Elven (Sylvatari) Armor

An original Studio Kensai creation. This is the costume with which I won Best of Show at Chattacon 2005 and Best in Class, Master Category at DragonCon 2006. I made every component except the shoes. The armor is hardedned leather and battle ready

Mosaic Chainmail

Here is the an example of the mosaic chainmail I make. The gold rings form an Elven Vine pattern in the bronze rings. The shirt is made of anodized aluminum, weighing approx. 2 lbs.

Elven (Sylvatari) Swords

Original Studio Kensai creations. These swords are matched to the Elven Armor and they are pefectly balanced. The Brass guards and pommels are ground from solid bar stock, not cast. You can see the larger sword's balance on the YouTube video, Inside the Con, which I have a link to in my first post.

Elven (Sylvatari) Longbow

An original Studio Kensai creation. This is the longbow you see in my userpic. I handmade it from ash with an oak riser in the handle. The feather motif and leather strike plates are embossed with Elvish Tengwar. The quiver has a three point harness and a bowstay to hold the bow while wearing the quiver. I handmade and hand fletched the arrows, including the the copper sleeved broad heads.

Elven (Nistari) Sword

This is my wife Abi in her Elven (Nistari) Armor, with an Elven sword of an older design than the curved sword seen with the Sylvatari armor. The fullered blade is waisted, narrowing in the middle and widening again at the point. Though the sword is an original Studio Kensai creation, it was (obviously) inspired by Glamdring, Gandalf's Sword, as seen in the Lord of the Rings films.

Elven (Nistari) Armor

An original Studio Kensai creation. Abi's Elven Armor is of Nistari design, lacking chainmail and cloth in its construction. It is particularly quiet during movement even with the full deerskin split skirt.

Elven (Nistari) Armor 2

Another view of the Nistari Armor. FYI The Nistari and Sylvatari are two different Elven cultures from a fantasy RPG I created.

A variety of swords

These are examples of swords I have made in the past. All exhibit perfect balance and are lighter than you would expect. All feature high strength scale tangs pinned into the handles rather than using a weaker rat tail tang peened or screwed into the pommel. All of the guards and pommels are hand ground from solid brass, bronze, or steel, not cast. The handles are wood wrapped with wet molded leather.

Goblin Scale Armor

An original Studio Kensai creation. This is a very stout functional scale armor. Each leather scale has a steel stud affixed to it, even the small scales on the vambraces (armguards) The hardened pauldrons (shoulder armor) extend down the arm, offering a full range of motion. The gorget or mantle protects the neck and upper chest.

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Abi in Chainmail

Abi wearing her first suit of armor at Chattacon, a fitted steel chainmail (or maille) shirt with integrated vambrace. The shirt weighed 15 pounds.

The Archers

Abi and Mike at Chattacon (winning Best of Show that year).

German hand-and-a-half sword

A German example of a hand-and-a-half sword or bastard sword from the late 14th Century. It has a solid brass "brazil nut" pommel and guard. The blade is 1050 high carbon steel with a narrow fuller. The grip is leather covered wood with brass tacks along its length. The scabbard is wood covered in leather with brass fittings. It was specially commissioned by "Xenozoic Tales/Cadillacs and Dinosaurs" comic illustartor, Mark Schultz.

Japanese katana

A classic 17th Century Japanese Katana. The blade is 1095 high carbon steel with a real choji hamon (temper line) which indicates the hardened edge and the softer blade spine. The habaki, tsuba, kashira, fuchi, and menuki are cast copper which has been blackened. The handle is wrapped with real stingray skin and cotton ito cord. The scabbard is gloss lacquered magnolia wood.

Scottish Sgian Dubh

A Sgian Dubh is a classic Scottish stocking dirk. The blade is made from 1050 high carbon steel with hand filed accents. The copper collar is secured to the rosewood handle. It fits snugly into wet molded leather stocking sheath.

The Sword of Vampire Hunter D

A commissioned piece, replicating the sword seen in the anime, "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust." The extremely long blade is made from 6061-6T aircraft aluminum and the grip and scabbard are made from magnolia poplar.