He does not know medieval Scotland and has never travelled outside the Philippines. But he has a flourishing business replicating various types of swords, from the legendary Excalibur to those used by gladiators in the ancient Roman arena, to the razor sharp Japanese samurai, to the one used by Mel Gibson in “Braveheart” and the sword used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Conan the Barbarian.”
De Guzman confesses that he never entered the university and does not know much about ancient history. But he enjoys watching movies from which he gets the idea of designing various types of swords.
His business started in 1980 after he took free lessons in metal works offered by the government. Filomeno de Guzman lives in the farming town of Pozorrubio, 180 kilometres (110 miles) north of Manila.
US soldiers deployed at two nearby US military bases soon noticed his craftsmanship and they began commissioning him to make knives.
Later on the soldiers started ordering swords and, as the demand for more elaborate designs grew, he started delving into books on ancient weaponry. When a friend took some of his swords to an exhibition in the United States in the 1990s, de Guzman was connected with an American distributor and his export business started.
De Guzman said he had sold more than 1,000 Excalibur swords from the legend of King Arthur. He has also exported a similar number of the Sir William Wallace sword, popularised by the 1995 Mel Gibson “Braveheart” film of the 13th-century Scot who fought English rule. The two-handed sword, with a 73-centimetre (28-inch) long blade, weighs five kilogrammes (11 pounds) and sells for $600 abroad, according to de Guzman.
I would like to know his business contact number and address. I would like to get in touch with him and order weapons from him. Thank you.