I have been using efest 18350s in my pipes for a while no...no problems at all.
Silly question I am sure but you didn't try to charge them on a li-ion charger did you?
Just my ancient Trustfire charger that's served me well all these years. Since I got some new AW batts also got a new xtar charger in the order as well with some spacers.
Definitely worth the wait. What an amazing piece of craftsmanship. It is almost a shame to actually use it..... instead of putting it up on a pedestal and just staring at it.