A friend and I went down to Atlanta yesterday for the opening of the Bladeshow. I got to a bunch of forumites (Nathan, Mac, Mike Sigman, Eric McHugh, Harlan Hastings, David Stokes, William Goodwin, Stephen Han, Vince Evans, James King, and others). I also got to handle a bunch of really cool things.

Vince Evans' stuff is amazing. I was just a few minutes late or I would have bought a dirk from him. His stuff sold out in minutes. He had an early basket hilt (Lowland, I think they've been called), his personal S-hilt, 4 dirks, a yataghan, and some other cool stuff. The level of detail and quality of the finish are simply incredible. He and his wife are very nice also. I should be getting a ballock dagger from him this summer, so it was nice to talk out some of the details in person.

The Albion Next Gen swords are also amazing. I spent a lot of time bothering Mike, Eric, and Harlan at the Albion booth. :) I handled everything they had there (many multiple times). I played with the steel version of the Sovereign many times (I'm anxiously awaiting a bronze version). That sword is quite a weapon. Short and deadly, and would pack a wallop. The Solingen is also a type XIV, but very different. The Solingen is a finesse sword, the Sovereign is more brutal while still handling really well. I put in an order for the Baron, so within a couple of weeks I'll go from 0 NG's to 2. The Conan swords were impressive, as were Eric and Jason's hand-forged saxes. According to my recollection, I handled a Clontarf, Vinland, Gaddhjalt, Norman, Templar, Squire, Prince, Baron, Duke, Landgraf, Regent, Solingen (prototype by PJ), Tritonia and Brescia (also a PJ prototype).

The Mercenary's Tailor is underrated. I got to wear and examine a really nice sallet. I also tried on a Norman helm (I know some of the forumites got pictures of that). I tried on all the styled of gauntlets they had with them, and they're all really nice. Harlan is a cool guy and very knowledgeable. He also makes a hell of a chain main hackey-sack. Really cool stuff.

I stopped by and chatted with Tinker for a few minutes. He had some cool stuff on the table; it was more fantasy-inspired than I prefer, but still nice. I saw Paul Chen walk by the Albion booth. I stopped at the CAS Iberia booth. They have a new antiquing process to offer on their sword. I personally didn't care for the look. They also had some new rapiers out on display. James Williams was also wandering around.

Fun, fun fun. :)

Just checking in as well. Has been the greatest pleasure finally meeting everyone (Chad, Nathan, Stephen,Mac,David,Russ,Vince & Grace, Tinker,Ron,James, Allen). What a wonderful bunch of people. The guys at the Albion booth (Mike, Eric & Harlan) are all super friendly lads. So many swords , so little money. The sights my son Evan and I got to see where incredible.

Hope everybody there had as good as time as we did. More later, will post some pics when I get 'em back....right now...need some sleep... it's a long trip back to Va.


William
aka Bill


P.S..(Hey Mike, did I win the sword?) :D

I really enjoyed meeting everyone,Darwin,Chad,Mac(Big broad Mac)and Bill.I spent most of my time at the Albion Booth,I got around To Vince Evens table Friday afternoon(no camera) and Kevin Cashens Saturday.I Handled Every sword At the Albion booth.I spent Some time after hours with Nathan, Mike, Eric, and Harlan discussing various topics... gothic architecture, chemical engineering, eugenics, alternate reality theory,... very serious minded gentlemen.I was impressed by the Mercenary's Taylor Armor on hand,the web photo's realy don't do them justice.Of all the swords I handled I was most impressed by the Gadjhalt.I realy can't put my finger on why I never cared too much for this sword,I pictured It as being a little long for my taste, or whatever.I was stunned at how well the sword handled.The sword has that "look", all business.I can honestly say it is my favorite.(the Clontarf,The Norman, and the Templar are tied for second now).Had the time of my life!pics to follow...

I must say that my wife and I Had a fantastic time at the Blade Show! To have an opportunity to meet so many fantastic people(Nathan, Stepen, Mac, MIke, Harlan, Russ, Bill, John, Ron, and Allen) as well as the smith's like Vince Evans and Tinker Pierce) was incredible. I'll have more comments later (after a little home repair is finished) but I wanted to give a sincere Thanks to the forumites and Albion gang for being so great to us...this is especially true for Stephen and Nathan, who went out their way to insure we had a great time....Many Thanks!

James

Hi Guys

I had just the best weekend ..... I so wish I'd stayed for the last day, but dumb 'ol me did not plan things too well *g*
(Next year I'll be sure to set up camp for the long haul ;-)

Meeting all you guys was just wonderful, the show was incredible, and I truly wish I'd spent more time talking with each of you !
My apologies for being so distracted !

I shot about 6 rolls of film , I know Ron & Nathan shot a bunch, too, so the pictures will be rolling in soon , and I will be sure and give my thoughts about everything as I post 'em ( you know me, everythings gotta be visual ;-)
Hopefully my lack of flash will still produce some decent shots ?

Many thanks to Vince & Grace Evans, Kevin Cashen & his lovely wife, the gang at Albion, and all the other talented makers who's tables we were constantly blocking *g*

Stay tuned for more on the 2004 Atlanta Blade Show, Mac

I had a great time as well, and it was a genuine pleasure meeting some new forumites and seeing old faces from last year. The guys at Albion were beyond awesome, and indulged my every whim as far as handling their pieces was concerned. Even cut me a good deal on the Vinland that I ordered.

As always, the stuff from people like Vince Evans and Kevin Cashen was simply mind-boggling, and everyone was very friendly.

hey guys!

It was great FINALLY meeting so many of you guys I have been chatting with online for years!
I, Like Mac, took a fair amount of pictures and hope to be getting them up soon!

Tamara and I stayed all 3 days in ATL, and where able to hang out with alot of you guys! First off I have to thank Stephen Han. I met Stephen in person, for the first time at last years Blade show and spent most of last years show talking with him, as i did at this one. He's a great guy and I have to say a patient one to put up with me! lol
I was fortunate enough to get to have good lengthed discussions with all the "big smiths" there and got to know a few folks a bit better!
First off, since this is his forum, it was great to finally get to meet Nathan. So much online talk , really good to get to SEE the person. Same goes for Mac! He gave my girlfriend a good laugh when he started to dress up as the "scottish viking" armed with Albions toys......... oh, and Mac........ I have a GOOD pic of that i might use as blackmail! *grin*
Speaking of Albion, THANK YOU MIKE for slowing feeding me EVERY sword at your booth! All the compliments you hear online about albions swords are true! really amazing stuff!
As far as the sword makers, Thanks To Vince Evans and Grace as always, they are always the first i go speak to when I get to Blade........
Thanks to Tinker for a good fun chat, he even let me and Tam take a few swords out on the loading dock and play around with um! He's a hilarious person on and off the topic of swords!
Kevin Cashen is always a joy to talk with and hear about his latest projects, the peices he had at this show where a totally different style from last year, but equally, if not more so beautiful.......
As for the production stuff, Of course we made the normal rounds to cold steel to get this years video, which is enjoyable in its own right.
We also got a chance to chat with James Williams and check out a few new Paul Chen peices. I have never really cared much for their unfolded line of katanas, even owned a Musashi Daisho a while back and sold it after about 2 weeks...... but they have made some improvements which show they are a company that LISTEN to their customers. Of them all, when Tamara got ahold of the new Shinto katana that sports a Bo Hi, I think it was love at first site! Theres that lil phrase about "girl power" that really took a new meaning for her when she say Uma going to town in Kill Bill...... so when she got a hold of that new Shinto she immediatly identified!
I have to also say it was a pleasure chatting with all the usual suspects, Lynn Dawson, Barry Dawson, Daniel Watson, William Loyd (who won best sword BTW) as well as many others ilve probably forgot!
Thank you again to those who where present!

Hi All,

Just got in from the airport. I always said that a great part of the joy in this hobby is the opportunity to meet many great human beings. This Blade Show certainly lived up to that. Interacting with all the myArmoury members brought great joy in my life, so thank you all.

Props to Albion for letting us crowd around their booth, and also for providing those VIP passes. Congratulations to the Albion raffle winners (I'll let Albion annouce the particular names). I am having a hard time suppressing a smile here, by the way.

Oh and be sure to wish Nathan Robinson happy birthday, as tomorrow he turns 35.

Will post detailed observations and comments when I am fully recovered.

Those of you who took pictures, start posting them.

I dont know if links to other forums is allowed, but I have posted most of my pics over there..........

Ill repost them here if its a problem, but heres the link guys!
http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36275

Im just too tired to repost tonight...

later guys

Good morning (I think!),

Got back from the blade show yesterday and I have to say I had a great time (although very little sleep!). I really enjoyed meeeting and talking with all of the folks who post here as well as meeting the icons of the industry like Kevin Cashen and Vince Evans. The show also gave me the opportunity to see and handle a lot of Albion's NG line that I had only seen blade prototypes or hilt waxes for. As was said several times during the weekend, "there's not a dog in the bunch!"

The only downside to having so many great swords there was that two custom pieces by Jason Dingledine and Eric McHugh kind of got lost in the excitement of everyone seeing the new Albion models. Jason's langsax is lean and mean and looks like it would cut like a demon. Eric's seax, or Viking war knife, was especially fine. It's based on a period blade he discussed with Peter Johnsson on his trip to Sweden this past winter and is not your "run of the mill" broken-back pattern. Drop Eric a line and he can explain how/why he designed the blade the way he did. Both pieces are outstanding and would be perfect for anyone trying to put together a really good Viking kit. I'd post pictures but I haven't a clue how to do that :\ . You can see both of them on the Albion webpage in the In-house Artisans section.

Hi Gang

Well..... I got my pics back, that I took at the show, and I must say they came out purrrty darn good, despite the fact that I did not use a flash ( gotta luv that 800 speed film ) .

Since I've so many pic's , and it's taken forever to upload 'em , I figure I'll just post things (randomly) as I get them in, while commenting along the way !
* many additional ones I'll just add to my Picture Trail site as it could get overwhelming ! (although that will probably take a few days, depending ? ;-)

Okay first up ...... a shot of my partners in crime, Ron & Steve, as we surround the amazing Vince Evans !

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L to R : Ron Luciano, Vince Evans, Thomas McDonald, Stephen Han .

Next ..... Mr. Paul Chen ( Hanwei) poses with James Williams (Bugei), after an incredible cutting demonstration, by James, using Mr. Chen's fine swords !

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Some shots of James in action .....
Mr. Williams did a great job explaining what each cut was, and the hows & whys of it's use ! ( wish I could remember everything he said ). The man was using one of Bugei's lightest katana , cutting mats up to 5 rolls, and making it look so easy !

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Ducking whilest attacking !

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Some of the moves James made were just so lightening fast ..... that one where he removed his saya while turning his blade into an enemy ,at close quarters, was mind blowing !

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Fellow blademaker Michael McRae, of Scotia Metalworks ,checks out the fine dirks on Vince's table, while chatting with Grace !

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"Take me to your Leader" ..... Oh, wait a minute .... I am "the" Leader !!
myArmoury's beloved Editor in Chief, and all around nice guy ...... Nathan Robinson !
( I ask you .... are these the arms & shoulders of a self- proclaimed computer geek ? I think not ... the man's a ROCK *g* )

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Nathan posing with Ron Luciano's original 16th century Pirate cutlass, outside of the Galleria !

James Williams visits the Albion Booth and discusses the finer points of western swords with Eric McHugh & Staff !

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More to come ..... so do stop back ! Mac

Meeting Vince & Grace Evans was truly "the" highlight of the show for me .... but the iceing on the cake had to be shaking hands with the great Kevin Cashen !
Kevin was just a bundle of fun, constantly joking & laughing *g* (his laugh is infectious;-)

Here he is sandwiched between me ( holding his beautiful all pattern-welded cuphilt rapier, and Eric McHugh ( holding his equally beautiful ( and personal) damacus small sword)

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Here's a good shot of Kevin & Vince enjoying the madness around them, and sharing a laugh *g*

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Next we have a pic of Kevin, with Steve Han looking on, checking out the shorter bladed cutlass that Vince made !
(Steve snagged this baby as soon as the curtain went up :-)

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Vince holding Ron's antique cutlass along with the piece he made for Ron ..... inspired from a drawing of Blackbeard's sword & dagger in the book "Boarders Away with Steel"

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More to follow .............. Mac

David & Mac,

A big thanks! I look forward to seeing everyone else's pictures also. It looks like everyone had a great time.

Stephen

Great pics Mac. I shot three rolls and should have them back tomorrow, so I'll start to post 'em as soon as i can get them scanned.
Again, what a joy it was to meet everyone and to handle so many fabulous swords in one spot. I think my 2 fav's were the Albion Regent and the Vince Evans cutlass that Stephen got. ( thanks Stephen for letting hold that beaut).



William
aka Bill

wow. that's it, i'm going to fly down to Atlanta for next year's show.

maybe even pick a fight with Mac.

Moving along ......

Here is a pic that Vince sent me right before he left for the show which shows all the new pieces he brought to Atlanta !

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I was very impressed with our young lad David Stokes..... he & his beautiful girlfriend,Tamara, were a joy to chat with, very knowledgeable, and alot of fun ! ( David knew how to zing 'ol Mac, but good :-) It was wonderful to make their acquaintance !

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Steve Han, Tamara & David

Next pic shows our good friend Chad Arnow strapping on some of the very fine armour that The Mercenary's Tailor had on hand at the Albion Armorers booth !

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Eric McHugh was nice enough to introduce me to Michael 'Tinker' Pearce, at Blade Art's booth, and it was awesome to finally meet Michael after all these years ! He showed us many of the fine pieces he had on hand, all feeling light , lively , and well executed ! ( I'll post some pic's of a few I got to handle as we go along here !)

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I took a walk with Vince Evans and we stopped at a few tables that he wanted to checkout , one of them being Albion Armorers ! Vince got to handle quite a few of the pieces they had on hand, and seemed to have a good 'ol time playing with 'em !
In this shot we see him handling one of Peter Johnsson's original prototypes, as Eric elaborates on it !

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Closing out this round of photo's .....

Here's a shot of some of the fantastic goodies that The Mercenary's Tailor had on hand at the Albion booth !
Allan & Harlan's work has improved 10 fold since the last time I saw it (and it was excellent than) ...... the prices for this stuff are just plain fair, and the workmanship is something to be proud of !

Harlan & the guys let us try on all the toys, answering any & all questions as we asked !

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Another shot of David & his sweetie !

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Mac

Ron Luciano shows off his gorgeous new Vince Evans cutlass & matching dagger, outside the Galleria !

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Next is a closeup of the clam guards ( notice the beautiful pattern welded steel * sigh* )

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A shot of the matching dagger .....

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Ron was good enough to bring along his most awesome Evans 'Turcael' , for all of us to see ( & oogle over ;-)
* It was hard just getting out of the parking lot as everyone that happened by us wanted to have a look at it *g*

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Last photo is of Ron's much too cool car licence plate *g* ( now I gotta get my truck something cool ;-)

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