The Sword Guy is trading in his namesake tool to instruct guests on how to craft another ancient weapon.
Greg Wenderski, described as a tinkerer and sword historian, is making a trip to Georgia at the end of the month to share his skills with residents.
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At a home on River Trace in Roswell, the Austin, Texas-based metal artist will demonstrate how to create a Canaanite duckbill ax found around the Sumerian city-state of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia.
“In a 5 hour class, you’ll learn the history of this intriguing weapon, then get your hands dirty learning to make a sand cast using a historically accurate pattern,” Wenderski wrote in the event description. “Next, watch from a few feet away as I pour 2,000 degree molten bronze into your mold. Afterwards, you’ll carve a handle for your axe from cedar wood much like they would have used in Mesopotamia. You’ll leave class with a much deeper understanding of ancient metallurgy & with an artifact that will be treasured for years to come.”
Despite the scorching temperatures, the event is kid friendly. Wenderski notes that participants are always a safe distance from the heat, and swords (and axes) won’t be sharpened to a cutting edge during the course. Parents and children ages 7 or older can get a history lesson and crafts lesson all in one. The cost is $100 per ax cast, not per person.
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A former science teacher, Wenderski explains in the event description he began his sword-making classes “out of a desire to make Ancient Civilizations class more hands on, and so is taught very interactively, with lots of archaeology, history, and physics connections being explored.”
After initially building crossbows, fighting robots and child-size tandem bicycles with his students, he began casting Bronze Age-style swords and has been the Sword Guy ever since.
DETAILS
Bronze Age Axe Casting Class
10 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday, January 30
8660 River Trace, Roswell
$100 per ax
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