The Blacksmiths Are Coming! The Blacksmiths Are Coming!

One thing dominates the human mind from age to age and it has never changed: the desire to win. Competitions are made from just about anything from the time we’re children until we’re fully grown and ready to pass on into the next time. Luckily enough, many of these competitions harden us for the tougher ones later in life, ones where the price of winning or losing can be measured. But there’s something special about this particular competition to speak of today.

As it’s been said, time and time again, Birds of Valhalla shares a lot with the Nordic traditions and inspirations. It’s why the logo has Huginn and Muninn with the World Tree, Yggdrasil, why the soaps and body products all have names to link back to the Scandinavian and Norse past. Birds of Valhalla found its calling in these beliefs and themes, wanting to share these with the world and bring about appreciation for these time-honored traditions and even bring to light the secrets of old. One such appreciation is the appreciation of craftsmanship.

Having something made by a pair of hands that have been trained and worked for so long in their trade is something masterful to behold. When you hold the natural soaps and body products in your hands from Birds of Valhalla, you know these haven’t been made by machines. There is a bit of the person who made it in your hand when you hold the bar of soap, the sliver of shampoo, the silky pump of lotion, and smell the enticing wax melts and candles. That little bit of the maker stays with the item they create and they share it with you as the consumer. You never know exactly how much it means until you yourself give something that you’ve worked hard on to someone else and see them use it and treasure it. It may seem weird to say that someone treasures soap or skin care, but without it we wouldn’t be the people we are today. Everyone needs soap and to stay clean, so it’s a priceless treasure when made by the hands of a master. And the shop knows the hands of masters in many crafts.

From gemstones selected, to jewelry made, rune stones carved by hand, to candles created and designed to burn perfectly with minimal harmful effects of smoke, this shop holds many masters of their crafts as well as items forged by masters. Decorative blades have long been a staple of this business since it started almost three years ago. Hand forged by master artisans in Poland, the Raven knife has been a best seller of these blades. With a maker’s mark on each blade and the beautiful designs, you see the human who touched it, created it, and brought forth an idea to physical form. The Etsy store holds the decorative blades that are for sale by the shop, since the main website has policies on the sale of decorative sharp items. And with this rich history of the store and smiths, it seems only fitting that a partnership arose from the soot and flames.

Last Blade Standing. A competition for blacksmiths all across the United States of America where they can come and test their metal and skills was born of an idea to showcase the prowess of an ancient profession that seems to have dwindled in size but not in need. While the competition is in its toddler years, the hype for this third season has been immense. Finding creators to design and forge a blade within the parameters of the competition and on a deadline set up to show which blade will be superior is a feat in itself on top of setting up various tests for the blades strength, durability, sharpness, and bend. When setting down the rules and finding a place to hold the competition, this organization has another item on its agenda: find sponsors who will aid in costs and publicity. And that is where Birds of Valhalla comes in.

Birds of Valhalla is sponsoring this momentous event and will even be at the finals, hosted by one of the competitors, and season one winner, NorseForged down in Salisbury, North Carolina. The smiths that have entered will all converge down in North Carolina, along with the sponsors of the event, to meet up and have their blades judged as well as hang around with like minded people and make their own networking connections. Even our own CEO will be down with her wares to sell and share down at this magnificent mead hall in the Southern United States. Along with Birds of Valhalla, notable TikTok stars will also be in attendance. Modern_Floki and Helga, w1tchsbrew, roastmaster, and even Yours Truly (yes I mean the author of this blog) will be in attendance to promote the event and say hi to those who show up. Other submissions, which can be found on TikTok with the hashtag #lastbladestanding will be in attendance as well. This affair starts at 9:00 am EST and will be a monumental occasion. Tickets are going fast so it’s best to get them as soon as you can. Vendor booths are available for $100 if you’d like to share your own wares and general admission is $20 for the event. For anyone who wants to check up on the entries and see any of the other work, Last Blade Standing can be viewed on Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. One of the most amazing things about this competition is what happens to the prizes. The winner of first place receives a prize package valuing around $5000 and a trophy that was made by the previous winner of the competition. 

For this event and after finding many customers that the business sells to are blacksmiths or welders, our CEO Debra Glaze created a special soap just for these smiths and metalworkers. The Blacksmith Soap is a special bar with many things that are sure to make the smith in your life happy. Even if you aren’t a smith and want to buy a bar because it seems like it smells good, you are encouraged to buy. Just like the blades are hammered and quenched to ensure the strength of the metal, the soaps are cured and stored so they last for weeks on end. This blacksmith soap is a special edition, born of a collaboration with the organizer of Last Blade Standing, Doc Martin.  Mixing the fragrance of Tea tree, citron, and mandarin and activated charcoal of the Raven signature soap with oats from Honey Moon and coarse ground coffee to add some extra exfoliation to rid the skin of the residues from the forge. This soap is a delight to use after a long day of metalworking and is sure to bring a smile to even the most hardened smith’s face. You can grab these bars of soap ONLY at the event on 2/25 at the booth. However, you’re more than welcome to try the bars that have some “inspiration” in the special blacksmith’s bars by going to the shop’s website. If you’d like to take a look at the decorative blades, those can be found here. If you’d like to join Birds of Valhalla at the final competition, you can buy your tickets here. They’re going fast so make sure you grab your tickets with the code BIRDSOFVALHALLA to save $5 on your ticket. From the people of Birds of Valhalla, we can’t wait to see you there!