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Axios Richmond
Richmond-area man turns ordinary nails into mini swords
Give Hanover resident Brendan Shelton a hammer and an ordinary nail and he'll turn it into a sword small enough for a Lego figure to wield. Why it matters: What started as a childhood experiment has become a roughly 15-year hobby — and an unlikely side hustle selling miniature swords to collectors on Etsy and at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen. The backstory: "I just wanted to make weapons for my Lego figures," Shelton tells Axios. He taught himself using tools in his parents' garage around age 11, discovering that nails were soft enough to shape. Shelton, now 27, has since made hundreds, including swords, axes, spears and tiny rifle look-a-likes inspired by movies and video games. The process. Photo: Courtesy of Ben Comenetz, founder of CreativeCultureRVA How it works: Shelton hammers nails into tiny, realistic-looking swords, complete with handles and guards. The hammering takes less than an hour, but Shelton admits he loses track of time when adding the finishing touches. He also leaves the pieces unsharpened unless a customer requests otherwise. From nail to mini sword. Photo: Courtesy of Ben Comenetz, CreativeCultureRVA By the numbers: His Etsy shop, MicroArmory , has recorded 111 sales since 2021,