Today, I had the chance to drive over and see the guys at A&A again. As always, they were welcoming and generous with their time. And as always, there were fun things to see. There were some neat custom pieces in progress (and finished), some massive 2 handers made by Ian, and some prototypes for potential new pieces.

I was again struck by how good their custom work is. All the stuff I've owned and seen has been top notch, as good or better than everyone else.

Last time I went, I neglected to take my camera and people got on my case. :) So, here are some pics. I'm away from home so these are more compressed than usual.

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Swords on the wall

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Durer, custom piece, and custom sword by Josh Davis

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Enormous two-hander by Ian

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Custom sword.

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Custom rondel by Josh Davis, gold-leafed Wallace ballock set, Friedrich spear, misc. parts

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Custom rondel with tooled sheath by Josh Davis. Fittings are gold plated

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Parts and pieces

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Bauernwehr (?), Wallace ballock set, Koln messer

By the way, their reference library is huge. Lots of important and rare titles. It's obvious these guys do their homework.

Some more pics. Enjoy!

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Messer trainers (1 single hand, two with longer grips)

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Craig and Chris's work areas. Ian's too? Castings in the foreground, some in-progress custom stuff.

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View of Craig's bench, in-progress stuff, the forge and grinders are through the partition.

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Chris's area.

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Anvils, stakes, and forms!

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Barrel of prototypes, one-offs, experiments, old stuff, etc.

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Suit with Wallace hammer poleaxe.

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Harness in Chris's office.

Wow.............Do they need a janitor? I'll take out the trash. :D ...............McM

I think I'd like to go through that barrel... :D

Greetings all,
I sometimes forget how fortunate I am to live in such close proximity to these guys and have the privilege, pleasure and distinct honor of being an old friend,client and low level part time employee ...
Slainte !

Thank you Chad.
Very interesting work and really nice swords hope you had an great day

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Yeah! I see some of my pieces in those pics.

Chad, thank you for this post. This is the first thing I saw getting up this morning. It really woke me up and put a smile on my face. This was better than a cup of coffee.

Wonderful, I really like seeing these behind the scenes photos as it puts more personality into A&A as otherwise it can be a bit faceless as often all we have to go by is an impersonal website.

Another thing I love about these types of photos is seeing the swords next to others, as it really helps put their proportions into contexts.

Oh and no offence to Mattia Perroco, but I hope that meme posts are not going to invade this forum. :(

Those pictures are great. For sword geeks like us....seeing a working shop like this, behind the scenes is really cool. Thanks for posting Chad. There is something about a rack of finished swords...just sitting there like a rack of hockey sticks at Sport Authority or something...kid in a candy shop.

I love some of those one-offs/prototypes. This is an inspiring thread, Chad. I also now feel better about my wall of bare blades and pile of parts on my workbench. :lol:

Thanks, that's pretty cool. I wish I could drop by like that. One of those blanks (I don't know which) might be my next custom sword. -JD

I saw one in there that will be on the way to me soon! :D
Very fun thread, thanks chad for sharing.

Thanks for sharing these.

Fun little thread.

That 2 hander is up for sale on A&As muster page and it is huge.

Check out the comparison with the German Bastard Sword (this pic shamelessly stolen from A&A's website)

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Great thread Chad, it is nice to see some behind the scenes! Edited to add: I know from your collection that you are a great fan and sponsor of A&A, and it is very cool that you have this opportunity. Everything I have from them is great and it is neat to see where it all comes together

In related news, I got a nice box from A&A today.......! Hopefully posting some pics of something in the long daggers thread today.

Thanks for sharing the pictures Chad, I've been wanting to go meet Craig in person for years almost made it last year. Maybe some day...

The thing that strikes me is how clean the shop is. Sure there's a jumble of stuff here and there but comparatively speaking, my shop is a wreck. Sawdust on the floor random bits of leather here and there and everywhere odds and ends that I haven't finished yet and may never... I wonder what sort of elves they have working there to keep it so nice.

It's really neat to see the place where the magic happens. These guys must be quite proud of what they do. If you happened to see a "Town Guard" sword there, it may be mine. Craig said that shipping was delayed by problems with the bluing, but that's just fine. It only adds to the anticipation!