As we approach this July 4th it seems unreal the journey we have been on over the last 5 years or so. We hope this summer holiday comes to you with good fortune and fun, that includes our friends and supporters not in the US. We devote a great deal of our strength and energy to making the best pieces our talents allow. It all happens in our shop in Minneapolis from forming the bits to cleaning them up, polishing and finally assembly.
Chris Poor forging a custom spearhead
It all comes togather in our small workshop of about half a dozen folks for whom making the most historically accurate, highest quality swords and weapons is a passion. It all started back in the late 80's. Sometimes its hard to believe we've been doing this for over forty years, but we still get up in the morning looking forward to making you swords and other weapons for decades to come.
Ian heating some tang.
Our supply chain and business partners that have survived the last couple of years are even more important and appreciated by us. This local community contribute to the quality of our product in many ways. Small businesses have been challenged to extreme levels and we count ourselves fortunate to still be here making medieval marvels for you lot.
(color is weird in photo, but still cool)
Patrick doing a bit of plasma cutting
Even if buying high quality, American-made swords isn't important to you in itself, there are lots of reasons to buy from a trusted, expert, local producer rather than having something shipped halfway around the world.
Here is a video Nathan did a while back that highlights some advantages to getting your piecs from a shop in the US. We want to express our thanks to all of our customers for supporting us and our communities. Check out the video and have a great 4th of July!
Check out what we make at arms-n-armor.com our swords and weapons are made by us in Minneapolis, MN. Sword blades from 6150 steel, hardened to 50-52 Ric. They are all hand crafted to look, feel, and function just like the historical originals on which they are based.
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is Vice President of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography. He has given presentations on historical arms at events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985