On the Scene With Christopher Greywolf

Christopher Greywolf has been designing and making weapons for as long as he can remember. Growing up with his Blackfoot grandparents in northeastern Kansas, it was considered natural for kids to make their own bow and arrows, and Greywolf’s interest in weapon design stayed with him through high school and six years in the Army.

At 52, Greywolf is a professional knife sharpener who also makes medieval weapons, armor and chain mail. He teaches martial arts and is the khan (leader) of the Khanate of the Golden Horde, a re-enactor group that practices the military traditions of the 13th-century Mongol empire. (Greywolf can be contacted at 277-2738.)

JOHN BERGER: You lived in Mongolia for several years. How did the Mongolians respond to you?

CHRISTOPHER GREYWOLF: Because I came with a bit of knowledge already — I loved the history, I could ride a horse, I could shoot a bow and arrow — they wondered at first, “Who is this guy?” But after awhile I was just one of them. My Mongolian got really good and I hardly spoke English. I taught martial arts as a part-time job and did some blacksmithing making armor and helmets and blades.

I loved the culture but as my kids got older I had to choose — Mongolia or Hawaii — and I chose here.

JB: You sharpen knives for chefs. What do you do for your other clients?

CG: People with very old blades bring them in to get cleaned or polished or remounted. Sometimes they bring in old flintlock pistols or rifles and I take those apart and clean them up and put them back together.

Little old ladies bring in their old sewing scissors, and every now and then I make props for movies.

JB: What are the most unusual orders you’ve gotten?

CG: A 5-1/2-foot claymore sword like the one in “Braveheart” but with a Maltese cross on one side of the pommel and a German death’s head on the other, a set of nonretractable Wolverine claws, and a chain-mail bikini.

JB: Is there something you enjoy doing that doesn’t involve weapons?

CG: I like to cook. Every time I go into a kitchen and the chef’s doing something, I always ask what he’s making and how to make it, and then I go home and I try it.

“On the Scene” appears on Sundays in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.