Jeff Pringle is an Oakland-based swordsmith, so it’s no surprise he has hundreds of pre-industrial and viking-era swords, axes, knives and other sharp, wonderful artifacts in his collection. But Pringle describes his collection as almost “accidental,” and the way he uses his collection has put the blades he makes…
Imagine this: One night, after coming home and falling asleep, you are violently awakened by your significant other stabbing you with a sword and at least two other knives. How would you react?
The same people behind those wonderful blank keys shaped like tiny swords are back with a new product for anyone who has to dress up for work, but still yearns to express their inner geek. Sword Clips are exactly what they sound like: Tie clips shaped like tiny swords that keep your tie in check and keep you…
Amateur life-risker Joerg Sprave has successfully built custom slingshots capable of firing everything from bowling balls, to Christmas trees, to lethal Lego bricks. His latest creation, a slingshot that can launch full-size swords, is as ludicrous-sounding as it is awesome to see in action.
When people fantasize about being ninjas, they’re not day-dreaming about sneaking up on their enemies; it’s all about the sword play. The Slow Mo Guys are no exception, and realized that playing around with a katana sword would result in some spectacular slo-mo footage.
In the United States, it’s illegal to interfere with any aircraft soaring over your property. So if your neighbor’s drone is caught spying on you, you can’t just shoot it out of the air. But apparently the laws are different in Sweden, where you can take down drones using impossibly dangerous weapons; like a…
Adam Savage’s One Day Builds series for Tested has taken him everywhere from making faux Apollo-era spacesuit parts to a ping pong machine gun, but this time he went a little more medieval. In this week’s installment, Savage decided to remake the legendary sword from 1981 fantasy film Excalibur using some of the same…
Late last month, an excavator operator was working at a peat bog in the Polish municipality of Mircze when he accidentally stumbled upon this glorious specimen of 14th century craftsmanship. The remarkably well-preserved longsword is a unique find for the area, and its discovery has prompted an archaeological…
Mounting a GoPro onto a sword and then watching it chop the hell out of things is awesome, but it isn’t as easy as I thought. You can’t just tape a camera down on one end of the blade and hope for the best, because the shot will look all wacky. The sword moves too fast so it’s all blurry, the camera angle is capturing…
If you think about it, a crowbar already comes vaguely sword-shaped (or as sword-shaped as any long metal tool can be). You just need to hammer down the curved end of the crowbar to create a hilt and then sharpen the straight edge to create the blade. To add flair to the super simple concept, Miller Knives gave the…
Medieval Viking Ulfberht swords are some of the most famous swords in history because they were so obscenely strong that it’s almost unbelievable that bladesmiths in the 9th century were even able to make them. Made from crucible steel, the swords stood out from everything from that time period. Hell, the process of…
Does just the thought of February 14 fill you with dread? Did you spend the last couple of Valentine’s Days alone, in bed, eating Häagen-Dazs straight from the tub? If this video of roses being sliced up with a katana blade in slow motion seems like the perfect metaphor for your love life, it might also make you feel…
In order to harden the edge of steel, swords are often heated until they’re impossibly hot and then quenched in liquid to rapidly cool down. This creates a much stronger grain structure in the steel which obviously leads to a much stronger sword. An interesting thing that happens during this quenching process is how…
Watch as the guys from Baltimore Knife and Sword make a 400-year-old Dandao sword from China using some really old techniques and machinery. It’s awesome to see iron sand transformed into steel in a smelter that would be similar to the ones the Chinese used centuries ago. It’s almost cooler to see a block of steel get…
Do you remember the Green Destiny sword from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I didn’t. But that damascus steel blade finished with jade is so damn gorgeous and stunningly detailed that after seeing the guys at Baltimore Knife and Sword make it, I don’t think I’ll ever forget it again. The whole build process is so…
Sending your child off to pre-school for the first time is apparently a stressful time for parents. But if you’ve properly prepared them for the challenges of dealing with other kids, like by playing with a 3D-printed baby rattle that looks like a miniature broadsword, they should be just fine.
Turn it up to 8K if you can (you can’t), because this truly awesome video of master bladesmith Tony Swatton working on a Roman Gladius Sword made from damascus steel is a treat to watch. Damascus steel is basically art in a material as the layers get built, this sword is especially awesome because it combines a…
How often have you let your imagination run wild and waived around the key to your car like a tiny sword? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Someone has actually produced an entire line of sword-shaped blank keys that they’re now trying to realize through Kickstarter.
