A version of the heart thief knife which starts at $195.

A small gothic dagger, which starts at $175.

"The Northman" — a fantasy film about Vikings, witches and revenge adapted from a 12th Century Danish novela — captured $12.3 million at the box office last weekend.

The film is the latest in a growing culture of fantasy-obsessed art and another business bump for Ferndale artist and entrepreneur Christian Sam and his Archangel Steel weaponry.

"They just keep making Viking movies and 'Star Wars' and everyone wants that feeling of being in the movies," Sam said. "They name their kids after 'Game of Thrones' characters. It's all free advertising for me."

The 51-year-old bladesmith has spent more than three decades crafting medieval swords, knives, lances, daggers, maces, spears, axes and hammers for fantasy fanatics such as Thronies, Potterheads and Ringers. And it's only a matter of time before Sam makes The Night Blade — the sword Prince Amleth, played by vampire-turned-Viking Alexander Skarsgård, seeks out to aid in avenging his father's murder in "The Northman."

Bladesmithing is rising in popularity alongside these movies and shows. For Sam, there's opportunity to move Archangel from a small company operating in the cramped corner of an auto repair shop to an artist-led, curated collective with more complicated, and more expensive, weaponry. But supply chain woes, labor shortages and the perils of operating a small business in 2022 may be more difficult to overcome than all the villains from Midgard, Middle Earth or Meereen.

John Verhoff, executive producer of the popular reality competition show "Forged in Fire" on The History Channel, said as the world has become increasingly digital and complicated, people are seeking out "what's real," leading to increased interest in bladed weapons.

"Forged in Fire" pits four master bladesmiths against each other in a timed series of challenges to create a weapon that is judged on its strength, sharpness and quality. The show has produced nine seasons since 2015.

"This is a world where you can have real control over elements such as fire and metal," Verhoff said. "With your own brute force, using hand tools or machinery, and starting with raw materials whether it's a bar of steel or lump of steel and create something that's totally new and totally yours. People identify with that. It's primal because it's a very physical, visceral experience."

At the Archangel Steel shop behind Urbanrest Brewing Co. in Ferndale, Sam moves effortlessly, dodging workbenches littered with belt grinders, steel shavings and half-finished blades. Sharp edges are everywhere. But he's got 20 dull blades that need honing.

"We need to finish this order soon," Sam said to his green-haired, tattooed understudy Frankie Gorncy.

Sam is preparing for this month's Motor City Comic Con in Novi. It's Archangel Steel's first time selling its work at the event and with only a few weeks to go, Sam is frenetic.

Online orders, a growing sales tool for Archangel, and prepping for the August start of the Michigan Renaissance Festival in Holly — which accounted for $147,000 of last year's revenue — has left Sam stressed.

That visceral, primal experience Verhoff talked about remains a mostly digital fantasy though for most as Sam struggles to find workers willing to shave down blade edges and stitch leather sheaths.

"The fun of all this is ruined on me," Sam said as Gorncy growls lyrics to "Shadow of the Reaper" over the hum of the grinder.

"He sings while he grinds," Sam snorted. "But he's grinding, so I couldn't give a shit."

Sam employs five workers ... "if they show up," he said. Archangel is befallen by the same labor issues that have plagued small businesses across the nation since the start of the pandemic.

Sam can't compete with factory lines or McDonald's on wages anymore. He attributes the lack of available workers to government stimulus during the pandemic and a noted shift from manual labor to service jobs.

"I can't sell and do all the work anymore," Sam said. "I need people. But no one wants to work. Everyone wants to be a Bitcoin billionaire and do nothing with their hands. Right now, we just can't afford the top people with the right skills that get $40 an hour. That's aerospace pay."

It's not like it was 35 years ago, Sam said.

A reformed Dungeons and Dragons nerd, he learned the art of blacksmithing metal after his mother took him to the Renaissance Fair as a teenager. Smelting in his dad's garage brought in an income.

He started a pool business and a construction business when the demand for swords and axes fell out of favor through the years, but he never stopped making weapons.

"I was making $1,800 a week at 18 years old," Sam said. "I went to college and got an (associate's degree) in modeling (3D computer-aided design) but I never made more money than I could making swords."

To supplement a lack of workers, or at least ones he can afford, Sam reinvested in his business with the $90,000 purchase of a Haas VF-3 CNC machine. The machining mill, most common in auto parts supplier plants, allows Sam to carve out complicated weapons like a spiked war hammer with nine sharp points on each side — and use his CAD degree.

"The hammer is the highest level of difficulty," Sam said. "This machine replaces the labor that I need and gives me room to create things I could never do by hand."

But there are greater economics at play. Labor strife is only part of a compounding problem for Archangel Steel. The prices of raw materials since the start of the pandemic have pierced Sam's margins at a time when demand is climbing.

Sam doesn't forge or melt down scrap steel. Instead he takes sheets of steel and carbon steel, cuts them into a shape and grinds and polishes until a high-quality blade is born. A few years ago, Sam could secure 17 sheets of steel for $1,500. Last week, he was quoted at $8,000 for those same sheets and $20,000 for the same amount from another supplier.

With the bulk of sales coming from the Renaissance Festival, Sam has to be careful in pricing. A miscalculation on steel today could put Archangel in the red tomorrow.

Customers like Sam, who place small orders of material compared to manufacturers, often feel the most pain from pricing spikes, said Michael Barnett, president and COO of Wixom-based steel supplier and distributor Grand Steel Products Inc. Even though prices are coming down.

The price of hot-rolled steel coil exploded to more than $2,200 per short ton last fall, but had fallen to $1,456 per short ton on April 27. Barnett expects those prices to continue to drop as the global commodities prices settle.

"The price of steel has gone up significantly since the beginning of the pandemic; it went crazy and then regulated at the end of last year, but then Russia and Ukraine happened and threw everything on its head," Barnett said. "But distributors selling to end users don't correct prices as fast as the market. It's not a one-to-one correct, so prices for some buyers might not come down for a month or two. So there's not a lot of price relief for people like this medieval weapons maker."

Sam doesn't forge steel anymore, hasn't in years, because it's too time-consuming even with the high steel prices.

While Sam curses the current price of steel, he's raising his prices by about $100 per weapon in a tactical move that's beyond rising input costs.

"Right now it's just tough to keep up," Sam said. "I hate the rate race, man. I raised prices to slow down some people from buying. It's not a bad problem but it's exhausting."

Sam's work is increasingly more complex. Upgraded equipment permits intricate engravings and personalization that he said is wanted among customers.

But it's his artistry he'd like to return to, he said, waxing about his dream of leading an art collective.

Sam idolizes Design Toscano, a garden and home sculpture supplier that once distributed magazines filled with garden gargoyles by individual artists.

"I love to teach and I want the people who work for me to feel that joy, of the creative experience," Sam said. "This is a craft, but it's also an art. In the 16th century, I'd have my own castle. This work used to be important and I think it still can be."

"In a perfect world, I'd have a group of five artists, all contributing their own works to this creative endeavor," he said. "But I just don't think that will ever happen."

Instead, Sam returned to the shop to check on the CNC machine's progress. Another spiked war hammer. Its handle will be wrapped in leather and stored among the growing pile of swords and axes for the Renaissance Festival to be sold to fans dressed as everything from the King of the North to a court jester.

People looking to escape their own reality through his — the determined bladesmith.

Readers are invited to submit a letter to the editor or connect with us on social media (we're on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram)

Staying current is easy with Crain's news delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge. Click below to see everything we have to offer.

With a Crain’s Detroit Subscription you get exclusive access, insights and experiences to help you succeed in business.

Helping you succeed in business since 1985.

1155 Gratiot Avenue Detroit MI  48207-2997