If the gods left the secret of steel on the battle field beneath a leaden sky,
Jody Samson found it, learned its riddle well, has mastered it
and now shares it with the awesome folks at Albion Armorers.
His work is legendary, his talent is supernatural.
-- Rick Robinson

Most people know Jody as the creator of the "Conan™" swords -- he sculpted and assembled the blade and hilt for the "Master's (Father's) Sword™." He created the blade for and assembled the "Atlantean™" sword. Both have become icons in the Conan™ legend, inspiration to swordsmiths everywhere, and symbols to many of the epitome of swords and swordmaking. Both of the "Conan™" swords were designed by Ron Cobb, while the "Atlantean" sword's hilt components were fabricated by Tim Huchthausen.

What most people don't know is Jody's history, and why he was approached by Conan™ director, John Milius make these landmark weapons.

Jody got his start in knife and sword making while hanging around the shop of the late John Nelson Cooper, one of the most prolific knifemakers of all time. He met John quite by accident -- wandering into John's shop in Burbank, California, looking for a knife. They instantly struck up a close friendship that lasted until John's death.

Jody began making knives himself, first on a part-time basis, and then full-time in 1974. After that, Jody went to work for Bali-Song (later Benchmade) knives and produced a variety of memorable designs during his tenure there, including the first "balisong" or "butterfly" knives and his famous "WeeHawk" knife.

Returning to Burbank, Jody worked for seven years in his own studio, just blocks from where John Nelson Cooper's shop used to be.

Now, Jody has made his permanent residence in New Glarus, Wisconsin, working with Albion. Jody maintains a large studio in the Albion facility, personally supervising the making of the Conan™ swords, and creating a line of knives and swords for Jodysamson.com.

This site features swords, daggers, axes and other edged weaponry in both steel and aluminum, as well as artwork and sculpture by Jody, ranging from one-of-a-kind pieces to limited editions. One-of-a-kind pieces will never be duplicated exactly, though hilt components and basic blade shapes may appear in different combinations. Limited editions will range in size from 2 to 100. Each piece comes with a certificate signed by Jody.

"Cutlery is sculpture in steel," Jody says, seeing himself first and foremost as an artist. No one can argue that point once they have seen Jody's many fantastic designs.

"When I was a kid, there were two things I enjoyed doing -- reading and drawing. I read every book I could get my hands on, especially the 'sword and sorcery' type.

I was a big fan of stories by Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, H. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs and the classics such as Dumas' Three Musketeers and Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. When other kids wanted books with photos, I looked for books with paintings and illustrations.

Then I would draw the swords the way I imagined them (and anything else in the story that caught my imagination.)

Today, I don't draw swords much, I just make them. -- all of the swords I wanted to see from books, but could never find.

One day I might have a book made, displaying many of the swords I have created, and some kid (and maybe some grown up kid like me) will finally see in them some of the swords I couldn't find when I was a kid.

And, unlike the illustrations I found to be so interesting, these swords are real."

Read an interview of Jody by Ed Waterman here.

Find answers to questions frequently asked of Jody here.

Jody's swords and knives have been featured in:

FILMS - Conan the Barbarian, First Knight, The Mask of Zorro, Blade, Blind Fury, Batman & Robin, Batman Forever, The Fan, Under the Rainbow, My Science Project, The Big Brawl, Sharkey's Machine, Up In Smoke, Red Dawn, The Men's Club, Streets Of Fire, Don Juan DeMarco, Tall Tale, Action Jackson, Hook, Amityville Dollhouse, Edwards & Hunt

TV/VIDEO - Beastmaster III, Last Stand At Saber River, Kung Fu -- The Movie, The Sacketts, MacGyver, Babylon 5, Columbo

THEATRICAL - Conan: Universal Studios Theme Park Live Show, Busch Gardens (Virginia) Pirate Show, Othello, Macbeth, Tristan and Isolde, The King and I

Here are some of the reviews Jody has gotten from around the world:

"The Best there is..." Terry English (armorer for Excalibur and The Messenger)

"You keep me well armed..." Anthony DeLongis, swordplay choreographer and stuntman

"Artist in steel..." Roger Coombs, Gun World Magazine, January 1979

"A Jody Samson sword commands instant respect. It is all made to order, totally custom, all hand made to precision. You've heard the old saying 'The sword seemed to come alive in his hand'?" John Steven Soet, Inside Karate, July 1998

"Jody is a sculptor, an artist, a man who expresses himself in steel in much the same way as a painter does on his canvas and as a musician does with his instrument." C. Flambourari, K.G.H.M., La Passionades Couteux

Conan ™, Atlantean Sword ™, and Father's Sword ™ are registered trademark of Conan Properties, Incorporated