[Butz]

Or perhaps the non-improved weapons don't suffer damage, and it's merely the improvement that wears away through time.
Like say you have a:

player's Generic Weapon (improved 4/10) (dam +27)
(condition: 100%)

That's how the weapon would hit when normal.
As the weapon is used though, the condition drops, so when it's completely worn out, it would be:

player's Generic Weapon (improved 4/10) (dam +7)
(condition: 0%)

Then they can go somewhere and use plats/diamonds/other gems/iron/coal/etc, to repair the weapon back up to 100%
Like maybe any damage under 10% can be repaired at 50 plat per percent, but as the damage gets greater, it starts to require minerals and other things to repair it.