 The
Forge
The forge is the focus of the forging, hardening and tempering process.
There, the smith's tools are assembled charcoal and steel, anvils and
hammers, as well as quenching vats, furnaces and kilns. Tradition plays
an important role in crafting a blade, but today the swordsmith also works
with modern tools milling machines, sanders, grinders and presses.
All of our Avatar, Angel Sword, Bumon and Bright Knight blades
are created entirely at our forge in Driftwood, Texas. Only our
Buccaneer line is not crafted start-to-finish in Driftwood. Buccaneers
are an affordable alternative that start with quality knife or katana
blades which we then cryogenically process for increased toughness and
adorn with hand-crafted handles.
Each future blade arrives at the forge as a simple bar of steel, usually 36 inches long.
Some steel is ground and hammered into shape by traditional means hammer, anvil, fire and sweat
but many of our blades begin on a CNC milling machine, where a computer shapes the steel into
a close approximation of its final form.
 From
there, the steel undergoes a tempering process where it is heated and
quenched to give it the hardness and toughness required in a combat weapon.
Angel Sword recently added a cryogenic processing unit to our forge. After
tempering the steel, we use our patent-pending Therma-Cycle
processing to enhance our steel at the molecular level, improving
uniformity and relieving stress in the steel's crystalline matrix. This
combined process is the reason Angel Sword makes the toughest, high-hardness
blades on the planet.
After Therma-Cycle processing, the blades are hand ground to their final
shape and sharpened. Then they are fitted with the appropriate furniture
handles, guards, pommels, etc. with an eye toward both functionality
and artistry. Finally, Daniel and the smiths examine the result with a
highly critical eye. Only after passing this rigorous inspection is a
blade allowed to leave the forge.
More
photos of our forge in Driftwood, Texas.
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