GoCraft Toledo SL — Attraction in Toledo

This Swordsmithy is the real deal, five generations of metal craft. Antonia is the most humble man I have met a true master. His son and apprentice are continuing the legacy and provide an authentic hands on experience.

This is a fully working smithy, don't expect clean and tidy, the forge is red hot, the coal is sooty, and the smoke is black. Here at the shop steel is shaped, sharpened, and polished before your very eyes. We were even given the opportunity to take the hammer and work the glowing metal from the forge, playing the smith's song of hammer blows and anvil resounds as the iron formed to our will. Sparks will fly, hammers will toil, steel will quech in a ball of flames, and above all you'll see the techniques and skill it takes to create these masterwork swords.

The finishing studio is a trove of parts formed and crafted using traditional methods, hardwood, leather, and braided steel grips, with ornate cross guards and decorative pommels, all made in the shop, using time honoured traditions of blood, sweat, and tears - lots of sweat it was hot in there!

Don't let the humble shop front fool you or the apparent mess of tools and parts, you are in for an unforgettable experience that will give you a new appreciation of the swordsmithing craft founded in Toledo.

After seeing the production, take some time to examine other finished weapons and armour, battle axes, kopis, broadswords, gladiator blades, traditional two handed toledo swords and more. For those english speaking visitors we highly recommend including the english translator, Carley was amazing and was able to make sure the family got all the workshop gossip and answers to our many questions. Thank you to Antonia and his family for an amazing morning. The London Family...

This is a unique experince that I cannot recommend enough! As a student of history, especially military history, it's an opportunity to participate in one of it's oldest traditions: the making of a sword. What was even better is I was able to work on the sword I had purchased from Master Arellano's shop under the watchful eye of his Sword maker Apprentice, Emilio. Master Arellano was there to supervise, which was an honor and made the entire experince complete. Both Master Arellano and Emilio have tremendous knowledge of the history and use of every weapon they craft. It is hard to be concise about how rich and wonderful this experince was to me. If you enjoy the history and beauty of swords, take the opportunity to participate in forging a sword at the hands...

An unforgettable experience. GoCraft! organised a workshop for us for a group of 20 Secondary School pupils from Glasgow. They booked space in the EcoHotel in Toledo and a local craftsman demonstrated the ancient art of damasquinado - decorating metal with designs made from fine silver or gold thread. The history of the craft was fascinating, the demonstrations clear and easy to follow and the pupils loved creating their own designs and having a souvenir to take away with them. The tapas provided were fabulous too. Even the fussiest children loved the rolls filled with...