I had the privilege of spending the afternoon at Arms & Armor's shop. What a great bunch of guys, :) I got to see a lot of stuff that was in-progress, both custom and production. I think folks will be impressed with many of the custom projects coming down the pipeline. One sword in progress features engravings all over the hilt and several carved scenes on the scabbard. It was very attractive and well-made.

Craig, Chris, and everyone there was generous with their time and I can't thank them enough. I got to handle items from their antique collection, including a late 14th century arm harness, 2 pairs of 15th century gauntlets, a number of medieval swords (including Oakeshott's beloved Moonbrand), rapiers, medieval knives, a great dagger, 2 stilettos, and a gorgeous bronze sword. Their shop is also packed with products in various stages of completion. I could have spent days pawing at it all, but had to let them get back to work at some point. :) I also got to meet forumite Tim Mathews which just added to the whole experience.

I came away seriously impressed. Those guys know their stuff: period.

And no, I don't have any pictures from the trip. I was too busy gawking. :)

Chad....gawk on your own time! :p We want pictures, man. Pictures!!

Sounds like a fun trip Chad! Pictures would have been great, but I understand getting lost in the moment! Glad you had fun.

Ah, I can only dream of such a trip. Living in Europe does have its downsides... Anyway, I wish you were one of those people who practically live with their cameras and document everything they see in great detail, but I guess you deserved to live in the moment when you were there! :)

Very jealous. Good stuff Chad.

It sounds as if you had a great experience! :)

Send out a shout next time you're in town and we can gather a group of forumites together for a "myA does A&A" afternoon of ogling, purchasing and, later, imbibing. ;)

All to be properly documented of course. :lol:

Nice one Chad. Wish I could make a detour there next time I am off to the USA...

Sounds fun, when I was there last fall I hunted them down and showed up in their shop unannounced with suitcases in tow on my way to the airport. Almost everyone was out of the shop, and Craig was up to his ears in something, but still got to play around with the stuff in there, was a lot of fun and great to see and handle a lot of the items on their site. On top of that, instead of trying to figure out how to get down town, Chris drove me down and dropped me off at the library for some good researching. Good hospitably and a good group of guys, next time I'll call ahead though, haha.

Wow, that is awesome.

By the way, did Craig show you the flamberge blade to the 6' + Zweihander project I started about 2.5-3 years ago?

I need to check in again actually. This is really my most expensive and most anticipated piece of all time. I'm very excited about it.

Chad,

Happy to hear you had a nice reception and enjoyed your visit. Will be in Minneapolis next week for a memorial service, but it didn't cross my mind to visit A&A until viewing your post. Much thanks!

Hope to have wife with camera at the ready.

Regards,
Dan