Story

It all began with a single sword.

No more than an idea that hit all at once in a flash of clarity so vivid, so simple, that I couldn't not attempt it.

• a blade that continues into its tang, thick enough to use as a grip
• a crossguard and pommel made in mortise and tenon (square cut holes) fit onto the tang
• the guard nudged up to the shoulders of the blade's base
• the pommel fit snugly into the tail end
• blade bevels cut on the table saw, consistent and clean
  
• a fuller carved with a hand router with a rounded bit
  
• and a leather wrap about the grip for comfort

I suppose it very likely also helped that I have, since childhood, always been captivated by weapons of history, and always been one to make things. Here was my chance to meld my two greatest enthusiasms into one.
But perhaps the real day Trollkarl Armory was born, long before it ever even had a name, was when I learned the very basics of design in Adobe Illustrator, along with how to bring those designs into the real world via laser cutting robot. This one-day lesson opened the doors to an adventure beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

An hour or two spent manipulating points and arcs, curvature and proportions, laid the foundation of intentionality in design, even way back then, which I continue to carry over in all my work today. Burning this pattern directly onto a board of ash with the concentrated power and mechanized precision of the laser, I felt I possessed something magical. I then took it to the saws and chisels to free it from its confines.

And so was born the first sword, a crude instrument, but a loyal trainer which I used for years at full intensity, and even today remains a forever favourite.

 

Overcoming challenges, the very ethos of this work

From these humble beginnings, innumerable evolutions have come to pass, many tools and techniques learned, and a great many skills honed over the years. Each of these level-ups came from the friction and difficulty of creating something new for the first time.

Not long after having made the first sword, friends of mine wanted their own, in their own particular style. I obliged these requests more than happily, and these first sales again laid the foundation for the adaptability and comfort leaning into the unknown to which I attribute my successes today.

Even my first foray into polearms paid dividends in unlocking the ability to create extra long pieces which collapse into halves and reassemble with no strength lost, simplifying shipping and unleashing an entirely new level of possibility.

Custom commissions continue to be an integral part of this workshop, with all the hair-greying chaos that often follows in the process of figuring something out for the first time, that first time often becomes a new cornerstone for still farther expansion of skill.

The unique pieces found in the One Of A Kind collection represent some of the greatest challenges this workshop has overcome, and in each difficulty not yielded to there was invariably a blessing on the other side of the struggle, and a expanded boundary of knowledge and ability.

 

But why wooden swords?

They are my love letter to the world.

First and foremost, an artform, representing the myriad epochs, histories, and peoples of this world. No matter where we look, there have always been swords. They serve as connection to the spectacular craftsmanship of the human race, near-infinitely varied in style and expression, much like we ourselves. They present a case that perhaps we could simply not help but make things of beauty, regardless of how ugly their job.

But wood, in particular, lies somewhere unique. Is it a toy? A tool? An ornament? An instrument?
So often, they are one or the other. But on rare occasion, with the maker's intention, they can be all at once.

The wooden sword is also a symbol of my gratitude, for a life that did not need a real sword. A peaceful life, unafflicted by warlords or raiders or rogues. They serve as my personal reminder of how many in history would have only wished for such fortune.

But lastly, they are also a personal philosophy. The wooden sword represents an understanding of violence in this world, a respect for it, a comprehension of how to move with it, a preparation through practice, but to employ it with limitation. It is violence with a ceiling. Force with a limit. A readiness to respond with no more than is necessary, and a way to say "after all hostilities have subsided, I still wish to be able to speak with you".