Bill Collison is a bladesmith and armorer. He’s with the show Man At Arms: Reforged. I met Bill at Magfest 2018. He’s been an armorer and bladesmith for over 20 years and has been the armorer for the Maryland Renaissance Festival jousting troupe for many of those years.

0:50 – Bill talks about the piece he’s most proud of at Magfest – the Games Workshop 40K chain sword. It’s a sword made of chainsaws. He then talks about how he knows when a weapon is finished. He never feels 100% on any blade he’s made. He always wants to make them better. He also works on guards, pommels, swords, etc.

2:20 – Bill then talks about how labor is divided on the man At Arms show. Illya does forging, Matt will do finishing and then the others work on different parts. He then walks about enjoying making late 15th and 16th century armor. He also helps with Star Wars club accessories. He likes Celtic era blades to 17th century.

3:40 – He talks about being inspired by video games and anime. He’s inspired by making the fans happy and making the pieces that want to see. Bill then talks about how important their sanders are in completing their work. He also talks about listening to music or audio books or movies on headphones while he’s working. The shop can get loud and the headphones help.

5:22 – He likes working on all aspects of a blade. He enjoys making detailed pommels. It all depends on the piece. They’ve made a few hybrid blades on the show, fantasy and historical combinations. They might switch guards and pommels with blades and mix time periods. Sometimes it’s nice and sometimes it doesn’t work.

6:49 – Bill started bladesmithing over 20 years ago. He was taught how to make armor first and then he started making blades. Armor used to be his primary work but now it’s all swords. He worked on plate armor only and worked at the Maryland Renaissance Festival for 3 months each year, he would make the jousting armor and fix it. Their armor is about a quarter heavier than the actual armor. They joust much more than historical jousters ever did. They joust 3 to 4 times a day for 3 months. Armor can be hardened like blades would.

9:07 – Bill said that head shots sometimes worried him when he saw that in jousts but his armor has taken it. The jousters don’t even notice head hits or the armor crumples how it’s supposed to in order to protect the jouster. He’s happy when the jousters aren’t hurt because the armor was strong. He made sure they always double-checked their gear. The armor is like a second skin even with padding. You don’t want double impacts if the armor is loose-fitting. The armor is tailored. The jousting troupe owner owned the armor but some of them had pieces made for themselves.

11:36 – People have requested personal sets of armor but they’re a lot of work and can be expensive. But lots of people want a suit of armor. Bill has his own suit of armor.

12:15 – Bill’s first piece of armor changed him by giving him pride in knowing that people liked his work especially if they use it and recommend his work to others. His blades and armor have been around the medieval fighting community.

13:48 – He makes his weapons slightly differently for different uses. Their is theatrical use. Some need thicker edges on their blades. Some need blades that cut. Those are more expensive. He’s in a jousting troupe and knows they beat on their armor and weapons.

15:15 – Blademakers are artists. A blade is a piece of art. It can last for a long time if it’s taken care of. They are hung up and displayed. He tries not to think of the fact that his blades might last for hundreds of years. He has his won historic blades. People don’t get rid of their blades and kids will inherent their weapons.

16:55 – In an apocalypse,