Policies and Terms of Sale

Refund, return and exchange policy

If you're not pleased with an item due to a defect in craftsmanship and it has not been worn, we will fix it. Our armor, although crafted with the utmost in dedication and care in love of the art is actually made by humans and as such are vulnerable to occasional error. Either ship us back the item for repair, or we will send the missing application to you at no extra charge. Please contact us and obtain a return authorization number and make sure this is notated on the outside of the returned shipment. Any items returned without a return authorization number will receive no credit for refund and will be retained by The Schmitthenner Armory. Items that are returned with a return authorization number due to incorrect sizing or any other reason that does not include a defect in craftsmanship may receive a store credit.

  ALL sales are final after 30 days from purchase. Refunds are subject to a 60 day waiting period. Please do not attempt to purchase an item with the intent of wearing it to an event and then return it. In other words, when you receive your order, check out the items and make sure they are correct before you wear them out to storm the castle. Once you do that, you own it.

Production Times and Rush orders

Production of orders vary at different time of year, but as a rule we require 4-10 weeks to craft and ship most of our items.  The best way to ensure  a better turnaround time is to specify a "need by" date when placing your order. If you are not in a particular rush, choose a date sometime within our above mentioned crafting queue. We have not missed a "need by" date, ever.  Orders are produced in the order that they are paid. Production & shipment dates will vary depending on the time of year and volume of orders we are processing and crafting. If you require your items for a specific event we will make every effort to accommodate your needs, however but do not commit to deadlines. Also see our "FAQ" page regarding other questions regarding Crafting Times and Production Dates.

Items needed by a specific date which are crafted to order and do not fall within our normal crafting queue may be considered a rush order. 

Our standard rush or expedited order charge is usually 50% of the cost of the entire order, not including shipping. See our "Ordering" page for updated time schedules and rates during holiday season. This is due to the fact that we must place most or all other orders on hold to complete a single order. 

Shopping Cart and Security

We have employed the use of Paypal to construct our shopping cart system. The reason for this is that Paypal is the most cost-effective and actually uses a high level security encryption process to protect both the merchant and the purveyor. The following quote is direct from the Paypal security page:

"PayPal automatically encrypts your confidential information in transit from your computer to ours using the Secure Sockets Layer protocol (SSL) with an encryption key length of 128-bits (the highest level commercially available). Before you even register or log in to our site, our server checks that you're using an approved browser - one that uses SSL 3.0 or higher.

Once your information reaches us, it resides on a server that is heavily guarded both physically and electronically. Our servers sit behind an electronic firewall and are not directly connected to the Internet, so your private information is available only to authorized computers."

We have yet to have any problems involving the security of shopping cart transactions employed by our customers.

It is important to note that our shopping cart system is set up for domestic (inside the continental U. S.) orders and that international orders MUST be set up through contact with our customer service department. Necessary adjustments to shipping charges will need to be calculated prior to the placement of such orders. Any international orders that are placed by shopping cart will be refunded so that the necessary calculations can be made and applied.

On the Nature of Leather

Leather, in and of its very essence, is a natural material. We at The Schmitthenner Armory, in crafting our armor make every attempt to select the best sections of steer hide from which to craft our armor. Since we are dealing with a natural material, however, there may be slight variances in hide thickness, may have occasional interior creases, and minor blemishes. Color variations due to fluctuations in the tanning of hides, weather conditions and chemical inconsistencies from suppliers are beyond our control and may affect the exact final result of the finished product. These are inherent qualities of leather armour and also contribute the the unique facet of every finished piece.

 Prior to shipping orders the armor is inspected for any deviations that will affect the protectiveness of the product. We do strongly suggest that if you have specific guidelines that are required by your local SCA Marshall or LARP organization that you bring this to our attention at the time of ordering. This way we can be sure to make certain that the finished product is as battle worthy as you desire. Having said that, ANY type of physical combat is subject to a degree of injury and The Schmitthenner Armory accepts no responsibility for any injuries sustained in the use of our gear due to negligence, improper use of padding or for any other reason.

Special/Custom Orders

We often are commissioned to craft special and custom orders from selected materials and to the specifications of our customers. We normally require a 50% deposit from the quoted cost for such orders which is non-refundable. This can be for a variety of efforts, including initial research and design hours, sometimes materials otherwise not kept "in-stock", etc. Orders placed which include any of this time, materials, etc., are not guaranteed any type of refund or if so is directly related to the time and materials obtained and/or work involved to complete such work. Custom orders that are ready to ship that are not defective due to craftsmanship have taken a great deal of hours, materials and specifications directly related to measurements and desires of the individual who has placed the order and are not subject to any type of refund. In placing a custom order, customers must be aware that extended time may be required to fashion the desired item for it to function in a practical sense, so time constraints on these types of orders is impossible.

Pricing Policy

It is a rare instance to find a sale at The Schmitthenner Armory. We pride ourselves on crafting some of the finest quality products at the most reasonable prices anywhere. We do reserve the right to change prices without notice, however, and do occasionally run "specials" for certain purchase amounts.

We ask for measurements for nearly all of our armour, since most of it is custom crafted to your specifications. Due to wide variances in measurements, there may be additional costs for oversized or undersized physiques, especially for cuirasses. Measurements for very petite women or child sized armour would require re-design of patterns, and very large or over-sized armour (48" or larger chest or waist size) will require the same type of alterations as well as additional material. In the former case the costs are minimal, usually less than $25.00. In the latter case possibly a bit more, usually $50.00-$75.00 for a typical cuirass. Contact us for more details.

Damaged/Lost Merchandise

Items damaged through shipping are generally covered by the courier system employed. Any damage noted upon arrival should be both brought to the courier's attention and to ours as soon as possible. Claims may be filed with the USPS at the local USPS office. We ship most orders by USPS Parcel Post or Priority USPS and use Delivery confirmation. We cannot assume responsibility for any orders once they have been confirmed as delivered. Any items that are defects in craftsmanship or sent by mistake should be brought to OUR attention within 5 business days so we can exchange it for the correct item. You can contact our office Tuesday through Saturday from 9 AM - 5:00 PM EST at (912) 586-2742.

Privacy Policy

We do not share any information regarding our customers with anyone, for any reason whatever, without their direct permission.