Albion Swords (formerly Albion Armorers) is a company based in New Glarus, Wisconsin manufacturing European sword replicas. The company was started in Washington D.C. by Howard and Amy Waddell in 1998. [1]
Albion has several different product lines that vary widely in price. Their most expensive "Museum Line" consists of swords that have been recreated from existing museum pieces. Their "Next Generation" line is the largest and most fully featured line. The lowest-end is the "Squire Line" and the "Maestro Line," which is a series of sparring swords intended for practitioners of historical European martial arts. [2]
In 2001, Albion Swords hired Bladesmith and custom Knifemaker Jody Samson to reproduce collector versions of the swords he designed for the Conan the Barbarian , films. Samson worked at Albion until his death in 2008. [3]
A dagger is a knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. Daggers have been used throughout human history for close combat confrontations, and many cultures have used adorned daggers in ritual and ceremonial contexts. The distinctive shape and historic usage of the dagger have made it iconic and symbolic. A dagger in the modern sense is a weapon designed for close-proximity combat or self-defense; due to its use in historic weapon assemblages, it has associations with assassination and murders. Double-edged knives, however, play different sorts of roles in different social contexts.
Albion is a town in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States, located about 27 miles southeast of Madison on Interstate 90. The population was 1,823 at the 2000 Census. The unincorporated communities of Albion, Highwood, Hillside, and Indian Heights are located in the town.
New Glarus is a village in Green County, Wisconsin, United States at the intersection of Wisconsin Highways 69 and 39. It has a population of 2,172 according to the 2010 census. Since 2000 it has had a population growth of 2.9 percent. The village, and the town that surrounds it, were named after the canton of Glarus in eastern Switzerland. The community was founded in 1845 by immigrants from that canton and was incorporated in 1901.
Albion is an archaic and poetic name for the island of Great Britain.
A tantō is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords that were worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The tantō dates to the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ornate. Tantō were used in traditional martial arts (tantojutsu). The term has seen a resurgence in the West since the 1980s as a point style of modern tactical knives, designed for piercing or stabbing.
The canton of Glarus is a canton in east central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus. The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German. The majority of the population (81%) identifies as Christian, about evenly split between the Protestant and Catholic denominations.
Glarus is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.
The New Glarus Brewing Company is an American brewery founded in 1993. Located in New Glarus, Wisconsin, it is an independently owned craft brewery, whose products can only be found in Wisconsin. New Glarus Brewing Company is the 15th largest craft brewer and 25th largest overall brewing company in the United States, by sales volume.
The Benchmade Knife Company is an American knife manufacturer in Oregon City, Oregon. Its products are sold to numerous markets, such as everyday carry, outdoor sporting, cutlery, rescue, law-enforcement, martial-arts, and military. The company has collaborated with a number of custom knife makers since its inception.
Framboise is a Belgian lambic beer fermented with raspberry.
Wilkinson Sword is a British brand for razors and other personal care products sold in Europe, owned by Edgewell Personal Care. The company was founded as a manufacturer of guns made in Shotley Bridge in County Durham, by Henry Nock in London in 1772.
State Trunk Highway 69 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs north–south in south central Wisconsin from the Illinois border near Monroe to Verona.
Cold Steel, Inc. is an American retailer of knives/bladed tools, training weapons, swords and other martial arts edged and blunt weapons, based in Irving, Texas. Cold Steel products are manufactured worldwide, including in the United States, Japan, mainland China, Taiwan, India, Italy and South Africa.
The Samson is an English-built railroad steam locomotive made in 1838 that ran on the Albion Mines Railway in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is preserved at the Nova Scotia Museum of Industry in Stellarton, Nova Scotia and is the oldest locomotive in Canada.
Jody Samson was a knifemaker and bladesmith from Burbank, California who designed butterfly knives for Benchmade and the swords used in movies, including Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, First Knight, The Mask of Zorro, Blade, Blind Fury, Batman & Robin, Batman Forever, and Streets of Fire.
The Due Ancore brand is produced by the Coltellerie Marcello Beltrame, a knife commercial manufacturer and distributor operating in Maniago, in the Province of Pordenone, Italy. The company specializes in the production of cutlery. Most of its production is exported to stores around the world.
Robert G. Terzuola is an American knife maker who popularized the type of knife known as the tactical folding knife.
John Nelson Cooper (1906–1987) was a custom knifemaker who was a founding member of the Knifemakers' Guild. He was a mentor to Jody Samson and made knives for over 60 years.
Tony Swatton is a British-American blacksmith and gemcutter from Hammersmith, London, England. He is best known for creating props for films and television programmes. He was also the host of the popular webseries, Man at Arms.
Samson (1949–1981) was a male silverback western lowland gorilla given to the Washington Park Zoo in Milwaukee Wisconsin by the Pabst Brewing Company. Samson reached a weight of 652 lb (296 kg) and lived alone in a glass enclosure. He often hit the windows in frustration and managed to break the glass four times. He was moved to the Milwaukee County Zoo in 1959, and quickly became the main attraction. Samson was one of the largest gorillas in captivity.