At Blizzard, they ordered for an Ashbringer to be forged. Not in World of Warcraft, but in reality!
The Weapon of the Scarlet Crusade
In the world of World of Warcraft, there are seemingly endless weapons. Some of them have a very special story, such as the War Glaives of Azzinoth or the Ashbringer. The latter was for a long time the holy blade of the Scarlet Crusade and was passed on to many bearers to stand against the undead and other threats. In the upcoming expansion World of Warcraft: Legion, Retribution Paladins will have the privilege of wielding this weapon to confront the enemies of the Burning Legion.
Blizzard now wanted to bring some weapons to life in reality and tasked Hollywood blacksmith Tooy Swatton with creating a as realistic a replica of the weapon as possible. Since an exact implementation would result in the blade weighing nearly 50 kg, the blacksmith has to resort to some tricks and adjustments to recreate the blade of the Scarlet Highlord. In the best American “crafting series” manner, the individual steps of forging are shown, giving fans a glimpse of how much work actually goes into such a blade. Sometimes it is indeed more complicated than just smashing 10 ores on the anvil.
The blacksmith has managed to keep a bit of humor despite the sweat-inducing work:
“If I were to build the blade as it is depicted in the game, it would weigh over 100 pounds, and no one could wield it effectively. Maybe I could… but no simple mortal.”
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