Will Sherman
Will Sherman
I started my career in historical archery by making longbows, using the Mary Rose equipment for dimensions, materials etc. I soon realised that there was a better career path in the arrows, as the commercially available arrows didn’t seem to match what had been found, and only very few people were making good arrowheads.
I built a forge on my property and started trying different methods and techniques to see if I could get close to what was available in photographs online and in publications. After a few years I was lucky enough to be taught some of the fundamentals by Master Arrowsmith Hector Cole MBE and simultaneously began building a relationship with some of the best museums holding arrows and arrowheads in the country – in particular The Mary Rose Trust and Salisbury Museum.
By examining and documenting the originals that I was given access to, and with Hector Cole’s further help as I started venturing into the more advanced forms of arrowsmithing my work began to get noticed internationally and I was able to become a full time arrowsmith and fletcher. I moved into an 1800s blacksmith shop and focused on re-equipping it with only the traditional tools that would have been used – bellows, tongs, hammers and anvils which allowed me even closer results to the original arrowheads that I was copying.
It was at this stage that Tod approached me at a HEMA event where I was demonstrating arrowsmithing and heavy military bow archery and invited me onto the spectacular team of people involved in making Arrows Vs Armour, and the rest is history!