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M. Eversberg II
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 Posted: Thu 10 Jan, 2008 12:02 am Post subject: |
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I've been wanting to own an Albion Knight with scabbard, but that will likely not come to pass.
I will, however, get myself one of the future ones. I had wondered if it was possible for these swords to INCREASE in value, but I am unsure -- likely that requires the line to have been sold out, or some sort of modification to have been made. (The thread on pommel coins has me wondering if I would be able to do this with the Kingmaker.)
M.
This space for rent or lease.
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Bruno Giordan
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| Posted: Thu 10 Jan, 2008 2:27 am Post subject: |
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| William M wrote: | I would agree with Vincent, in that my problem with Albion is that their blades are mostly machine made. This is a big problem to me, as the sword does not feel 'real' . Also for the price they ask there are plenty of other options about where you can get an excellent handmade sword. Now when I say handmade I do not mean using your hands to put a steel blank in the machine, but actually forging and so on.
William |
Pls tell me which custom blade maker will work in Europe for 800 - 1000 euros ... That's a couple monthly wages in eastern Europe but I don' think anybody is willing to work so much for such figures even there.
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Bruno Giordan
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| Posted: Thu 10 Jan, 2008 2:49 am Post subject: |
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| William M wrote: | | Sorry but I don't have a list, nor did I claim to have one. My comment is based on experience and years looking through smiths websites. No need to be so confrontational as my opinon is that for a production sword, Albions offerings are rather expensive. |
I'm an hobby bladesmith and I can assure you that making a correct sword by forging requires a lot of time, especially research time, also you should consider that average blacksmiths are not trained at all to make blades.
I'm working with retired blacksmiths in Bienno, Northern Italy, they still work in the old renaissance forges that have been spewing out nails, hammers, flatters, trowels, spades, buckets and pickaxles for centuries, using medieval techniques.
For a period, this forges produced blade blanks for the venetian republic, but the tradition went lost, and our blacksmiths are used just to mass produce agricultural and masonry tools.
This is likely the situation in eastern Europe.
When we see blacksmiths proposing their blade work, we must consider that the blacksmith environment they were trained in was produced rough items, sturdy items, but products that are the opposite of blades in terms of engineering.
Maybe some of such blacksmiths, being used to work in a hurry as it is customary when mass producing agricultural and masonry tools, will keep their prices down, just by spewing out quickly superficially researched blades, made as if they were the usual lot of trowels or spades.
My experience with this old fantastic people in Bienno has been excellent so far, but I had to give them a lot of documents to allow them to adjust to the needs of blademaking.
So, as Nathan Robinson has pointed out, the forging card is not the sole measure of the goodness of a blade.
Blacksmiths willing to produce blades need to study well the matter, or the result will be inevitably the realization of very sturdy and very bad performing and looking sword like objects.
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Bob Burns
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| Posted: Thu 10 Jan, 2008 4:01 am Post subject: |
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Michael, if your looking for a high quality sword it's going to be more expensive as you know. But you cannot go wrong with either Albion Swords or Arms & Armor. Also, look at the "Custom Page" on the Arms & Armor website and you will see that for a price, they can make anything you want.
Both these companies are absolute First Class!
Arms & Armor in their standard production swords for the most part use a flat diamond cross section which helps keep down the costs. In my opinion these are two first class companies going to two different markets.
Albion goes to a market that is relatively more for the customer who's first concern is the high quality with absolutely no compromises in the blade geometry and for whom the cost of that sword is not at all his primary concern as he is in a financial bracket wherein he can easily afford the best! Albion has one way to do their Next Generation and Museum Line swords and that is the Zero compromises as to the cost of production and therefore pricing to the consumer. The sword is going to be first rate in quality of materials and first rate in complexity of geometry, such as fullers, hollow grinding, incredibly complicated pommels on some of their swords etc. However, they do not do custom work.
Arms & Armor in their "standard" production line sticks to a more simple blade geometry without sacrificing the performance and quality of the sword as compared to the original from which it is based. Thereby keeping costs down to a broader market of affordability. Both companies use 6150 steel, of which I have learned and read to be the best steel for Western European medieval swords.
However, a customer can choose a sword from the standard production line and custom order it to the highly complex geometry so as to exactly replicate the original sword, such as fullers, double fullers, hollow grinds or anything else you can throw at them, but the price is going to be higher than the standard production sword.
Also, a customer can order a completely custom sword with the most complicated blade and pommel geometry there is, but it's going to be expensive!
Additionally, there are no computerized grinding machines at Arms & Armor, so more is done by hand and therefore it's probably going to be more expensive than an Albion sword, because of the fact there are no automated grinding machines at Arms & Armor.
Look at the most impressive Next Generation Line Albion swords, as well as the Albion Museum line swords. Now look at the "Custom Page" on the Arms & Armor website and have a close look at these swords.
Now tell me that an Albion is better than an Arms & Armor Sword  No Way!
These two companies are quite equal in the quality of work that they can do, neither company is better than the other!
They are "Both" Absolute First Class American Made Western European Medieval Sword production companies!
Sure a highly custom rapier or sword is going to cost $2,500.00, maybe $3,000.00, but these are custom swords of the most intricate blade geometry that can be produced! Your not going to get one of these swords for the price of a standard Arms & Armor production sword!
You do not get a Rolls Royce with Ford money!
Sincerely!
Bob
Last edited by Bob Burns on Sun 13 Jan, 2008 6:09 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Addison C. de Lisle
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| Posted: Thu 10 Jan, 2008 9:33 am Post subject: |
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| Bob Burns wrote: | | Albion has one way to do their Next Generation and Museum Line swords and that is the Zero compromises as to the cost of production and therefore pricing to the consumer. |
I think Albion is great; the company, the products, and the customer service is awesome! I have owned 3 Albion swords, and currently possess 2 (planning on buying a third this summer). You literally cannot make a bad choice in their lineup.
I would disagree on a minor point with Bob however. Albion does use some of their blades on multiple models with different hilt components to create a different price bracket. An example would be the Albion Mercenary and the Castellan. The Castellan has more complex hilt components, which are harder to clean after casting, and consequentially it costs $222 more. I'm not saying this is a bad thing; I personally think it gives the customer more options; they may prefer the simpler hilt components to the more complex designs.
As a side note, the Mercenary is an excellent sword, and I love the wire-wrapped grip option that Albion has added. I have yet to be disappointed by an Albion sword 
www.addisondelisle.com
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Clayton Woods
Industry Professional
Location: Verona, WI Joined: 22 Sep 2007
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Thu 10 Jan, 2008 8:12 pm Post subject: Hype, Hyperbole, and Handmade |
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Reporting in from the Albion Blade shop, I'd like to say that I've been following this thread with some close attention this week.
First off some words to Michael.
Whether or not a particular blade, line of swords, or company's production in general is 'worth it' is really something that in the end analysis you can only answer for yourself. I'd have to say that you should look carefully at what you wish to use the sword for, how much money that the sword you want to buy will cost you, and if you can afford to have that much money tied up in the use that you anticipate it being put towards. This, of course, is fairly sound advice for just about any purchase from a sword to a new TV to a car.
In this analysis I can only say that you'll have to weigh all these factors and decide for yourself. Obviously I have a bias towards my own company's products, but since I have not felt, tested, or worked on the products of any 'peer' company or product line, I cannot and will not compare or contrast (most of my collection is of the wall-hanging mall variety at the moment, I am ashamed). That being said, I can honestly tell you that the first time I came across the Albion website (A few scarce months before I interviewed there) I was a bit surprised by the prices. However, I can also tell you that my opinion changed dramatically the first time I actually held an Albion blade.
The day I went to the shop to interview, Harlan took me down through the front 'display' room on our way to the shop for my practical testing. On the wall were a number of swords, including the first Munich, which was one of the newest 'new' blade in the NextGen line at the time. He handed the blade to me and explained some of it's properties, most of which were lost on me at the time. I had in my life held a number of other swords of the 'mall' variety. This was, truly, one of the first 'real' swords I ever put my hands on. My first day at work, I got the same feeling when I picked up the first Knecht. Truly, to know the blade, one must feel the blade. Once you hold them and feel them, you will know for yourself if they will be worth it for you.
Since my first day on the job, I have held a lot of swords, but even so, I'd hardly consider myself an 'expert' at this point. I don't have a wide knowledge of what is available out there on the market. The best advice I can give you, Michael, is to try to find some people that have blades of the type and manufacture that you're looking to buy, and give them a whirl, and see how the feel to you. If there's a convention nearby where Mike and Harlan will be showing off our wares, drop by and say hi. Make sure it's what you want and what you can afford, and if Albion fits your bill, we'll do everything we can to make you happy.
Happy Hunting, Michael.
Secondly, however, I need to address the following:
| William M wrote: | I would agree with Vincent, in that my problem with Albion is that their blades are mostly machine made. This is a big problem to me, as the sword does not feel 'real' . Also for the price they ask there are plenty of other options about where you can get an excellent handmade sword. Now when I say handmade I do not mean using your hands to put a steel blank in the machine, but actually forging and so on.
William |
As someone who's cut himself on more than a few swords while working on them, I'm prone to taking a statement such as this somewhat personally, but I think the best response is simply to cast some illumination on the subjet. I think there is a misconception that at Albion, most of the shaping work that is done on a blade is done by the mill. Hopefully I can clear that up a bit.
At Albion most of the specifics of edge and point geometry are put in by hand with a belt grinder. The edges and points are all very roughly done by the mill. Sharp points and sharp edges would have a rough time of it during the heat treat process. Most of the edges are ground to sharp from a relatively thick milling and the points are always quite thick with a decent width. We have to turn these into shaped points by hand. Also, most of the cross sections of the blades are significantly reshaped from what the mill turns out.
And the fullers, let us not forget the fullers. There isn't a fuller on an Albion blade whose final shape isn't the result of human hands holding steel to a belt grinder. The mill may tell us where on the blade to put the fuller and roughly how far it goes, but after that, it's all up to us. Every termination of every fuller is the result of human effort.
While the mill certainly cuts the time down and gives us the basic shape of the blade, a lot of what we do (And what all blade smiths that I've talked to do) is done with hands against blade. I'm of half a mind to take a picture of our pile of dead and sliced up gloves for reference. 
So, while Bob is the guy that puts the steel blanks into the mill (Harlan and Aaron also cover that job as well) there are 3 of us in the grind shop who take those milled blades and turn them into sword blades there are two guys out in cutlerly who put those blades together into swords. Two guys back in waxes who make sure our cutlers have the rest of the parts. A wood worker who gets our wood parts done. Our QC guy who keeps us in line and the production manager who makes sure we have the raw materials to get it done. There's our scabbard guy and our armorer. There's our dock guy who makes sure your swords are safely packaged so that they can get to you. One machine, many people. The machine has the blade for about 45 minutes, we take over for the 2-5 hours after that. Our hands shape and craft every single one of those blades.
There are: Joe Waites, my mentor, and all around awesome dude. Ben Dawson, our rookie grinder who is coming along nicely and generously took over the Maestro and Squire Line duties from my plate. Joel and Dan out in cutlerly who take the blades when we're done with them and finish them out for you. Carl and Eric back in the wax shop who do a bang up job getting the pieces up to spec for casting the hilt components. Roger who gets our wooden grips ready for your hands. Eric (the second) who checks the blades to make sure that you're going to be happy and that we didn't miss anything. Harlan who keeps the grinder belts coming (if you're reading this, we need another box of 120 grit). There's Aaron who does such a bang-up job on those scabbards and Lars who does our armor and has pitched in to help get our film swords out. There's Bear out on the dock. And myself, Clayton Woods, who has been learning how to do this most wonderful of wonderful jobs for about 8 months now and has been loving every minute of it.
These are our hands, and they are the hands of Albion.
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M. Eversberg II
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| Posted: Thu 10 Jan, 2008 9:18 pm Post subject: |
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Albion should do a video interview of their staff. We'd all enjoy that 
M.
This space for rent or lease.
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Jared Smith
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| Posted: Thu 10 Jan, 2008 9:34 pm Post subject: |
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Clayton,
I am guessing that with the number of people involved, all of the steps, plus grip wrapping, you might have 15 to 20 man-hours in an average sword, plus sending it off for heat treat? Considering the un-milled blank and castings costs, plus heat treat costs, expenses must add up. Ultimately all of these people need to make at least a modest living plus some profit charged by the company. The prices don't surprise me. I would not want a bill from a plumber for something comparable in effort. If this means that I can only buy 1 per year or even one every 2 years, so be it.
I like the fact that each member of "the team" is a specialist in one or two areas (machinist, cutlerer/ grinder, castings finisher, wood worker, leather worker, etc.) Its is consistent with how Peter has described swords being made historically. As I understand it, the various models are made in batches such that the manual practice of each craftsman could actually lead to improvement as production numbers increase, rather than sloppiness due to machine tooling wear or forgetting how you did it on "the last one" made with a few weeks gone by since. By the time the product gets into the shipping box, each production skill has been done by someone with a lot of progress towards perfection in performing that step. It shows.
Good luck and best wishes.
Absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence!
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M. Eversberg II
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 12:48 am Post subject: |
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It would be quite nice if Albion began a line of daggers, to be honest.
M.
This space for rent or lease.
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Nathan Robinson
myArmoury Admin
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 2:13 am Post subject: Re: Hype, Hyperbole, and Handmade |
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| Clayton Woods wrote: | | These are our hands, and they are the hands of Albion. |
Clayton-
It's good for all of us to see what it takes to get such items out the door. The same issues you mention are present in one form or another and at varying degrees for other shops, too. Your post not only demonstrates the amount of hand work that goes into an item, but also sheds a light into the amount of time that goes into an item.
And to reiterate a point I made in my first point, above, let's not forget the countless (dozens and dozens if not hundreds) of hours that go into each project before it ever materializes into something made of steel, wood, and leather. This includes the research, documentation/measuring, and design processes. Then there is the time it takes to translate such designs into three-dimensional space -- the CAD used to program the CNC machine. And then of course there is the prototyping and tweaking and all the back-and-forth to get something completed in a production environment.
All those hours need to be paid for and so have to be reflected into each item's final cost. People forget this.
If we start to consider the costs associated with all the other factors of keeping a shop in business then we get an even clearer picture of why these items cost as much as they do. Such things as customer service, promotion and advertising, payroll, equipment, shop costs, training, etc, etc, etc. all add up and will go into an item's final asking price as well.
Even with all this, most of these things are too costly for me to justify taking home now days, but I understand why the asking prices are where they are.
.:. Visit my Collection Gallery :: View my Reading List :: View my Wish List :: See Pages I Like :: Find me on Facebook .:.
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M. Eversberg II
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 3:27 am Post subject: |
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To the Albion folk -- how do you work your days? Do you all do standard 9-12 hour shifts as is typical in most other jobs, or do you set to do a number of blades up to a given step?
M.
This space for rent or lease.
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Jean Thibodeau
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 8:18 am Post subject: |
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| M. Eversberg II wrote: | To the Albion folk -- how do you work your days? Do you all do standard 9-12 hour shifts as is typical in most other jobs, or do you set to do a number of blades up to a given step?
M. |
Or do you have a flextime type of situation were overtime is banked for future use as time off or accumulated overtime pay ?
My old job was in corporate T.V. production ( retired after 25 years ) and we had a very flexible system: The company which is a major Canadian Insurance company had a general flextime policy but our group used it much more extensively and much more self-managed: By self-managed I mean that if I had to pull an allnighter or more, like 24 to 36 hours to finish something that was needed for someone else to work on, I would just do it without having someone telling me to stay.
At the same time I could take a day off, leave early or come in late with minimum supervision as long as I had accumulated time banked: Get up Friday morning, feel NOT in the mood to work, call in and take the day off and go to a movie or just roll back to bed. This worked for us as the work to do could vary from heavy to none on a daily and weekly basis and I would know when my absence wouldn't impact the workflow of the team and what my dealines were.
This style can work when the employees are trusted, dedicated and the management looks at the work being done and not 19th century clockwatching disciplinarians or control freaks.
Anyway, the workflow and production needs has to come first and be variable enough so that the down time side of it is possible or it does turn into a lot of overtime pay and really tired employes.
For small companies I suspect that a lot of unpaid overtime is actually volunteered by the workers and the time off, when needed, is a more informal thing but has to be fair and flexible ex: If I just worked a 90 hour week because I care about the product, company and customers I would find it " demotivating " if on the carpet for being late to work occasionally.
O.K. , I got longwinded, AGAIN ! Hopefully useful background for the question about the job at Albion being 9 to 5 or not.  assuming it's any of our business.
You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Michael Edelson
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 9:35 am Post subject: |
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I'm jumping in on this a bit late, but I think Albion swords are an absolute bargain. Never before in modern history have we had such fine swords, designed by such a talented artist and crafted by such talented people, available to us at such ridiculously low prices.
These are heirloom quality items one can purchase in some cases for as little as 722 dollars. That's the price of a bargain computer or three low end swords.
As for the whole forging vs. stock removal thing, that, in my opinion, is a matter of emotion rather than any measurable quality. Since almost all swords wind up on a belt grinder, it's not really possible to tell (without extensive instrumenation) if a sword was forged or made on a mill, neither by physical examiniation nor measure of performance.
My views on value are not dependent on income. How many people who say they can't afford an Albion own three or more low end swords?
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Christopher Gregg
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 9:58 am Post subject: Albion swords |
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I'll second Michael's opinion on forging vs. stock removal. In the "old days", forging was a necesary process used to produce quality steel, but after the industry began creating better "blank stock" for swordsmiths to turn into blades, early stock removal methods (water powered grinders, etc.) were used to produce blades more quickly and in greater quantity. I'm sure most of the Medieval and early Renaissance swords a few of us have gotten to handle from a museum or a private collection feel no different from a quality new, custom hand forged sword from a master smith. Sure, it is more romantic to think of the smith pounding a piece of raw ore into a beautiful sword, but it is no less romantic to think of the complicated and artistic process that several artisans go through to produce the same type of weapon.
Albion swords certainly invoke that certain almost mystical quality that ancient warriors surely must have felt when they received their new swords, and that few other manufacturers can replicate today. I know my Vinland does!
Christopher Gregg
'S Rioghal Mo Dhream!
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Jean Thibodeau
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 10:06 am Post subject: |
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| Michael Edelson wrote: | I'm jumping in on this a bit late, but I think Albion swords are an absolute bargain. Never before in modern history have we had such fine swords, designed by such a talented artist and crafted by such talented people, available to us at such ridiculously low prices.
These are heirloom quality items one can purchase in some cases for as little as 722 dollars. That's the price of a bargain computer or three low end swords.
As for the whole forging vs. stock removal thing, that, in my opinion, is a matter of emotion rather than any measurable quality. Since almost all swords wind up on a belt grinder, it's not really possible to tell (without extensive instrumenation) if a sword was forged or made on a mill, neither by physical examiniation nor measure of performance.
My views on value are not dependent on income. How many people who say they can't afford an Albion own three or more low end swords? |
I would add that the level of quality Albion introduced into the market sort of put the bar much higher as to historical accurate swords in looks and more importantly, handling, that even the lower end makers have also followed the trend up in general quality. ( Note other companies like A & A have been making quality reproductions for many years but the trend accelerated with Albion ).
As to prices there are many things out there that are worth the price asked but may be too expensive for some: I know I can afford a couple each year depending on what else I buy, but It does force me to be selective and get only the ones I want the most ). And I agree that not buying 3 mid-range swords in price means being able to buy that one Albion.
You can easily give up your freedom. You have to fight hard to get it back!
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Jean Henri Chandler
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 10:41 am Post subject: |
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| Michael Curl wrote: | I was looking for either a medieval arming or a longsword. I was reading reviews and I was thinking about the Constable from albion, though I haven't looked at A&A very much.
My additional question is that some people say they perfer A&A and I was wondering why. Is it the weight, cost vs. quality, sharpness, shipping, balance, reliability? |
I own an Albion Constable and I am delighted with it. It's a fantastic little sword, when I first encountered one i found that it was actually far better than I expected it would be. It cuts very well, surprisingly well for a small pointy sword. It is actually kind of scary. one of my friends who is an avid gun collector and shooter told me it was the first weapon he ever handled that he found intimidating.
I cut with several Albions before and a few A&A, and I also own an MRL and a Cold Steel. I've handled a few authentic antiques while in Europe. The Albion was the most sword-like replica to me. The A&A ones looked nice but they either seemed too heavy, or too flexible, or both. I tend to like light swords though as I'm a HEMA fencer. And thats just my personal opinion.
I think Albion is too expensive for my budget these days, but they are probably the best mass produced sword you can get in the US and their swords seem to be getting better and better, and by and large their quality is excellent. Not all of them are equally fantastic though. I've handled one or two which seemed "off" in size, shape, weight, or handling. East European smiths like Vladimir Cervenka are very good (having handled a couple of their blades) and make hand-forged weapons rather than machine-ground. Castle Keep in England seems to be good too. But anything you get form overseas will take longer for shipping, wait time and customer service.
Some of the MRL swords seem pretty good to me. I definitely get more of a 'real' feel from my Albion but many $200 MRL sword feel vastly more 'real' than a typical wallhanger or fantasy piece, even a fairly expensive one. A lot depends on what you want to do with it.
I think the most important thing is that if you are getting a sword more than say, $250, I'd try as hard as possible to actually handle a copy of it to be sure you like it before going through the whole process of ordering, watiing etc..
J
Books and games on Medieval Europe Codex Integrum
Codex Guide to the Medieval Baltic Now available in print
Last edited by Jean Henri Chandler on Fri 11 Jan, 2008 10:57 am; edited 1 time in total
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Jean Henri Chandler
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 10:49 am Post subject: |
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| Michael Edelson wrote: | | As for the whole forging vs. stock removal thing, that, in my opinion, is a matter of emotion rather than any measurable quality. Since almost all swords wind up on a belt grinder, it's not really possible to tell (without extensive instrumenation) if a sword was forged or made on a mill, neither by physical examiniation nor measure of performance. |
The stock removal issue does have some legitimate technical reasons. It is not just a matter of emotion. Stock removal was done in period (within a certain era) but mostly with 'Munitians Grade' weapons. I'm no blacksmith but I have discussed this with experienced swordsmiths, including some who do use stock reduction. The grind cuts across the grain of the metal, if i understand correctly, which can affect strength, resiliance and other properties.
That said most of us are extremely unlikely to use our swords in combat. I've had my Constable for two years and put it through abuse which I shudder to think about now. And it's held up beautifully, I never sharpened it since I've owned it (don't really know how) and it still cuts like a razor.
But comparing it to a real antique a friend owns from 1570 I'd say it's still a quantum leap behind, just as it's about two quantum leaps ahead of my MRLs (and three past my cold steel).
J
Books and games on Medieval Europe Codex Integrum
Codex Guide to the Medieval Baltic Now available in print
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Jean Henri Chandler
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 11:00 am Post subject: Re: Albion, does it live up to the hype? |
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| Michael Curl wrote: | So I'm new to this site, and serious sword knowledge in general. I have a small collection, but they are all those wall hanging non-authentic lotr swords and so forth. So I'm now expanding my knowledge on REAL swords and would like to know if Albion is as good as they seem to be.
Also, are there any better manufactures in your opinion? |
Just FYI, it may already be apparent that you have stumbled into a very contraversial subject in the Sword owning community, and specifically for this here highly civilized and friendly forum if I may be forgiven for saying so. So if passions seem to wax a bit er, colorful, it's not you, there are fault lines etc.
J
Books and games on Medieval Europe Codex Integrum
Codex Guide to the Medieval Baltic Now available in print
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Chad Arnow
myArmoury Team
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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| M. Eversberg II wrote: | It would be quite nice if Albion began a line of daggers, to be honest.
M. |
This has been mentioned and discussed many times. A search of the forums will reveal Albion's stance on the matter.
ChadA
http://chadarnow.com/
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B. Stark
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Fri 11 Jan, 2008 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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I had no intention of wading into this discussion, but since I used to work at Albion and like Clayton had numerous chewed up gloves as part of my experience I have this to add to the stock removal/forged blade non-controversy. First, and probably most importantly ALL SWORDS ARE GROUND. At some point a blade, in order to create the appropriate geometry of edge, fuller, and tip requires grinding in some form or another. It is a misnomer that a sword can be forged start to finish. It cannot. There is no way to finsh, or polish a blade with a hammer of any kind. Now I'm not saying one couldn't try but I would be concerned with the end result being UGLY.
Take for instance the process of how a katana is made. After initial shaping in the forge one takes a FILE(hard steel cutting device) and begins shaping the swords initial geometry. This in turn is followed by various stages of grinding on "polishing stones" or possibly*shudder* on a belt grinder followed by polishing with stones. Yes, I know the "spirit" of the sword is forever damaged...anyhow, there is no negative impact to swords steel by using a CNC mill. Once again, hype is thrown about to support an idea that has no factual basis behind it. In fact the more important aspect of sword making is the type of steel and the heat treat recipe. If these are incompatible it won't matter how the blade is roughed out, by forge or by mill.
My $0.02
BTW I'm a GMC/Nissan guy. Can't stand Ford.
"Wyrd bi∂ ful aręd"
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