angel sword

sweet said:
And still not a single owner photo...
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Well duh. Their target customers generally aren't the (at least somewhat) blade-knowledgeable people like us who bum around edged weapon forums.

I mean, seriously, magic steel? If that doesn't scream "impulse buy", I don't know what does.
 
I first ran into Angel Sword at Tex Renfest many years ago. I picked up a few of their blades and loved the weight, feel, balance, etc. I even worked at the Angel Sword booth at TRF one year (interesting experience). What people have said about fit and finish are true, and I have personally heard Daniel say this himself. None of his stuff is historically accurate, and they definitely have a style all of their own. The steel for the blades can take a beating and more. I much prefer the design and materials used for blades pre-2000s as the materials used now are more for durability (wraps, pipe sleeve over tang, etc). I purchased a few pieces second hand and took advantage of their trade in policy to acquire more expensive pieces at an overall less expensive price.

Here are a few (bad) pics of mine:

Dirk:
dirk.jpg


Bowie type:
SAM_0124.jpg


Knife:
SAM_0127.jpg


Knife:
SAM_0130.jpg


Knife:
SAM_0133.jpg


Djinn Wing:
http://www.angelsword.com/indo-persian/gallery/AS043-351a.html

One I wish I still had:
DSCF0025.jpg
 
The grinds on those knives are pretty amateur, considering Daniel is meant to be some master craftsman (ball nose cutter and 2 seconds on a belt grinder by the looks of it)...the bottom sword is kinda cool in its own way, though for how expensive that one would have been I'd rather sink my money in another ship.
 
Im almost certain my 12 year old son could make that 3rd knife under the bowie with me standing by hands off guiding him. He has already made better...
 
Robert.B said:
The grinds on those knives are pretty amateur, considering Daniel is meant to be some master craftsman (ball nose cutter and 2 seconds on a belt grinder by the looks of it)...the bottom sword is kinda cool in its own way, though for how expensive that one would have been I'd rather sink my money in another ship.
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you mean aside from potentially dangerous designs, and bent/chipped blades possably from poor heat treating
 
SShepherd said:
you mean aside from potentially dangerous designs, and bent/chipped blades possably from poor heat treating
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I've been on Daniels case for like 6 years now when he was a complete ass to a sword smith friend of mine, his swords/knives/daggers are all practically chinese wallhangers.
 
The grinds look smooth and straight to me. These pieces are far from chinese wall hangers. They may not be the prettiest, best fit, etc, but these are the toughest blades I have seen.

Angel Sword was used in the Mythbusters episode about cutting a machine gun barrel in half (not sure what other blades were used). I know the show is more entertainment than science, but the Angel Sword piece's performance for toughness is pretty impressive:

mythbusters_thanks.jpg


http://www.angelsword.com/videos/Mythbusters_edit_v1.wmv
 
Hi guys. First time back on the forum since the switch... I'll step in here though, since Daniel is pretty much the only other one that would be able to comment on the matters, and he's still working the Minnesota Ren Faire.

First of all - *full* disclosure. I've been a knife maker for 20 years, and I've helped out Daniel and AS in various capacities for 6 - 8 now. I am a moderator on the Sword Arts website, and I am also the person primarily culpable for the AS ban at Sword Forum.

I started out with AS being one of Daniel's most vocal and outspoken detractors, right when he came out with his Techno-wootz, and my resultant conversion (along with AS employees storming the forum) are what lead to AS being banned, and the resultant lawsuit (which I know practically nothing about). The conversations are all still out there in the ether for everyone to see, though my hands-on reviews have since been deleted.

I'm reading a whole lot of flack here, and very little fact, so I'm going to do what I can to balance things out, since I have them. No offence intended.

When you're talking about AS products, you have to realise that there are 6 different lines under the AS banner (Buccaneer, Balrog, Bright Knight, Bumon, Angel and Avatar), and the differences from one to another are huge. I'm chuckling to myself here about the comments on the 'amatuerish grinds' on the knives when 4 out of the 6 shown were CNC'd... I'd wager they're clean enough. ;-)

Any questions, I'm here to field them! :-) And I want to clarify that I am *not* here to advocate for them, only to inform on their behalf. I'll knock 'em with the best of 'em! :-D
 
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4 of them are the Bright Knight series - S7 steel, CNC'd and 'lower' end ($495 - $995). The curved knife is an Avatar which is the Techno-wootz, and is currently worth probably $1,995. No real clue on the actual Angel line knife, since I don't know what size it is, but it's probably $1,295 or so... Don't ask me why Dan always prices things xx95...

What part of the marketing is distasteful to you? He stopped using the whole 'Living Steel' thing years ago, and it's not even discussed by any but a few in the booths and at shows anymore... Yes, he's a braggard, he'll tell you so himself. He's certainly not for everyone, but I'm not reading any claims on the website that aren't backed up. Time to go read over it again! :-D
 
oh, I've read it. There's a number of issues i have about it. I'm curious, why are all his titles and "tournaments" at ren fairs ? He's declared his sword so awesome for cutting why do they not show up at sanctioned JSA cutting events ?
 
Good question... My only guess is that he either doesn't have time, or hasn't been invited. I know he's held demos in dojo before, Kendall Kelsoe's being the first to come to mind. With as big as he is on cutting records and competitions, you'd think he'd look for a bigger audience.
 
I find it quite funny that when anyone talks ill of angel sword that people who work for him are the only ones really backing his product up...the "ban" at SFI I thought was well merited, granted I was banned from there myself for arguing with a moderator. I've seen negative reviews of product on here many times when the people working for that company are also posting members on here, but they dont come in accosting people of providing no fact then swinging the marketing you guys spin at the ren fairs. Does Angel sword pay you guys to search the forums for negative chatter?

PS. As a professional machinist you must have some of the worst programmers in the US working there, do you just bolt a slab of steel down, shove a ball nose cutter where ever you want and then slap an edge on it? anyone can do that and send it to someone with less hype for heat treat.
 
I'm not a machinist, I forge and then stock remove with a much smaller grinder. ;-) Last I knew Daniel had taken over the CNC programming himself, but that was 2 or 3 years ago, after he'd burned through a half-dozen programmers. He may have found somebody new by this time.

I work for Allstate, not Angel Sword, I just happen to know a lot about them. :-)

When it comes to selling at Faires, all I can speak for is TRF, where there is a strict no BS policy. The swords speak for themselves, other than having to explain the metallurgy to people. Every one of them is different, so if one isn't to your tastes, you pick up another. I've never hard-sold a blade in my life, whether one of my own or Daniel's. I've heard some pretty atrocious stories of sales crew BS, especially around 10 years ago or so, though.

When it comes right down to it, yes, they are expensive, and no, they are not to everyone's taste, that's for sure. People find all kinds of ways to spend their money, and none of us are making and selling what most people would consider vital. AS is just another sword company, doing their own thing in their own way.
 
DAGuertin said:
Good question... My only guess is that he either doesn't have time, or hasn't been invited. I know he's held demos in dojo before, Kendall Kelsoe's being the first to come to mind. With as big as he is on cutting records and competitions, you'd think he'd look for a bigger audience.
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at ren fairs, which evidently where his "master" swordsmith title came from ?
 
DAGuertin,
I just might know you. I have been involved with the Texas Ren Fair for about 30 years. In fact I just got back from the grounds helping set some things up. I will say that the BS still goes on by the staff at AS. I have very rarely heard nice things about the products and the Owner. Personally I had an issue with a couple of them last year (salespeople). They are not allowed in our back area because of their poor people skills. I will not go into detail on this forum due to the fact that the owner of said company is such a sue happy jerkoff. I believe I will get George to see this thread, I find it rather disgusting selling CNC pieces and telling people they are hand forged. By the way that is what they claim about every piece in his booth (at least last year). Just remember no matter how much you try to polish a turd you still are holding a turd.
Dan
 
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