The good folks at Man at Arms: Reforged have outdone themselves this time with the creation of the saw cleaver from the popular video game Bloodborne.
The smiths at Baltimore Knife and Sword have created a whole slew of different pop culture-inspired weaponry for the Web series, but the saw cleaver is definitely one of the more complicated projects they’ve taken on due to its transformative nature. For those not familiar with Bloodborne, the saw cleaver essentially flips out like a razor blade to become a significantly longer weapon. Players then swipe it at enemies for a bloody time.
The basis of the physical weapon is fairly simple. The blade itself comes from part of a railroad tie that was then power-hammered into something resembling the cleaver blade. The handle’s basically just a rod that’s been worked with a little heat. It’s the little assembly connecting the two that’s more troublesome — and what the episode spends the most time fiddling with.
Basically, it has to have a position where it locks closed and one where it locks open. So, it needs to be able to smoothly open and close while clicking into place both ways. The majority of the parts for that were milled before being welded together or detailed by hand and hammer. Overall, there’s more moving parts than a lot of the builds they attempt, but the saw cleaver truly comes to life.
