The
Barbarian Keep #1
Written By Edward Waterman, a
shield-brother of great mirth!
For distribution in the Robert E. Howard
United Press Association #144
The Barbarian Keep Web Page:
http://www.barbariankeep.com
Issue No. 1
April 1997
Contents:
1.
Greetings!
2.
REHUPA Website
3.
Jody Samson, Master Sword Maker
4.
"Sanctuary"
by Jody Samson
Let me first tell you how honored I am to be part of this
prestigious group, and how happy I am to find so many people of
like taste in literature. It was not too long ago that I thought I
was alone in the admiration Robert E. Howard's stories.
I was weaned on Conan when I was in 10th grade
during high school. Being that I was a role-player at the time, it
is amazing that I didn't hear about the Conan stories earlier. It
took a friend who had just moved to Los Angeles from Chicago to
introduce me to the sullen-eyed warrior. At first read I was
struck with the Cimmerian's indomitable will, hearty laugh, and
reckless adventuring. Howard's setting for Conan was amazingly
realistic, gritty, and dark. It fit my mood perfectly and I instantly became devoted to the stories. I must have read
the twelve Ace Conan books about eight times each within the first
year!
I sincerely enjoyed all the stories. Sure, some were better
than others, but I thought L. Sprague de Camp's, Lin Carter's, and
Bjorn Nyberg's pastiches were excellent, and they served to
prolong my enjoyment of the whole Conan series. At that point, anything
that helped me keep the Cimmerian spirit alive was a welcome
addition! In fact, Mr. De Camp's story, "The Thing in the
Crypt", is one of my all-time favorite Conan stories. It sits
right up there with "Treasure of Tranicos" and "Red
Nails".
I was able to purchase the next six Conan pastiches published
by Bantam and read through them like fire! My favorite book was
"The Road of Kings" by Karl Edward Wager, but the rest
of the series was so-so. Hit and miss. After I read these, I
looked everywhere for other Robert E. Howard material and couldn't
find anything! Howard was missing from every book store I found,
and being just a kid, my resources were limited.
When the movie, "Conan the Barbarian" came out I was
ecstatic! I was also awed! The movie was (is) an icon! Although
not exactly the Conan from the books, the movie had enough of
Howard's story elements to give it the feel of ancient Hyboria,
and preserved Howard's gritty, bloody, and dark realism. Packaged
together with the awesome and thundering musical score by Basil
Poledouris, the movie surpassed all of my expectations. To this
day, it is my favorite movie!
Ten years went by as I attended college and pursued other
interests. Then I decided it was time to pick up some of my old
hobbies, and Howard's stories instantly rose to the top of the
list. At the time I was dabbling with the internet, and I used a
search engine to look for Conan on the World Wide Web and to my
great surprise I found three really fine websites devoted to Conan
and REH. One of which introduced me to Howard's poetry, of which I
am eternally grateful. I started collecting Howard's non-Conan
work, and luckily the Baen Book REH Library series had just been
published. Wanting to be more involved, I contacted Baen Books,
among others, to hunt down a Conan or REH fan club. To my very
great surprise none existed (or exist), but Baen gave me Rusty
Burke's address telling me that he was very involved in a group
relating to REH. So I wrote to Rusty asking for more information
on the fan club, and he kindly responded, telling me all about
REHUPA. Rusty has since been an invaluable source of information,
and has lent me more support in my scholarly pursuits of Robert E.
Howard and his stories than I could have asked for with a clear
conscience! Through Rusty I learned that the Conan stories in the
Ace books were edited and altered, and that the original stories
were available if I was willing to hunt for them. And like a good
Pict on a blood-trail, I leaped to the chase! Since then my
admiration for Howard has only grown.
Currently, I am working as a computer consultant until I go
into teaching full-time. I also intend to pursue my long-term
interest to be a writer. I had always wanted to be a writer, but
had never thought my work was good enough. Holding your stories up
to old Bob's for comparison will do that to you! However, it was
Howard's stories that inspired me to write in the first place, and
now that I have "gotten back to my roots", I am ready to
try to write again. Fortunately, my writing has improved
substantially over time! Who knows, one day you may see a Conan or
Turlough Dubh novel with the by-line "Edward Waterman"
on the front cover!
I am pleased and honored to share my passion for REH with
others of similar ilk. With such distinguished, knowledgeable, and
enthusiastic members, I'm sure that I will learn much, make new
friends forged in the mutual admiration of REH, and be grateful
that I had this opportunity to get to know all of you for years to
come!
I actually became a member of REHUPA last January, but after I
had spent so much time on creating a website for REHUPA, I didn't
have any time left to write my 'zine. So Morgan counted the
website as my first 'zine, and I am very grateful. Speaking of the
website… The internet web address for the REHUPA web page is:
http://www.rehupa.com. I've been working hard on
it, and since the last mailing of REHUPA I have made a lot of
changes. First and foremost is a new "slide show"
featuring photographs of Robert E. Howard taken from The Last
Celt. Also now at the site is a very good, but short,
biography on REH by Rusty Burke. There is a "What is
REHUPA?" section that will eventually include some
information on the history of APAs (that is, if I can find any
historical information), and a "Sample Mailings" section
that will feature past articles by REHUPA members. This is where I
need the help.
We need some past articles of REHUPA members to post at the
website! The idea is to display 1-2 articles from each member if
possible. If you are connected to the Internet, you can
"attach" your article to a message and then just e-mail
it to me. I can convert just about any word-processing format,
however Microsoft Word for Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 is what I
work in the most and would be the best format to send it in, but
any format is fine with me as long as I get it! For those of you
who do not have computers… well… try to get someone to scan
your article in as a computer image or have someone type it into a
word processing computer file, and then mail the disk to me
through the Post Office. The reason for this is because I am a
horrible typist! Slow, slow, slow! However, I'm willing to type in
a small article if really necessary so send me anything that you
think people would read and say to themselves, "This is a
group I'd like to join!" or "REHUPA is a prestigious
literary discussion group". With your help, we'll make this
website one of the best on the Web!
INTERVIEW WITH JODY SAMSON,
MASTER SWORD MAKER
On February 27th, 1997, I had the honor of
interviewing Mr. Jody Samson, who is one of the world's most
renowned sword makers. The interview was informally conducted
outdoors, at the back of the building and behind the formal
showroom, where his shop is located.
Jody Samson is one of the world's top six master knife and
sword makers, and is most widely known for making the swords
featured in the movie Conan the Barbarian. However, his
reputation as a master sword maker was considerable years before
he landed the job for Conan. Born and raised in California, Mr.
Samson learned his trade from the late John Nelson Cooper, who was
a giant and pioneer in the knife-making field. Beginning in 1969,
Mr. Samson apprenticed with Cooper during his spare time while he
was studying art at a local college. In 1974, Mr. Samson opened
his own shop and began to make swords and knives for a living.
First and foremost an artist, Mr. Samson thrives on the ability to
create one of a kind custom swords, which he calls
"sculptures in steel."
Mr. Samson works in a shop near downtown Burbank called,
"The Sword and the Stone." He shares the shop with
another armorer and sword maker, Tony Swatton. Their collaborative
showroom is simply amazing, even though at the time it was under
construction for remodeling. Strewn about were pieces of armor
(plate and chain-mail), helmets, hats, belts, crossbows, various
types of shields, spears, swords, statues, walking sticks and a
myriad of other fantastic things that you would only see in your
wildest dreams of fairies and King Arthur's Round Table. Mr.
Samson sells his knives and swords primarily to the movie and
television industry. However, he still makes swords and knives for
individuals as well. Each of his swords are hand made. His keen
eye and steady hand is a testament to his masterful skill. Every
line is straight, and every surface is immaculately polished to a
mirror finish. He uses no measuring tools to achieve this, but
eyes each blade and shapes each sword with a master's touch. Mr.
Samson takes great pride in his work.
Mr. Samson's workshop is a surreal fantasy-land. From the
doorway, it seems like a small 10x10 garage, but as soon as you
walk inside it is like being transported to another world. Piled
on the center table are several candle-holders carved in the
likeness of dragons, bobcats, skulls, and other gothic and dark
artifacts. All three walls are covered with belts, swords, shields
and walking sticks that Mr. Samson carved and sculpted himself.
Many are carved in very odd forms resembling snakes or skulls.
There is a small statue of a dragon embryo in the center of the
table that he takes considerable pride in, and rightly so. It is a
magnificent piece of artwork. At both sides of the shop are tables
supporting grinding, sanding, and polishing equipment. Littered
throughout the shop are various hand tools, blades, pins, and
other pieces of swords. A small desk sits in the far right corner,
cluttered and piled with papers. A movie poster from Conan the
Barbarian hangs prominently on the adjoining wall. Any visitor
would be awed by the eclectic mix of fantastic oddities decorating
Mr. Samson's shop. It is certainly an artist that works here.
Mr. Samson looks a bit like a Viking of old. Looking like a man
in his mid-forties, he sports a grizzled beard and long dark hair
speckled with gray which is drawn back into a pony tail. He seems
strong, perhaps a result of his craft, but more unsettling is his
demeanor. There is a sense of wild ferocity about him. Perhaps his
fierce eyes, or the quiet manner in which he speaks and muses,
belying a living volcano beneath. It is obvious that he is a man
of great intensity. An artist. And yet, he is uncommonly modest.
He dislikes talking about himself or "bragging", as he
puts it, about his work.
The questions and answers that follow have been re-organized
and in some cases paraphrased for accuracy and simplicity:
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE BUSINESS?
I went to buy a knife from a knifemaker who lived in Burbank,
John Nelson Cooper. He made a lot of knives for Hollywood and was
a very famous knife maker. We got to be friends and he showed me
how to make knives. The first thing I did was start making swords!
And I just started doing it.
I was an art major in college, so I worked with everything, in
any media I could. Sculpting and drawing. I've been painting since
the beginning of my life. I liked fantasy when I was a kid. I read all the Conan books.
You know, Robert E. Howard was a good writer. There's very few
people who can paint a picture as well as he did. Maybe Tanneth
Lee. She's done some nice work, but Howard was good! I was also
into Renaissance Fairs. It just seemed like sword making would be
fun to do. So it all just came together and I simply started
making swords.
It can be difficult to get into the business. Well first,
there's not that many sword makers. A couple hundred sword makers,
and maybe half a dozen good ones. There's a few thousand knife
makers. Most of the guys, I'd say about 80% of the people have
another job and do it as a hobby, or they're retired. The
full-time guys that have been doing it for a long time are kind of
rare. And it takes a long time to build up a reputation. You have
to go to a lot of shows, which I used to do, to have people judge
your work.
HAVE YOU HEARD OF DR. JIM
HRISOULAS; HE'S ONE OF THE WORLD'S
FOREMOST EXPERTS ON ANCIENT SWORDMAKING AND STEELMAKING?
In his first book [The Complete Bladesmith], there was a
guard on the cover, I did that. He said they forgot to give me
credit for it. But I've known him for years and years. I've been
doing it, I think, a little longer. He used to come by my shop,
and we would buy steel together.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THOSE INEXPENSIVE SWORDS MADE IN INDIA
OR TAIWAN?
Well, they are all right to carry around or have at the
Renaissance fair. But there's a lot more to swordmaking than
making something that looks like a sword. There's balance and
flexibility, and other things that you'd want to control. The use
of the sword also determines what you do to the blade to have it
function in the way it should. Like a rapier would be more
flexible. And depending on the guy's style of fighting, you can
make the sword so that it would bend toward the tip or in the
center. More flexible, less flexible. For thrusting you can make
it so it's very strong and it will pierce something even as tough
as a steel drum. And you can totally control the weight and
balance… everything. Whereas the swords that you buy at the mall
are just spit out, and they don't have any real balance. Half the
time they don't have any real temper because they're designed as a
mass market item.
WHY DON'T THEY TEMPER THEM?
There are many swords that are not tempered, especially if they
are Japanese swords. You can't have a tempered sword in Japan, you
can't buy one. Most of the Japanese buy their swords in Taiwan and
they're soft metal. Now some of the places, museum replicas and
such, have things that are all right, but they're all the same. I
make custom swords where each one is a unique work of art.
Swordmaking is an art. It is sculpting in metal.
There are nuances, delicacies, and artistic judgments that the
swordmaker puts into the sword. When someone gives me a design to
make, I have to envision it in three dimensions, fill in the
holes, and then I put myself into the work. I go the step beyond
what the client has asked for and I make it a work of art, out of
pure pride for what I do. That is something extra I give to the
customer, what any real craftsman or artist gives to their
patron... a creative value that can never adequately be paid for.
That's art. I wrote a poem about the gift an artist gives to
others once. [attached at the end]
WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU REFER TO BALANCE?
The way it feels in your hand. How well the sword moves. Even
though I'm a contemporary sword maker, and I do mostly my own
designs. I'm making weapons and not just useless ornaments. I'm
making a balanced, usable weapon; and the same sword, if it went
back in time, could be picked up and used just like the swords
they used at that time.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE KIND OF SWORD?
I don't have any. A sword is for fighting, so I would choose my
sword depending on how many people were attacking me, how much
space I had to maneuver and swing a weapon, how they were dressed
(in armor or not), and if they were armed.
DO YOU MAKE OTHER WEAPONS OR ANYTHING OTHER THAN SWORDS?
Sure. Swords, knives, axes, spears, any of that. Anybody can
have anything they want. I'd love to make it. Once, I took a
casting of the Father's sword used in Conan the Barbarian
and made a belt buckle out of it for one guy. For that, I had to
change the design considerably to keep from infringing on
copyrights. I added smaller horns, took out the medallion, added
longer and sharper teeth, etc., but it looked very nice when I was
done. I just like making stuff. If someone comes up with a
drawing, I can make it! If you've got a one of a kind sword made
for you, which is made by me, you will probably have a collector's
item 50 years from now. I'm in books and well known, not to brag
or anything, but it is a fact. A sword that is custom made for you
can be a legacy, a gift to your descendants. Sort of like a family
heirloom type thing as opposed to something you got at the local
mall.
DO YOU MAKE WEAPONS OUT OF ANYTHING OTHER THAN STEEL?
Well, I do a lot of stuff for the movies in aluminum. You can't
tell what kind of metal they're made of on the screen. Quite a few
weapons and swords that you see in the movies are made out of
aluminum. I did some swords for Beastmaster III, the one that went
directly to video. I made two sword blades out of steel and then
3-4 out of aluminum for the fighting scenes in Beastmaster.
Aluminum is a little safer, it's a little lighter, it's less
expensive. Aluminum is pretty easy to dent, but you can fix it
quickly. You know, you can clean it up easily. And when it's
polished you really can't tell the difference. In Beastmaster,
I could tell when the hero was using the aluminum sword or the
steel one, but most people can't tell.
WHAT DO THEY USE TO MAKE THE SPARKS FLY IN THE MOVIES, WHEN
TWO SWORDS HIT EACH OTHER?
Special effects. Metal doesn't spark against metal. It's just
like the ringing sounds you hear in the movies when the swords
clash. I've rented sword-blanks out, because when you hit them
they'll make a nice ring. And then they just put that into the
movie. A sword-blank is what you call the blade before you work on
it. And aluminum rings also. It rings very well. It's plenty
strong too. The swords I did for Universal Studios, for the Conan
stage show, were aluminum. Aluminum swords don't last very long.
Exactly how long they last depends on the grade of aluminum that
the swords are made out of. Universal Studios ended up using low
grade, cast stuff, and the swords were lasting about… oh… a
show. The swords I made were aircraft aluminum and they were
lasting 7 days on the average. I made those for just the first 2-3
months, and then Universal switched over to the cast aluminum
swords because they were a lot less expensive. As long as it
looked like a sword they were happy because it was just a show and
the sword didn't need to be a real weapon.
For the movie Conan the Barbarian, I made four swords of each.
Four of the Father's swords and four of the Atlantean swords. Tim
Huchthausen is the guy who did the handle carving on the Atlantean
sword, and I ground the blade. The Father's sword was all mine,
the one with the skull. Well, Ron Cobb actually designed it. He
and some production people gave me blueprints to work off of, and
I first carved it in wax. Centuries ago, Cobb used to write for
the LA Free Press, he was a cartoonist, and now he's a designer.
He does some good work. I've got a wax of the Father's sword and
we've got an Atlantean sword up front in the showroom.
The swords we made for Conan the Barbarian weren't practical
swords, they were just good looking swords. They were heavy. The
Father's sword, with the skull on it, was about 6.5 pounds and the
Atlantean sword was 8.5 pounds. A real sword would be about 2.5
pounds. Swords are very exaggerated in the fantasy movies. Think
about a really good athlete, like a boxer. He's got 16 ounce
gloves and he has to stop every three minutes and rest. So if
you've got a 6-7 pound sword, you can't fight with it. Speed
kills. Speed is critical in a swordfight. And swinging around a
heavy sword would wear down your speed pretty quickly. You don't
cut down stone pillars with real swords either, or cut through
chains and all that. It doesn't work. Only in the movies.
WHY DOES THE GUARD ON THE ATLANTEAN SWORD EXTEND UP ALONG
THE BLADE? ISN'T THAT UNUSUAL?
Well generally speaking, all we did was link from the handle in
front of the guard. They designed the handle to go in front of the
guard so you could reach forward, but in real life, if it was a
real sword meant for fighting, it would just have a long handle.
WHO HOLDS THE COPYRIGHTS TO THE CONAN SWORDS?
I hold statutory rights for the three-dimensional sculpting,
but I think Universal holds the copyrights to the swords. Ron Cobb
probably holds some design copyrights. I'm really not sure though.
It is possible that in about five years the copyrights will not be
renewed, and I'll be able to make the Conan swords for people. But
unfortunately, there's no way I can do that at this time.
DO THE HIEROGLYPHS CARVED ON THE SWORDS MEAN ANYTHING?
The Father's sword's hieroglyphs read, "Suffer no guilt ye
who wields this in the name of Crom". The Atlantean sword's
markings are meaningless. The script they used to write it is not
real, they made it up.
DID YOU MAKE VALERIA'S SWORD TOO?
No. Valeria's sword was cast in aluminum. They brought it to me
and I reground it to clean it up, and I polished it to make it
look like steel.
IN THE BEGINNING OF THE MOVIE CONAN THE BARBARIAN THERE IS A
SCENE WHERE CONAN'S FATHER IS FORGING HIS SWORD. IS THAT HOW A
REAL SWORD WOULD BE FORGED?
Well, you can, but you wouldn't heat it up red hot and throw it
in the snow because it would shatter. And usually when you quench
something, that's what cooling it is called, the oil temperature
is about 120 degrees, and you'd want to quench it slowly. And you
wouldn't be engraving the little words, letters, in the blade. And
he cast it, you wouldn't do that. Ancient sword makers just got
something that looked like metal and poured it into the mold. You
can't believe anything you see on the screen. What I do is just
buy the steel, it's flat stock, and I cut out the profile and then
grind it. The spring steel we have today is homogenous and it's
almost exactly what they had in their best steels during ancient
times. It's similar in what we have in leaf springs in cars,
underneath the wheel. Leaf springs flex like a bizillion times a
day and they never break, which is ideal for a sword. It's more
important than holding an edge. Everybody says, "Oh it's got
to be sharp!", and I say no! You can defend yourself with a
dull sword very well thank you. If it breaks you're in trouble. If
you've ever read any books about the Japanese Samurai, you read
how they used to fight until their swords broke. Then they would
fight with their daggers until they broke, and so on. Their swords
were always breaking because they were so brittle.
IT ALWAYS SEEMS LIKE THE TOP EXPERTS IN ANY FIELD ALL KNOW
EACH OTHER. IS THAT TRUE FOR SWORD MAKING AS WELL?
Yes. In fact, I recently went to Warner Brothers just to work
with Terry English. He's they guy who did the armor for Mr. Freeze
in the new Batman movie, and I helped a little with that. He also
did the sword for Excalibur.
DO YOU LIKE STAR TREK?
I don't watch a lot of TV but when I do it's either a Star Trek
thing, or X-files, or Babylon 5. I've had some swords in Babylon
5, for the King Arthur episode with Michael York. I did the sword
blade, and my co-worker, Tony Swatton, did the handle. He was also
the guy in the suit of armor who kills Michael York in the
episode.
HOW
DID YOU LIKE ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER AS CONAN?
Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't quite what I visualized as Conan.
He just didn't have the same essence that Robert E. Howard
gave to Conan in the stories. It's important for there to be a
kind of tension in the person, in the way they move. Maybe
somebody like Jack Pallance. When he was in Barabbas and
driving the chariot, he had the madness and the energy. Or Yul
Brynner in The Ten Commandments. When he was walking
around, he was smooth and fluid, and he had an energy about him.
Arnold to me seemed a little funky. I would have chosen the guy
who played his father, William Smith. When he was younger he was
the guy! Because he had the cheekbones. He was in this movie Piranha,
Piranha with Peter Brown where he played this mad hunter guy
in the wilderness in the Amazon. Totally crazy, he had this
"look". And that's how I pictured Conan. You know,
really smart… nobody's fool. Besides he had black hair.
-THE END-
In his youth, Mr. Samson was an adventurer himself... but
that is another story...
By Jody Samson
Into the night, I, alone, grow numb
Visions of ancient, long and long dead kinsmen
Beckon to me, cradled behind eyes set hard, unmoving.
Alive, compelled beyond definition.
The gift need but be understood.
The Dragon hurls red, cascading fire to the earth.
Armored hands, dance before live fire.
Razor talons rend, the tasteless parchment skin of man,
In completion, a final movement.
I flay my sight, look deep, look long,
into reflections of the pale night sun.
The Dragon sings, he hums,
smiles at the crimson blood a dripping.
He knows not pain, not time passing.
Sanctuary found, bound and let like, the suns warm light.
A day-a thousand. A year-a thousand, no matter.
Along, given! That moment will endure, until….
He who the Dragon has come to be.
He who is then the Dragon, returns ever again.
To hurl fire, red in the darkness-
Rend the skin, is to be found-
Sear armored hands
Flay burning eyes-
And smile at the sight of crimson blood,
Knowing the gift is given.
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