Frank Talk

Frank Garland makes blacksmithing an entertaining art.

(a reprint of an article by Gael Stirler printed in the Chivalry Sports Renaissance Catalog Magazine.)

Frank Garland is a mountain of a man who can swing a three pound hammer all afternoon, and still entertain the crowds with his constant banter of instruction and humor. He and his wife Karen opened the Celtic Knot Forge at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1990. But he was involved in show biz long before that.

Garland began performing when he was five, doing a magic act in talent shows and singing in school plays. By the time he entered college he was hooked on juggling and with his partners, Richard Rupkaluis and Carl Molyneaux, formed a juggling and magic act.

In 1983 he and Rupkaluis were hired by the King Richards Faire, of Kenosha. There they performed for three seasons, juggling knives, clubs, axes, and eventually, torches. They also performed live stunts. Garland recalls one where he lay on a bed of nails and had Rupkaluis smash a block of concrete on his stomach with a sledgehammer.

By the end of the 1983 season they were ending the act with a thrilling choreographed sword fighting routine; and Garland was in love with the rapier. He joined a group called The Ring of Steel and since then has been teaching the finer points of stage combat and sword play. (Pun intended.)

His interest in the rapier led him to study the blacksmith's art. He wanted to make his own sword from scratch. He knew someone who worked at a turn of the century blacksmith shop in a local living history museum. Mr. E. Knight gave him free rein with the shop and materials. Within a year he had learned everything the old smiths could show him and by the end of two years he'd surpassed most of them in skill and knowledge. It was time to strike out on his own. (Oh-oh, more puns.)

He built his first shop in his garage with an antique rivet forge, a railroad track anvil, a cheap imported vise, two hammers and one pair of tongs. His forge didn't even have a chimney flue. The first time he used his forge, his neighbors thought his garage was on fire.

Now he has a two volume video in release on knifemaking. His life in front of Renaissance Faire crowds makes Garland an exceptional television instructor. His manner is direct and polished without hesitation. He speaks confidently to the viewer from his heart.

As his fame grows, so does the demand for his work. Recently he has been called upon to make brass buckles for Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas and throwing axes for the movie Men in Tights.

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This page was last updated Tuesday, 27-May-2003 13:20:44 EDT