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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2010 1:11:35 GMT
Here's something I'm curious about: there's plenty smiths and artists in the sword community who do killer work; Angus Trim, Christian Fletcher, John Lundemo, Tinker, Brenno, all those guys. I love scoping their sites and seeing samples of their work, and longing for that far-off day when I can actually AFFORD some of em. Until that day, let me just ask a question: what are some of each smiths strong points? What I mean is, does one smith know all about harmonics, does someone else make them super sharp, does someone else do something else; mainly, what does each smith do best? I hear Gus makes some of the best all around handling swords and Brenno is THE guy for fantasy, what's the whole story? Humor this curious kid who still has yet to venture out of the realm of production swords!
EDIT: No, I'm not asking "who's the best smith", cause I have the feeling I might get flamed for it...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2010 2:39:05 GMT
I might be wrong, and my tastes are ill-refined as of yet, but it's my impression that a lot of that stuff comes down to personal taste. It seems most of that stuff would be pretty subjective. For instance, you bring up Gus Trim for performance, and someone will say, "Hey, but what about Tinker!" Then you go with Brenno for fantasy stuff, and you hear, "Yeah he's good, but Odinblades are where it's at!" I mean, personally there are a couple REALLY good smiths out there that I would probably never get anything from just because their blades personally don't appeal to me.
I guess I already said what I was trying to say, it's all pretty subjective. And good luck trying to get a bunch of customs in the same room to compare, lol.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2010 3:03:12 GMT
Oh sure, I'm not talking about better overall, that's purely subjective. Like you said, it depends on taste. What I want to know is are some smiths stronger in some areas, and maybe a little weaker in others? Like is smith A better at blade harmonics but smith B can craft a sword that looks, handles, feels and even smells exactly like the historical original. What are some different strengths that they have, things like that.
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Post by torawashi on Apr 27, 2010 4:12:11 GMT
Sneaky; I have swords in just about all the different categories; high end, inexpensive etc. and of course this is just personal opinion from handling my swords, but for all around attention to historic detail as well as being good cutters (I've read) and quite sharp as well, Albion is tops in my book. of course, they don't fall within the sub $300. price range. the H/T and VA/Atrim swords are very sharp, and well made, and designed to be cutting swords. not as historically accurate as Albion but still pretty good in that department too. in fact I have one of the H/T sharp Early Medieval Single Hand swords that were out of specs and escaped from Hanwei to KOA and it still handles quite well.....feels good to wield and comfortable in the hand even though it isn't exactly to Tinker's precise specifications (2 lbs. 10.5 oz. compared to the specified 2 lbs 7.5 oz.). the out of specs swords that weren't already sold were recalled by Hanwei and the sword was redone to the proper specs. the harmonics and geometry on my Albion Crecy is spot on and I can say the same for my VA/Atrim Practical longsword and H/T longsword. In short, the better sword makers seem to have their act together in all the categories, the level of finish depending on price point of course. Sorry I can't speak to the offerings from the other individual Custom makers as I don't have any of their swords and haven't handled any. Hope this helps to answer your questions. Jim
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Post by randomnobody on Apr 27, 2010 4:18:08 GMT
Well, James Raw, as a for-instance makes some sturdy, beefy blades with lots of niku, good overall geometry, and nice choji-ish hamon...but his polish is so-so, lines tend to wander, and his blades most often are a very satin bluish gray and the hamon is muted first by steel type and then by an acid wipe that is supposed to "enhance" it, but really just blurs it into a frosty mass. Kind of like Hanwei. But his blades are arguably a bargain in the custom world, at least outside of China. Walter Sorrells is pretty much "the guy" if you like twisted cable katana...his normal blades display great activity in the hamon, too, typically. Really there aren't many not-good things I can say about the majority of western smiths who specialize in Japanese-style swords, except they charge for an unmounted blade in bare foundation polish what would fetch a very good production sword...but hey, that's custom. Otherwise, ultimately, except the hype over one or the other's favorite "super steel" (Howard Clark's L6, Angel Swords "technowootz" etc.) most, if not all, custom smiths have about the same sense of style, handling, harmonics, and overall blade performance. They're as famous as they are because they know what they're doing. For fantasy, Lundemo and Brenno are my top two, unless I sell a house, for western, Lundemo, Gus Trim, Tinker, actually archerout (I forget the guy's real name ) has shown us some fine pieces in nearly all realms, too... Anyway...it's what you're into. If you have a design in mind, pick the guy whose made stuff closest to it and drop them a line to open discussion. If things aren't going as you'd like, try your next choice. Really, nobody will be any "better" at any one thing than any other...but some might not be willing to do certain things or may exceed your budget, so you'll have to try another.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2010 4:20:00 GMT
Here's how I understand it.... Tinker makes high end historically accurate performers. Fit and Finish-wise, they are tops.
Angus Trim makes performance based swords. They are pure performers, but may not exactly be 100% historically accurate. However, they represent the same emphasis on performance and accuracy as a Tinker, but at a more friendly price, while not being as tuned in terms of fit and finish.
Odin makes both historically accurate and fantasy swords, but his specialty seems to be in fantasy. If you want a single edged blade, he's your man! Excellent performers, with wonderful refined style that's not over-done.
Fable makes excellent historically-inspired fantasy swords. Generally these swords feature exposed wood parts, sometimes beautifully carved. His blades tend to be very durable, giving up just a tad bit of sharpness, but they are very forgiving of missed cuts, and they are excellent cutters. If you have an idea for a tactical style, Brenno's your man.
Just my .02 cents. Anyone agree?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2010 8:01:59 GMT
I wouldn't so much say that John's specialty is fantasy but rather people tend to just place him in that category when considering custom smiths, since many of his popular models do tend to be fantasy. If anything, I'd say his most impressive works thus far have been his historical ones, like the spatha he did and the numerous zweihanders. That's actually a good thing to note for the OP's question: John at Odinblades does have the setup to make very large blades. I tend to agree with your other observations though, Bryn. Of course, these are just observations from others' reviews and thoughts and not actual ownership of any
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2010 11:40:25 GMT
Opferous just alluded to the point I made earlier, and I promise it's going to keep coming back, lol. ;D
So yeah, you can say Lundemo and Brenno are good at fantasy stuff. But as mentioned, Lundemo also does some VERY nice historical swords, and others that can't quite be called fantasy but are a little shinier than their historical counterparts. So then would you group him with Tinker in that case? And going back to fantasy, the MAD Dwarf Forge guys have been doing some neat stuff. But then again, they also do some of that semi-historical stuff I mentioned about Odinblades. Granted, some of these are easier, like ATrims being inexpensive monster cutters. But I can't for the life of me figure out where you would put Jake Powning. And there are some smiths out there that I can't even remember their name. I saw the most beautiful viking sword, and the guy's name probably won't even come up in this discussion.
I understand you're trying to be polite about it, but the question is still basically, "Which smith is best at which thing?", and I'm pretty sure a definitive answer is impossible. Just because ATrims and Tinkers are known for good handling, does that mean an Odinblade isn't as good just because it's known for fantasy stylings? And once again I'll bring up Jake Powning, lol... And like I also said, I'm not sure you'd ever be able to get a sword of the same type from each of those 4 makers in the same room to compare, so we're all basically going off hearsay and stereotypes.
One of the strange curses of our age is that we have far too many choices.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2010 12:22:21 GMT
Olinn swords must be mentioned here. Both fantasy, historical and historically inspired stuff. Extremely durable, great handling... I love their historical designs with some of their special flare.
E.B. Ericson is the man for complex and baskethilts. Most people get a blade somewhere else and send it to him for a hilt. I'm not 100% sure if he makes blades too...
Patrick Barta is the man for historically accurate stuff of all periods, pattern welding from historically accurate materials being his specialty...
Michael Pikula is doing great historically accurate custom stuff, including pattern welding. He also does great knives, daggers, spears...
Peter Johnsson does probably the most historically accurate custom swords...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2010 14:55:21 GMT
As for the custom makers here at the forum. I all depends on what you want Brenno and Archer Out do great work but are limited on overall blade size because of the size metal stock they get, and at on point Brenno was not set up to make any blades with more than a very mild curvature. However, the above statements may no longer be correct.
Lundemo does have the capability to make large blades and some deeply curved pieces.
BKS is also known for high quality customs to include the SBG fantasy bastard swords.
As for other smiths, just look at their work and see who has the closet to what you want, in a price range that you can deal with and ask them. As has been stated before.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2010 15:54:22 GMT
Well, everyone else has made some good points, so I will add just one.
If you want to wait years for a blade with little contact from the smith then Angus Trim is the way to go.
My point is that on top of finding out about someone's work, you also need to research the smith and speak to as many people as possible that have received work from them recently. Great work can go right down the tube when service is non-existent.
Getting contact information and calling them when you are ready to place an order is also good instead of just relying on e-mails. I have never worked with a smith that did not supply me with a phone number where he could be reached, nor will I in the future.
Take your time doing research, covering all your bases and you will be rewarded with a fine product.
Good Luck
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2010 20:14:12 GMT
A lot of people's responses will depend on their taste. 10 - 1 that Shadow will chime in in favor of Fable, whereas I bet Tom will probably steer you in direction of Trim..... etc. etc. etc. Really, all of the smiths mentioned so far are of excellent quality. Each knows how to create blades that cut and perform very well. Which one you think does the best at particular things is entirely a matter of preference! So, for smiths, I would suggest the following: Know what you want and find what you like. Any of these guys can make something to your specs the way you like it, hence, they are CUSTOM makers. They are capable of an incredible array of styles and processes, so it's really all about the order's taste.
My .04 cents (seeing as I already gave my .02....)
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