Inevitably I think back to my childhood memories of camping and hiking with my brother and parents. We were pretty serious about it too. Mostly boat-in camping on the islands of the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota and Canada. Two weeks with only what you brought in and your skills to sustain you.

Back then the closest “civilization” was the little gas station/restaurant about 50 miles away. You could go the entire two weeks without seeing another human being. The breathtaking landscape and flora and fauna were your companions. The wolves would serenade you every night; the bear would wander through the camp in the wee hours of the morning, and all day the deer, squirrels, eagles, ducks, and other forest denizens would keep you company. Fresh caught fish cooked over the fire in a cast iron fry pan. Foil-wrapped packs of sliced onions, potatoes, garlic and of course butter, sizzling away. In the morning, reindeer moss crushed into flour for pancakes with bacon and eggs.

Naturally my thoughts drift to the tools for survival. A knife; flint and steel; an axe. With these tools and some knowledge, mankind can survive and thrive. With these tools one can create shelter, fire, clothing and secure food. These pictures show what my personal minimal survival kit has consisted of for the past 12+ years. Naturally I carry a dagger instead of a knife and any of you that know me or have followed my other posts will understand my obsession.

So please, take a moment on a rainy day to enjoy the simple beauty and pleasure that can be had from feeling the connection between humanity and nature.

“Rise and rise again until lambs become lions!”

Take up the cause of freedom against tyranny and oppression with this fine sword at your side!
–

More High Quality Swords From Windlass

You’ll definitely want to peruse the other fine Windlass products now offered by Forged In Time. Well made and crafted with care, these fine maces, war hammers, swords and more will not kick you in your pocket-book either. In many cases our prices are actually lower than what you would pay at many of our competitors.

Windlass Steelcrafts is responsive to customer feedback and we have seen a marked increase in the quality of Windlass products over the last several years. We offer these and other selected pieces from the Windlass forges with full confidence in their quality and value.

A customized Defender Longsword

With the new Defender Longsword, Forged In Time is launching the Elite Line of swords and more. The Elite Line Swords and More products will all be entirely hand crafted by master bladesmith Benjamin Rial personally. Using only the finest materials and taking many hours of intensive hand labor, the painstaking process results in extremely fine quality individual pieces designed and built for performance that will last for generations.

Custom Handmade Medieval Dagger

Customized Defender Longsword Hilt

Hand Forged Iron Belt Buckle

Though not based upon specific historical examples, the Elite Line embodies the essence and soul of swords, and other weapons and tools, of the Medieval, and other, periods. Using design elements found on numerous antique examples and combining them with modern materials and over two decades of intensive study and practical experience results in pieces that are in many ways superior to original pieces.

Custom Sgian Dubh

Meticulously hand forged from 5160 high carbon spring steel and differentially heat-treated with a harder edge, softer spine and soft tang, the Defender Longsword is the first member of the illustrious Elite Line.

The Brute! Custom Mountain Man Knife

The "Woodman" Custom Parang

Other items to come are various tools and other weapons such as spades, picks, chisels, saws, war hammers, axes, shields, daggers, pouches, leather mugs for drinking, and of course swords and more!

Here are some pictures of recent blacksmithing work from my forge. Belt buckles, eating picks, brooches, etc.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is the first video of several that we plan to release over the course of this year.

Filming and production is done by FIT Web Design and the original musical score is by Jeff Vandenberg.

Here is an Oakeshott type XVIIIa with a style 2 guard and a type j pommel. The grip is almost exactly like that of the Falcon which I have found to be quite comfortable for handling and allows a secure grip. It has a leather rain guard between the guard and grip, very plain in this case. Here are the specs:

34.75″ (.89M) long blade, 44.125″ (1.13m) overall length, 3#7oz weight (1.55kg).
Blade is 5160. Guard and pommel are mild steel. Grip is ash with studs under leather and wire wrapping.

I decided to take a very simple utilitarian approach with this piece. Making it something that a practical, though well equipped, knight or man-at-arms might carry.

Here are some more pictures of medieval swords from the past year.

The Falcon pictured in this post has had the grip lightly customized with the addition of a partial wire wrap.