[HN Gopher] Toledo's Last Swordmakers
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Toledo's Last Swordmakers
Author : nigerian1981
Score : 37 points
Date : 2021-08-24 12:05 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.theguardian.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.theguardian.com)
| CyanBird wrote:
| Very, very sad, my growing up my grand grand father's house had
| many swords made in Toledo and wooden decorative shields with the
| family insignia on them, they were just decorative, he got them
| from a trip to Spain, the swords had very thin tangs, but of
| course me being a kid dreamed of using them for my sword play
|
| Very sad to see as the article says, a several thousand year old
| tradition such as this one being so, so close to ending, I feel
| that the Spanish government ought to step up and find with
| arrangement for these artisans to ensure that the city doesn't
| lose such strong cultural heritage
| Andrew_nenakhov wrote:
| Don't worry. Once swords would once again become useful on the
| battlefield and in dark alleys, this skill will resurface and
| thrive again.
|
| Chances for it are not small enough.
| hourislate wrote:
| I had a Japanese friend who says he had a real Samurai Outfit
| and sword. It was giving to him by his Grandmother who had
| inherited it from her family. When Lord of the Rings came
| out, a different fellow I worked with bought a replica of
| Anduril Sword from LOTR's. There was a discussion at work
| about how good the Anduril sword was which led to a
| challenge. I was to wear the Samurai Outfit since it was my
| size and use the Samurai sword and he was to fashion some
| armor and use the Anduril sword. He backed out after his wife
| threatened him and me.
| brianzelip wrote:
| Toledo, Spain. The inspiration behind the Toledo(, Ohio) Blade
| newspaper.
| simonw wrote:
| Hah, TIL! Always wondered how that newspaper got that name.
| adpirz wrote:
| As someone who grew up in Toledo, I get unnaturally excited
| whenever someone else is from there. Most people I encounter
| from Ohio (which in big coastal cities is also not that common)
| are from one of the big C's: Cleveland, Columbus, or
| Cincinnati.
| hermitcrab wrote:
| I made a knife at a forge a few weeks ago. Hitting things with a
| hammer made a nice change from programming. Also makes you
| appreciate how skillful you would have to be to make a beautiful
| sword.
|
| If anyone is interested in medieval swords and armour I really
| recommend a visit to the Wallace Collection in London.
| simonw wrote:
| +1 to that, the Wallace Collection is incredible - I think it's
| one of those things in London that not nearly enough people
| know about.
|
| It's also got an interesting history: "Bequeathed to the nation
| by the widow of the illegitimate son of the 4th Marquess of
| Hertford in 1897 on the condition that no object should ever
| leave the collection, even for loan exhibitions." - from my
| write-up on https://www.niche-museums.com/36
| hermitcrab wrote:
| Love than Stone Henge is listed on https://www.niche-
| museums.com !
| _jal wrote:
| I haven't forged anything yet, looking forward to an
| opportunity to spend some quality time playing early next year.
|
| I've made a couple knives this year, though. Milling, and then
| grinding on absolutely the wrong kind of grinder for the job.
| So that was exhausting, but fun.
|
| > a nice change from programming
|
| I absolutely agree. I took up metalwork because I wanted to
| make something visible, that you could touch. Weaponry isn't
| really my thing, but I'll probably make more knives, I enjoy
| the esthetic constraints, history of the art and materials.
| inasio wrote:
| Many kids grow up reading pirate books and you quickly learn that
| Toledo or Damascus steel is what you want. I'm pretty sure that
| once travel normalizes and tourists come back people will start
| making swords again in Toledo, if only to capitalize on kids like
| me that eventually visit with a bit of disposable income...
| slim wrote:
| The swords are unexpectedly affordable.
|
| https://marianozamorano.com/en/6-swords
|
| I feel like any rpg lover should own at least a small dagger.
| woofie11 wrote:
| I don't get the economics here. The sword run around 300 euro in
| the online storefront, and claim to be 10-20 hours of work. I pay
| about 15-30 euro per hour of labor.
|
| Toss in equipment, materials, labor, overhead, taxes, benefits,
| and all the other stuff, and I just don't see how this can be
| done. Either the income is McD's, or there's something fishy
| going on.
|
| I'm also not clear what "last master swordsmith" even means.
|
| Anyone got an explanation? I'm wondering if this is a nice
| marketing piece, if I'm missing something, or something else. I'm
| probably missing something, but...
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