Along with Walking Dead, what current show is hotter than Game of Thrones?
It’s great that an intelligent series with strong storytelling is a hit in this day and age, as well as to see audiences turning to shows with brains.
A lot of detail goes into genre storytelling. Even when you’re dealing in fantasy, it still has to feel authentic enough for audiences to buy it. An important element to Game of Thrones is of course the swords, and as i09 reports, Tony Swatton, who the site calls “a blacksmith and Hollywood’s resident swordmaker,” took it on himself to recreate a Thrones sword that’s functional, and can really slash you if you’re not careful.
Swatton has a show called Man at Arms, and in this episode, it shows him remaking a sword from Game of Thrones in his shop, first starting with a template for a 36’ blade. Watching this segment, you see that Swatton does all his work by sight, and infact, Swatton said he likes to hammer the steel by hand, because he said, “I have more control with a hand hammer, so when I get into the details, I can refine it by hand.”
It’s definitely a lot of hard work, but once it’s finished, it is indeed a great looking piece of work, suitable for battle. The show also shows people reall using the sword, cutting through wine bottles, and smashing a windshield.
Now while Swatton was able to recreate a Thrones sword in his shop, the main armor man for Thrones is Tommy Dunne, and as the site Winteriscoming confirms, the weapons and armor for the show are all handcrafted by Dunne as well. And you thought all this stuff was just very convincing rubber and plastic.
Now you may have read our report on the full sized throne you could buy from HBO for a mere $30,000. You can also get replicas of Game of Thrones weapons from Valyrian Steel, and one sword on the site was going for $700 before shipping, along with the warning that this is not a toy and “please keep out of the reach of children.”
So try to imagine watching the show while sitting in your throne that set you back 30 Gs, drinking Game of Thrones beer, with your sword hanging proudly on the wall behind you. That would definitely be cool.
