COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Sword making classes are being offered in parts of metro Atlanta this week. Greg Wenderski, lovingly known as the Sword Casting Guy, travels around the country teaching these ancient techniques to people of all ages and we caught up with him in Marietta.
“I've been working with homeschoolers a lot,” Wenderski said. “If homeschoolers want me to come teach a class for them, they just contact me, and if they get 12 or more people interested, then I come and do the class mostly at people's houses these days.”
Wenderski shows up with a truck full of equipment - everything needed to make a dozen or so swords - then the former science teacher who lives in Austin, Texas does what he does best.
“I teach them some of the history of the Bronze Age,” he said. “I teach them how people started using metals, and we talk about a lot of the science and history of it. We talk about the archaeology of where some of these swords are found.”
Participants then choose a type of sword. Wenderski offers more than half a dozen different patterns.
“Once someone chooses the pattern they want, they get one of the casting boxes,” he said. “They take it apart. I have some casting sand that I made for this purpose. We pack the bottom layer with that. They lay the sword in and kind of press it in. They lay some parting powder on top so that the sand knows where to release."
He then moves into the rest of the process.
"We put a second layer on. They pack it in very tightly, and then we put the screws back in the lid. So, it’s all ready to come apart," he said. "You lift it apart, they take the wood pattern out and put it back together. Then, we pour the molten aluminum into it. That's our process.”
It may sound a bit complicated, but Wenderski is there to help with all of it. And if you pay attention, you’ll not only gain knowledge of bladed weapons, you’ll also be leaving with a homemade sword.
“I'm in this area till next Thursday,” Wenderski said. “I'm teaching classes kind of all over this area. I'm in Marietta, and I'm also teaching classes in Roswell. I come back here three or four times a year."
He said that anyone that wants to host a class at their home or with a group can contact him at Swordcastingguy@gmail.com.
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