Persian shamshir destroyed by USPS!!!

[Nathaniel]

Estcrh,

Sorry to see the shipping tragedy. It reminds me of a similar USPS incident I had a couple years ago when I bought a pole arm from a respected forum member.

Note before:

[Nathaniel]

And imagine my shock and horror when the postal worker brought this out to the counter for me to sign for!!! I told the postal worker are you serious you want me to sign for this!?!? And they just shrugged and said my best bet was to fill out a damage claim form Luckily this was fully insured! But still would have rather had a straight pole arm! Because the post paid the claim USPS keeps the pole arm!

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Nathaniel

And image that sinking feeling when the postal worker brought this out to the counter for me to sign for!!!

Nathaniel, thanks for posting your pictures, I know exactly how you feel, even though I will get the money I paid returned it hurts to see this happen to any antique. The damage to your naginata looks just like what happened to my shamshir.

As I mentioned earlier, I just shipped a naginata much like yours in order to get some missing fittings replaced (habaki and tsuba), Tim Pepin the owner of Samuraisword.com just messaged me that it arrived safely but after what happened to the shamshir I kept thinking about how I could have done a better job of packing, I did not add any wood strips etc which would have greatly increased the chance of avoiding any damage to the blade or shaft, next time I will do that just as added protection.


Below is a picture that Artzi of Oriental Arms just sent me showing how he has reinforced for shipping the Chinese bow I just purchased. A great example that I intend to copy in the future.

[estcrh]

Once is one thing, but seeing this other very similar extreme damage example has really opened my eyes, I do not think I will simply rely on luck anymore when I ship any kind of weapon in the future.

[Pieje]

Several months ago I've sent a naginata from Europe to the USA using DHL.
I bought a 2m long plastic tube to be sure it arrived safely, off course it did.

[Nathaniel]

Originally Posted by Pieje

Several months ago I've sent a naginata from Europe to the USA using DHL.
I bought a 2m long plastic tube to be sure it arrived safely, off course it did.

I would agree with,Pieje. Thank you for bringing this up! These plastic tubes are a good option however you have to make sure that the plastic some flex and is not brittle. I have had a plastic tube crack apart before.

[Rick]

I showed you guys some of this stuff in post #9; it comes in varying diameters and is practically indestructible due to double wall construction. It is also lighter than the PVC tubing shown in other's posts.
The stuff can be a bit hard to find; try electrical contractors supply companies.