The past year and a half has had a lot of changes at Arms and Armor. One of the coolest things about our shop has been the long term community of folks working together at A&A. Christopher Poor founded the company back in the 1980's, and several of our employees have been with us that whole time. Last year Mark Black retired after more than 30 years with us, and Greg Bentson passed away after a similar tenure. Craig Johnson and Ian Wall have both been with Arms and Armor for over 30 years, but we also have some new blood. We will be highlighting each of the guys in upcoming posts, but today we wanted to announce that Christopher Poor has stepped down as CEO and President to lead a more leisurely period as leader emeritus. Dr. Nathan Clough, who was previously Vice President, is now the majority owner and President/CEO.
This really won't change much for our customers, and is part of a planned continuity as our second generation of sword-makers steps up. Chris isn't going anywhere (well, maybe on more vacations...), and will be dedicating himself to making some cool pieces he's always wanted to produce, but hasn't had the time for. These will be offered as one of a kind pieces on our Artisan Collection page, and at renaissance fairs and other events.
One thing that certainly will not change is our utter commitment to quality, functionality, and historical accuracy. Check out our full catalogue here. Forward Ho!
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is 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