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Toledo’s last swordsmiths refuse to give up, in spite of the pandemic

As is the case with many family businesses creating handmade crafts in Europe, many are facing immense financial pressure due to lack of customers.

One such group are those famous swordsmiths of Toledo, in central Spain, who have 2000+ year history creating the finest steel in the world. Even the famous Mariano Zamorano, Toledo's master swordsmith for decades, has retired this year, quite sad as I had met the man and bought a fine longsword from him back in late 2019, a few months just before the pandemic. Only Antonio Arellano is left as the last master swordsmith in Toledo.

Thankfully is appears an influx of orders from TV series and film productions seeking to create historically accurate props, Netflix just opened a production hub in Madrid, will go some way to helping to preserve this ancient craft. Here's the article from the Guardian I read today, highlighting the Toledo swordsmith's plight in the age of covid:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/24/toledos-last-swordmakers-refuse-to-give-up-on-their-ancient-craft

Posted by
199 posts

So very sorry to hear this. Glad to hear the movies are able to give them some business.
I really hope Mr. Arellano's business survives. I would love to be one of those tourists buying a souvenir!
Thanks for sharing.

Posted by
7132 posts

My last time at empresa Mariano Zamorano was in 2014. My wife had never been there before and we were given a good lesson on making real swords as compared to the ones seen in tourist shops. I had also visited there in 1999 and it was in the process of making a couple dozen swords for the Spanish military. It would have been nice if someone had taken over the business.