Monday, August 15, 2011

Ancient Armor - Quality Metalwork

Ancient Armor is a direct link to the past. The engraving, the linework and overall shape of the pieces point to the technology being used and the craftsmanship required to complete each piece. If you were a blacksmith at that time pounding out swords for 8 to 12 hours a day, it would give you an incredible grip. Rule of thumb, when the time machine is fully functional don't arm wrestle a blacksmith, same as nowadays with plumbers and electricians. But for journalistic purposes, looking back at "vintage" metal work and finding the harmony in the pieces being created is what we are diggin' into for our winter full of sheet metal fabrication.

Understanding armor shape and design puts you into the mentality of the Dynasties which created them. The warriors wore these items to instill fear into their opponents while also protecting them from deadly blows from the enemy. Types of armor varied from wood, leather, ceramic to metal based upon the need and technology of that particular empire. The advanced metal work of the Northern Europe is what we really enjoy as that directly ties into the craftsmanship we are looking at for future projects. 

Sometimes its all about getting back to basics on huge projects such as our 1951 Chevy 3/4 ton shop truck build. We need to go back to the well and look for ideas instead of just replacing parts. The truck will be a show piece for us and will sure as hell not be a rat rod. Not that doing those rides isn't cool but it has been done to death and then dug up and killed some more. To be honest after a "doctor" called our cafe race bike a rat rod bike, we knew the term has hit its limit in pop culture and cannot justify having a primered truck and calling it a day.

Some power metal from Sabaton to match the armor, pure Scandinavian battle metal!