This is my first post on this particular forum, so excuse me if this belongs more in the "Off-topic" section. I figure I have a 50-50 shot of getting it in the right spot.

I made the mistake of trying to get a custom sword (16th century Ottoman kilic w/ scabbard) made by Pavel's group. This was back in March of 2002. Over two years later, after forking over nearly $900, my repeated requests to find out where my sword is have been ignored. Has anyone here actually gotten a custom sword from ARMART, or is getting shafted on pre-paid custom work common?

For that matter, is anyone here actually in communication with Pavel or anyone else from ARMART, who could tell me what the heck is going on? I've sent probably a dozen emails over the past two years, and have never gotten a reply. I really don't want to have to go through the trouble of an international lawsuit, but if it comes to that, I'm more than willing to look into it. At this point, I'll be happy with a refund...

Chris C.

I ordered a custom sword from them in July, 2001, and received it in April of 2002, 6 months after the original due date. I put in my order soon after Armart started their association with SFI, and at that time, Armart was in a better position to actually complete their orders. Soon afterwards, things got much worse. I think that there are some people who ordered swords in the Autumn of 2001 that still have not gotten their shipments.

You are certainly not alone. I've heard of at least 10 others who are in the same position. What can you do? Probably nothing. The only thing a lawsuit might accomplish is the destruction of Armart, but you wouldn't get your sword or your money back. In the past, when this subject has come up, the advice has been, be patient, and some day, some year, you will finally get your sword. At this point, that advice is worthless. I think you'll just have to take the hit and move on.

The only way you might get some satisfaction is to take an existing sword that is being advertised on their website in exchange for your original order. I know, it will have no resemblence to what you actually ordered from them, and for it to work, Pavel will actually have to respond to your enquiries.

Considering all the things I have gathered it seems that the ordered swords are still delivered, but the wait time is around 1-3 years. Also despite no communication they still seem to be working on the swords.

It takes a really self disciplined person to run a successful business on the basis of pay-first-work-later. It's way too easy to spend all the income before doing any of the work, and then it's no fun to do all the work for no additional pay. So it's good business for buyers to pay money up front only when they know that the artisan has a proven track record of successfully completing similar projects.

I agree that some of the in stock items offered by Armart look like real bargains.

An informal survey was done on this topic over at SFI about a month ago. There was something like about a dozen people who had ordered custom swords as much as 2 1/2 years ago and had never gotten them. I think one person from Australia posted that he had received one recently that he had been waiting a year for.

Pavel doesn't seem to be communicating with anyone, unless you e-mail him about a new order.

I've been waiting 2 1/2 years for my sword and have reached the conclusion that I'll never see it and my money is gone. Time to accept that and move on.

Orders for instock items do seem to be getting filled.

I was lucky enough to get an ArmArt piece before all hell broke loose. I commissioned an early Scottish dirk and it took around 6 months to be completed (3 months longer than I was quoted). It's a beautiful dirk. However, I soon after commissioned a type XIV sword and have been waiting with no word from Pavel for around 2 1/2 years. I'm not holding my breath about ever getting my sword but you never know.