U.K. Sword Ban

You must all be getting sick of this, so please don’t feel obliged to read any further, but I want to log the goings on in case others are effected and they find this useful.

My sword has been sitting in a UPS warehouse since 18/10/24. I’ve had no contact from UPS regarding this but discovered it after using the original tracking number on a whim . I called them after tracking my parcel and asked when it’d be delivered. They said there were ‘customs issues’, the details of which they were not authorised to tell me. I eventually spoke to a manager who said the same thing -twice- but added I should ask the sender (Yasumasa san at Tozando) to contact his local UPS office in Japan to provide more information in order to get the sword released. I’m wondering what information they require from Yusumasa san and if this sort of issue is not unheard of. Does anyone have any experience of UPS doing this sort of thing?
 
Today?!!!
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I never thought I’d see the day….but my sword was delivered today! UPS left my very expensive sword in the porch of a house in a parallel road and the very kind man who lives there, brought it around to my house. It was plastered in tape reading ‘Border Force’ and he said, “My wife thinks it might be a rifle!” I felt I had to tell him what it was and give a bit of an explanation. I need to find a way of complaining to UPS.

The whole fiasco, and few other hassles today, have ruined my enjoyment of receiving and opening it up 🤷🏾🙄
 
Looks beautiful Gyakuto - can I ask how huge and heavy?
Yes of course!

The blade is 76.1cm (2 shaku 5 sun if that means anything to you) and the weight without the scabbard is a shoulder-wrenching 1,480g! It’s made for tameshigiri (test cutting) I assume and dispatching zombies naturally.
 
I ordered a small knife from Amazon, to cut up my recycling to fit in my various bins. There was some unknown issue with this order and it seemly ‘disappeared’ in the hands of Royal Mail. After 2 weeks, I contacted Amazon who, without explanation or hesitation gave me a refund.

I looked for a non-Amazon, U.K-based online retailer, for the small tool I required, but before ordering, I contacted them to find out whom they use to deliver their small knives and if they have any issues with delivery. They replied saying they use EVRI/Yodel rather than Royal Mail and do regularly, but relatively infrequently have issues with delivery for which they’d give a full refund. When checking out my order, I saw the postage for this knife with a 3 inch/7.62cm (which can be legally carried in the U.K.) blade was £15! 😳 I didn’t proceed with the order and will use my teeth to rip up cardboard boxes to size.

Something is clearly unofficially going on with knife retail in the U.K.
 
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