]

Haven't dealt with Badger in years, but GC's description of the blades seems accurate enough for the one my wife got at a faire a while ago. The faire market is a unique place and the crowd you appeal to there has some interesting overlap between knowledgeable reenactors and fantasy types. Succeeding in that market takes a fair bit of carnival salesmanship, but succeeding long-term means you need decent quality as well. They've been at it a long time. Given the way the faire schedule works, the market is also feast or famine and you sell as much as you can while you have the chance and fix things during the off-season.

It's probably still faire season for them. If so, they are probably overwhelmed with production and sales and have only intermittent access to email. You might want to take that into consideration when you set your expectations. Not making excuses -- I have no reason to defend them -- just trying to give you a better picture of how your communication fits in with the rest of what they are doing.

 

[DanR217]

Thanks beast, I know I can be pretty impatient and quick to react, especially when people insult me

I should have looked into it more, I didn't realize they were primarily faire operators. I'll cut them more of a break because apparently they've been around and are reasonably well known, but in my opinion, if they have someone standing by to fill internet orders, they should have someone that can respond to questions about those internet orders, even if it's just a, "We're waiting for them to get back from the show" anything to at least let me know they're not ignoring me on purpose.

 

[RevDevil]

Folks, there is no room here for condesending remarks and cynical analogies. If you cannot help or be of some use, skip the thread. Consider this an advisory notice to you all. I hope this is clear enough.