FAQ - Manning Imperial

All prices quoted are in Australian dollars AUD$.
Prices do not include postage and insurance costs.
Prices include GST which is charged to Australian residents only.
We advise that customers may be required to pay import duties or taxes appropriate to their native country upon receipt of their order. We have no way of knowing if this is the case, or the cost they may incur. This is the responsibility of the client.

All helmets are custom made to fit the individual.
Helmets are made from 1.6mm mild steel or 1.2mm brass unless otherwise stated.
Mild steel helmets are usually machine polished to a satin finish and brass helmets to a gloss finish.
Most helms come fitted with a leather chin strap. We do not generally make suspension linings, arming caps or other forms of padding.
Generally helmets are of fabricated construction. This is where two or more pieces are shaped and welded together and then cleaned and polished. This is almost undetectable from the outside but can be seen on the inside.
Helmets of spangen or other multipiece construction are shaped and riveted together correctly both inside and out.
Helmets can be raised from a single piece of metal if that level of accuracy is required. This does however increase the cost dramatically.
Naturally all helmets can be finished with additional decoration.

Bank Cheque or international money order in AUD$
Personal cheque in local currency – this incurs fees at our end. Please advise if you wish to use this method and we will let you know the fee involved.
Paypal
Direct deposit – please let us know when and how much you are sending.

In general sword blades are ground via stock removal from AISI1075 or CK1055 steel, hardened to 50RWC and are machine polished.
Rapier blades are made from CK1055 and hardened to 49 RWC and machine polished unless otherwise stated.
Blades can however be hand polished at an additional cost depending on the complexity of the blade cross section.
Blades can also be completely hand forged and/or pattern welded, though this does increase the price of the item accordingly.
Swords made with sharp blades will incur an extra charge depending on the length of the blade.
Standard sword grips are shaped from elm. If you would like a leather covered timber grip there is an additional cost depending on the length of the grip and type of leather used. We are also able to add grip ferrules, cord wrapping under leather, or risers etc, please enquire for prices.

All electricity used at the Manning Imperial workshop is produced by renewable sources (Green Electricity).
Also, wherever possible packaging is reused and recycled to mimimise waste.

The best way to get in touch with us is through the contact form via this webpage.
If your enquiry is about one particular item you can enquire about it directly from the item page by clicking the “add to enquiry” button, and following the procedure. If you have a general enquiry, you can send it through the Contact link which appears on all pages of the site in the main navigation bar.
As we are a small family company, we sometimes take a few days to reply to emails. If you enquire and do not receive a reply from us after a couple of weeks, please resend your email.

We ship worldwide.
Most of our domestic orders are sent through Australia Post, by registered post and are insured if over $100 in value.
International orders are sent by courier, and are trackable and fully insured.
Estimates for shipping costs can be given on request, but the actual charge cannot be given until the order is completed and boxed. Shipping cost is based on the weight, dimensions, and insured value of the boxed order.
In the unlikely event of your package arriving damaged, please do not try and fix it straight away. Rather, email us first, as there are very specific procedures that need to be followed in order to claim the insurance.

MI products are made to a very high standard from top quality raw materials.
Since all pieces are handmade, imperfections are not uncommon and we feel they add to the character and soul of the items.
Our modern ideology expects machine precision even for items which have been painstakingly crafted by hand.
Many clients are concerned about keeping costs down and in general this means using less time consuming methods.
Whilst we are pleased to oblige this does effect the overall finished quality of the item.
We strive to make our pieces both visually pleasing and authentic looking, so please let us know if you require your order to be flawless before we commence work on it, as this takes extra time and will incur additional cost.

Generally we ask for about a 10% deposit to secure your order in our waiting list.
Prior to starting your order we will ask for another payment to bring the deposit up to about 50%.
After your order is completed, you will be given the final payment amount including postage.
After this final payment is received, we are able to post your order. Please be aware, if your final payment is made by cheque, your order will not be sent until the funds have cleared.

As many of our pieces are custom made to order, we do have a waiting period on most items.
Please enquire as to the exact time for the piece/s you are interested in.

MI does not produce a paper catalogue. As we are routinely uploading new items, a paper catalogue is impractical.
Please feel free to view our entire catalogue online.

Whether shown hafted or just the head on this website, all hafted weapons are priced as the head only (unhafted).
While we can happily haft any of these items there is an additional charge for this that varies from item to item.
Once hafted, many of these items are then too long for the postal service and are therefore sent by courier.