Our hearts are heavy at Arms & Armor this week as we learned our long time friend, coworker, and amazing artist Greg Bentson has passed away. He had been battling cancer. Greg was part of A&A for over 36 years. He started by doing some freelance sculpting for us and became one of our most endearing coworkers who's talents were unmatched. He was able to take just about any medium and turn it into an amazing sculpture wether small or large. His commitment to "getting it right" always took precedence and his dry wit was always to hand.
Where his mastery was most apparent was his ability to take a few bits of steel, some intense heat and sculpt amazing pieces of replica medieval and renaissance metal work. He became our chief hilt builder for rapiers and custom items and worked with our team to create some truly amazing pieces that not only looked like the originals but had the heart and soul of these pieces.
His ability to see the right detail and know the way to make the replica live was amazing. He would spend many hours focused on a piece or form. He would often comment it was not symmetry and perfection that gave the item its life, but the way all the elements flowed together and fit as a whole.
Even as his health deteriorated Greg wanted to keep working and did an amazing job teaching his technique and insight to our newer craftsmen.
Greg sorting out a bilbo hilt!
Greg helping a young visitor try some metal working.
Crafting a hilt!
Greg, Mark and Ian
Greg and Craig
Greg and Nathan making a hilt.
Our crew wanted to chime in:
Thomas -I consider myself lucky to have gotten to work with Greg. He was always willing to give me advice or instruction on how to tackle problems. I was always quite impressed with the rather simple and elegant solutions he offered up. One thing that always stood out to me was that even though he is one of the best to have ever done it , he had no arrogance about his craft. He was one tough dude with a sharp laugh. I hope that he’s resting easy.
Patrick -
Greg was an amazing craftsman. One of the most gifted artists I know. The way he could take an idea in his head and make it a reality in any medium he worked with was incredible. The world has truly lost a master craftsman.
Josh -
What I appreciated the most about Greg was his ability to explain as well as show you how things work and how to get from A to B. Then he would show you how to do that over and over again. He will be sorely missed as a mentor, friend, coworker, and fellow artist.
Craig -
I feel inadequate in describing how important Greg was to my development as a craftsman and smith. His direction, guidance and exceptional understanding of form was crucial to all we do. I will always work by his direction “the thing to know is when it’s done not when your satisfied”
Ian -
It was always a profound honor working with Greg.
Christopher Poor, Founder
Greg was part of the Arms and Armor family for over 30 years. He was an artist who deeply understood and could masterfully create complex forms. In the beginning I showed him "how to do it", but soon he was doing it better than anyone else. He could take a hand full of steel and sculpt a beautiful hilt with an expert eye
In spite of his illness, and a plan to retire, Greg continued to come to the shop, working closely with us to pass on his knowledge and skills
His legacy lives on in the many beautiful things he crafted
You will be missed
Mark -
Back in the mid-eighties, both Greg and I worked as museum guards, maintenance and exhibition crew at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. I had also worked with the A&A crew at Minnesota Renaissance Festival for a long time. Chris and Craig wanted to work up a replica of an ornate war hammer from Venice and I suggested that they get my friend Greg to do it as he had been making scale models of all the art in the museum's sculpture garden. I knew he could replicate the fancy war hammer. After that came out so well, Greg made more and more sword pommels and other fittings, graduating to make most of the rapier hilts. We both moved to work full time at Arms & Armor, full time, for over 30 years!
A few examples of Greg’s talents :
We will all miss you my friend. From the many hours spent playing Squad Leader to the unknown time discussing the intricacies of medieval weapons and the approach of the craftsman to his art. You were inspirational in your vision and execution.
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 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.