Dale Rosamond stands in his small apartment kitchen rifling through a cupboard looking for a plate. His tall frame makes it easy for him to see everything on the top shelf without using a step stool.
It鈥檚 not a dinner plate he鈥檚 looking for, or even a smaller dessert plate. Rosamond is searching for a square sheet of copper, about six inches by six inches, on which he can engrave words.
He鈥檒l be using it as part of a medieval shield he鈥檚 making for a friend.
The heavy metal shield stands half-finished on a workbench beside Rosamond whose home, located in Chilliwack, is filled with helmets, plate armour and swords, all of which he鈥檚 lovingly handmade out of scraps of metal he鈥檚 brought home from work.
This is Hamster and Elderberry Armory.
There are two fascinating things about Rosamond鈥檚 new-found hobby: the fact that he bends, hammers, cuts and finishes every single metal piece by hand; and the fact that his workshop is located entirely within his tiny apartment鈥� more specifically his dining room.
It all began about a year ago. He was trying to get his mind off of the recent loss of his two horses and dog, and at the same time he was recovering from two workplace injuries.
鈥淚 needed something to occupy my brain,鈥� says Rosamond. 鈥淏ecause as soon as I stopped, everything would come forward. I would cry about my dog, my horses, and develop a series of bad luck.鈥�
| Rosamond with a finished helmet. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress) |
He shared a picture of that shield with a medieval historical society group on Facebook, which didn鈥檛 go over very well. People started slamming him stating traditional medieval shields were made of wood, not steel.
Despite the criticism, something good came out of it though 鈥� the name 鈥淗amster and Elderberry.鈥�
Rosamond was joking back and forth with a man in England on that Facebook group quoting the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was the line by the Taunting French Guard 鈥測our mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries鈥� that was the inspiration for the name of his armoury.
Over the past several months, Rosamond has been spending his spare time making helmets, plate armour, shields, swords and other medieval items. He鈥檚 created ornamental pieces that folks hang on their wall or place on their shelf, and heavy-duty armour for people who take part in re-enactments and have real one-one-one battles.
鈥淢y first target audience was the re-enactors and that is truly where my passion is,鈥� he says.
He has 鈥渘o idea鈥� how he got the training for working with metal 鈥� it all just came naturally to him, though he thinks it鈥檚 in his blood thanks to his father who鈥檚 a handyman and his brother who鈥檚 an artist.
鈥淚 am doing it very slowly because I love my job and I don鈥檛 want to turn my hobby into a job,鈥� he adds.
| Cutting a piece of leather. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress) |
His friend James Zoral does all the woodwork for him, like pieces of the shields and sword handles.
Everything Rosamond makes is built within the confines of his seven-foot-by-seven-foot metal shop. Instead of a kitchen table in his dining room, he has a work bench and power tools.
To help absorb the noise of the hammering and grinding, he鈥檚 added multiple layers of foam and cardboard to the floor of his work space for the benefit of his downstairs neighbour.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 even know I had a drill press. These people don鈥檛 even know I have power tools, and my neighbours don鈥檛 even hear me hammering,鈥� says Rosamond, who approached his neighbours beforehand to tell them he鈥檇 be making noise. Respectfully, he gave them his phone number in case they wanted him to stop.
He says you have to respect your neighbours 鈥� that鈥檚 part of communal living.
| Rosamond works on a metal scroll he'll later attach to a shield. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress) |
鈥淚 do a lot of hand filing. I鈥檓 in an apartment, so I can鈥檛 be all the time on the grinder. I do most of my stuff with hand files.鈥�
鈥淗ere鈥檚 the thing, I don鈥檛 have any of the proper tools, or the molds, or anything, so I need stuff to shape this metal鈥� that鈥檚 a trailer hitch,鈥� he says pointing to a metal sphere in the corner.
He uses an old cobbler鈥檚 anvil which he found at a second-hand store to shape the metal, as well as a small chunk of railway track. He even uses the top of a metal-backed chair to bend some pieces, and his oven to temper the metal.
鈥淚 have baked more metal in that oven than I have pizzas,鈥� Rosamond laughs.
Though his hammers are not the highest quality, they鈥檒l do for the time being.
鈥淔or now I鈥檓 building stuff that looks like it鈥檚 already been in the melee,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 believe, if a woman finds a knight in shining armour, chances are he鈥檚 never been in a scrape.鈥�
Regardless of what makeshift forms he uses to shape the metal, making armour puts him into the zone. And he always listens to Templar music while working the steel.
鈥淲hen I sit down and I鈥檓 shaping a piece of metal, it just shuts off all the background noise,鈥� says Rosamond. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a beautiful art form.鈥�
You can reach Dale Rosamond at 604-799-6951 or hamsterandelderberryarmory@gmail.com.
jenna.hauck@theprogress.com
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