A BIT ABOUT ME

I was born in 1964 and have lived my whole life in New Zealand, a country whose whole history of human habitation stretches back less than 800 years; despite this, or perhaps because of it, I have been fascinated with world history my whole life, and the mysteries that are left behind as knowledge and records are lost. As a child I read about the ancient world, learning of it through the fragments that remain, and the way archaeology is slowly revealing the lives of the people.

From my time at university my personal interest has focussed on medieval Europe, and my work and recreation reflects that. I started fantasy role-playing games while at university, and still enjoy playing them; when I wanted to know more about the reality of combat in the middle ages in 1984, I started practising medieval swordfighting with a club in Hastings. This sparked my interest in military history and the realities of the daily life of the fighting man, his equipment, and the communities he fought and protected. I made my first sword, a polished and very heavy two-hander, as a showpiece. It was an ambitious first project and I still have it. It reminds me of how little I knew at the time and how far I have come. The blade is short but hefty – it is fully ½” thick! It owes more to the misconceptions fed by film and media, with little historical basis, and stands in stark contrast to my new 14th century sword, which is lighter, larger, and a close copy of an original sword.

I moved to Wellington in 1986, and have belonged to the Wellington Medieval Guild since 1987. Until 2003 I was the combat instructor for the Guild. With the manuscripts that have been rediscovered in the last few years, and the interpretations by a new generation of Western Martial Arts masters, we are today able to practise 14th and 15th century combat techniques as they were meant to be practised.

Originally I couldn’t afford or find a good sword suitable for re-enactment combat, so bought some cheap metalworking tools and started by making practise swords for the club and myself. I learnt from my mistakes and by reading all I could on the history, design and techniques I needed to know; when all else failed I learnt directly from the people who knew how. Other re-enactors began asking me to make swords and other pieces for them, and it slowly grew into a small business. Most of the profits went back into buying equipment, and my workshop slowly grew.

The orders grew until they filled most of my spare time, so in 1994 I made the leap into self employment. A good sideline does not always a living make; although the variety of work was exciting and my skills quickly grew from working full time, the next couple of years were difficult and I almost gave up several times, but it gradually turned into a living. My insanity has been aided and supported by Helen, especially after we married in 1997.

I had been keen to become a jouster and began learning to ride in the late ‘80s, but jousting was low priority while I turned my craft into a living. In 1997 I joined the Order of the Boar, currently New Zealand’s only jousting group, and have been jousting since 2000.

My big break came in 1998 when I was asked to make the swords for the film production of The Lord of the Rings. Over the next three years working at Weta Workshop I made most of the “hero” swords (the real ones that get seen in close ups) and a mountain of aluminium stunt blades for the fight scenes, as well as many other pieces. I spent most of 2001 making 1/6 scale replicas of many of these swords, to be moulded and cast in polystone as collectibles for Sideshow/Weta; this was the exact opposite of what I was used to and taught me to work at jewellery-level precision. The first series of miniature weapons was released August 2002. I hope to have galleries of pictures of my LOTR and miniatures work in future, though it might not happen for some time. In the mean time, the best sources of information are the Official Website or TheOneRing.net. Since 2003, while still working at Weta Workshop, I have worked on swords for The Last Samurai and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

I spent several days in February of 2002 learning the basics of pattern welding from a friend in Christchurch. This is something I would like to explore further in the future, once I have put together the important equipment such as a power hammer and gas forge, though this could take a few more years before I am practised enough to offer pieces for sale. Rather than getting some time to do my personal projects since 2003, my professional life has just gotten busier and busier. My Masterwork project for the Wellington Medieval Guild - a sword and dagger with scabbards and a knightly plaque belt c.1380 -has unfortunately had to be shelved due to my other commitments, but I hope it will still happen one day. Jousting has been mostly an expensive hobby for me up to now, but with the likelihood of professional shows in the future, has become a greater commitment of time and effort. Also, I am a historical consultant for Fugitive Prince, which will be a three part documentary about events in 5th century Armenia that impacted Byzantium and Sassanid Persia.

I am aiming to complete a BA(History), specialising in medieval history (of course!), in 2007. Combined with my practical knowledge of making and using medieval items, and my combat and jousting background as part of Order of the Boar, I plan to go to at least complete a MA one day, and go on to add something to the body of knowledge of medieval equestrianism.

There is no telling what the future might hold, but it promises to be interesting. Keep watching here for updates!