Elephant Sword

Bill M · 23rd February 2008, 12:29 PM

Never seen anything like this and decided it might make an interesting display piece. I have friends who have bought from this seller and they were pleased with their purchases and felt the seller had good pieces. If they had not suggested this seller had integrity, I would not have bid.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEAFB:IT

However when it came I had three unpleasant surprises.

First The blade was broken off at the hilt.

Second the blade is about 1/16th of an inch thick, or less. I could understand how this could break as the hilt is massive and the blade is thin.

Third, Noticed in his ad that in one place he said it was "bone" and in another place "bone, tusk" So I emailed him before bidding asking if it was "bone or ivory." He replied it was Ivory. See his comment section where he posted my question and his response.

Q: Are you sure this is bone and not ivory? Bill Dec-22-07
A: it's ivory - elephant tusk.

The piece had been lost in transit for about a month. He claims "our postal system" broke it.

I told him that a sword, less than 1/16th of an inch would be broken by a man, let alone a beast as powerful as an elephant and that he had not mentioned that the blade was as thin as that in his eBay auction.

He insisted that it was old and authentic. However I never received an "invoice" stating date and value though he agreed to send one. He did PayPal refund me $250. But even the remainder of what I paid is still too much for a broken piece that I suspect is "tourist" and if so, not worth repairing.

I would like your opinions as to whether this was an "Elephant Sword," or a tourist wall hanger?

It is too late to reverse PayPal, but I still have about another month of time to leave feedback.

23rd February 2008, 12:29 PM	#1
Bill M Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: USA Georgia Posts: 1,599	Elephant Sword Never seen anything like this and decided it might make an interesting display piece. I have friends who have bought from this seller and they were pleased with their purchases and felt the seller had good pieces. If they had not suggested this seller had integrity, I would not have bid. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEAFB:IT However when it came I had three unpleasant surprises. First The blade was broken off at the hilt. Second the blade is about 1/16th of an inch thick, or less. I could understand how this could break as the hilt is massive and the blade is thin. Third, Noticed in his ad that in one place he said it was "bone" and in another place "bone, tusk" So I emailed him before bidding asking if it was "bone or ivory." He replied it was Ivory. See his comment section where he posted my question and his response. Q: Are you sure this is bone and not ivory? Bill Dec-22-07 A: it's ivory - elephant tusk. The piece had been lost in transit for about a month. He claims "our postal system" broke it. I told him that a sword, less than 1/16th of an inch would be broken by a man, let alone a beast as powerful as an elephant and that he had not mentioned that the blade was as thin as that in his eBay auction. He insisted that it was old and authentic. However I never received an "invoice" stating date and value though he agreed to send one. He did PayPal refund me $250. But even the remainder of what I paid is still too much for a broken piece that I suspect is "tourist" and if so, not worth repairing. I would like your opinions as to whether this was an "Elephant Sword," or a tourist wall hanger? It is too late to reverse PayPal, but I still have about another month of time to leave feedback. Attached Images Last edited by Mark; 23rd February 2008 at 07:38 PM.