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Chad Arnow
myArmoury Team
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 Posted: Mon 07 Jul, 2014 7:05 pm Post subject: My visit to A&A |
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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
ChadA
http://chadarnow.com/
Last edited by Chad Arnow on Mon 07 Jul, 2014 7:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Chad Arnow
myArmoury Team
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| Posted: Mon 07 Jul, 2014 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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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.
ChadA
http://chadarnow.com/
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Mark Moore
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| Posted: Mon 07 Jul, 2014 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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Wow.............Do they need a janitor? I'll take out the trash.  ...............McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Victor R.
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| Posted: Mon 07 Jul, 2014 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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I think I'd like to go through that barrel...
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Tim Mathews
Location: St Paul MN Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 172
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| Posted: Mon 07 Jul, 2014 9:16 pm Post subject: Arms and Armor |
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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 !
Tim Mathews
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Jerry Monaghan
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 1:09 am Post subject: |
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Thank you Chad.
Very interesting work and really nice swords hope you had an great day
Regards
Jerry Monaghan
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Mattia Perroco
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 2:28 am Post subject: |
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Jason Elrod
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 2:42 am Post subject: |
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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.
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William M
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 3:21 am Post subject: |
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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. 
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Mark T
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 4:41 am Post subject: |
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| Jason Elrod wrote: | | Yeah! I see some of my pieces in those pics. |
So do I! 
Can't wait to see which ones are yours, Jason. The massive two-hander isn't one of them, is it?
Looks like someone has another version of A&A's Wallace 466 ... would love to see how that one turned out.
This thread makes me wonder at just how many custom A&A pieces there are out there that we otherwise don't get to see ...
Chief Librarian/Curator, Isaac Leibowitz Librarmoury
Schallern sind sehr sexy!
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Bryan Heff
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 5:31 am Post subject: |
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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.
The church is near but the roads are icy. The tavern is far but I will walk carefully. - Russian Proverb
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Sean Flynt
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J.D. Crawford
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 7:36 am Post subject: |
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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
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Jason Elrod
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Mark T wrote: | | Jason Elrod wrote: | | Yeah! I see some of my pieces in those pics. |
So do I!
Can't wait to see which ones are yours, Jason. The massive two-hander isn't one of them, is it?
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Nope. Not lucky enough to own the two hander. Mine are a little more boring than that. One of the Wallace Dagger sets is definately mine, I can tell by the wood grain and I suspect the Durer is mine too. The S-Guard curves the opposite direction than the standard model and I can't imagine there are too many out there like that.
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Joel Chesser
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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I saw one in there that will be on the way to me soon!
Very fun thread, thanks chad for sharing.
..." The person who dosen't have a sword should sell his coat and buy one."
- Luke 22:36
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Joe Fults
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for sharing these.
Fun little thread.
"The goal shouldn’t be to avoid being evil; it should be to actively do good." - Danah Boyd
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Jason Elrod
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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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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[ Download ]
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J. Nicolaysen
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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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.
Last edited by J. Nicolaysen on Wed 09 Jul, 2014 6:24 am; edited 1 time in total
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Russ Ellis
Industry Professional
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| Posted: Tue 08 Jul, 2014 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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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.
TRITONWORKS Custom Scabbards
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Lee Pupo
Location: Pennsylvania Joined: 30 Mar 2014
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Wed 09 Jul, 2014 8:18 am Post subject: |
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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!
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