Quality

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Originally uploaded by texasgawain

Here are the two finished swords. I had some leftover red velvet from making the shield backings... so I used it to take this picture.

Aren't they lovely? Two wooden swords, made to match my two children. I posted previously about how special my own wooden sword was to me, and how I hope these are just as special to them, but I have something to add.

If you'd seen my own childhood sword you'd notice that it was well crafted, but quite a bit simpler. Whereas mine was made of two pieces of pine, lapped, rounded and sanded, these two are made of 3 pieces of oak each, lapped, glued, sanded, stained, and sealed. The hilts are handwrapped leather, and all the classic parts of a sword are easily spotted, blade, point, quillons, hilt, and pommel.

One might be given to asking, "Why put such detail, such work, into a wooden toy that two children are going to go out and beat the crap out of?" Indeed I fully expect my kids to do exactly what I did, spar with each other, with trees, with fence posts, brick walls, and any other solid object that comes to mind.

The result of all these interactions will be numerous dents, dings, scratches and eventually cracks and splits, in the wood. Something beautiful, will be degraded and destroyed over time. Regardless of the effort put in to its initial creation.

Or will it?

More specifically... will its beauty be destroyed?

I would say no. My own wooden sword is still with me, cracked, no longer servicable, but still kept. Its dings, dents, cracks and blemishes in no way detract from its beauty, or the meaning of its crafting. Rather they add to it... layers of memories, adventures and glory. When I gaze upon it.. I see the joy that went into those days, and I see the love that my father's hand imbued the wood with, simple as it was.

When I fought with my sword, in the summertime wars of my distant youth, I could feel the magic in the blade. My opponents, and my allies as well, usually had to make do with sticks, boards or any other generally sword shaped object they could find.

By comparison, my sword, made by my father's hand, stood out like Excalibur, sword of kings. No other boy had a sword like mine. With every strike, block and reposte, I could feel the strength of my father in the sword, and in my own heart. What foe could stand against us?

None.

So... when I came around to making these for my children, the more I thought about it., the more work I had to put into these swords. These are without a doubt, made to a higher standard than mine was, but not because of a need to outdo my own dad's accomplishment. Instead I made them so, because I could. Knowing how important they are to me, and maybe to them, I could not do otherwise than to put everything I had into making them the best I possibly could.

In this world our lives do not last forever. The things we make and do, likewise will all perish in the ravages of time. There is not one thing that we can point to, which will last. Yet, the most important aspect of living, is quality. We are limited on time, on how much we can do within that time. Therefore we simply must put forth our best efforts in terms of quality.

Whether eating, drinking, loving, or... making wooden swords, quality in every effort, in each moment, is the best way to make the most of our lives.