Knights Who Say Nah turns historical items into NFTs

Since non-fungible tokens (NFTs) first appeared, most attention has focused on their role in the multi-million dollar digital art market.

But now NFTs are exploring new avenues. The Knights Who Say Nah is a pioneering NFT project, billing itself as a “multi-platform media company.” The aim is to combine narrative storytelling, profile pictures (PFP), a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and real historical objects to create a new model of history and heritage.

Over several weeks, The Knights Who Say Nah will release PFPs based on ancient warriors and 3D renderings of arms and armor scanned using photogrammetry. Its mission is to digitize, collect and curate historical weapons and armor – all governed through a DAO that will control the project’s treasury.

At its heart is a collection of NFTs representing historical artifacts taken from a private collection containing more than 6,000 artifacts from 50 cultures, representing 6,000 years of history. Nick Richey, ‘Keeper of Arms’ of the collection, wanted to find a creative way to share these pieces with the public.

Despite their unique aesthetics and historical value, weapons and armor have no spotlight on them, Richey explained. “When you go to a museum, the arms and armor department is probably one of the last places you go,” he told Decrypt.

But the relative indifference belies their cultural impact. They can be seen on screen in films such as “The Northman” and “The Last Duel”; in TV shows like “Vikings”; and even in video games like “Assassin’s Creed.” Their influence is felt in the fantasy shows that currently dominate pop culture, such as “House of the Dragon” and “The Rings of Power.”

In a way, Richey said, arms and armor are like IRL NFTs; they have features of varying rarity, they are unique, and they carry a wealth of history and stories.

“Not only are there treasures under these objects, but then the story begins to unravel. You start to pull the thread and then you start to look at—well, why was this design on this sword?” said Richey. “You just start digging in and you start learning about these people and how we’re connected to them.”

The Knights Who Say Nah wants to explore the hidden narratives masterfully crafted hundreds or thousands of years ago and bring them to our generation while ensuring their permanence for future generations. Here’s how they plan to proceed.

Narrative-driven drops

The Knights Who Say Nah starts with an initial drop of 1111 generative PFPs. Each drop represents different groups of ancient warriors; the first culture released is the ancient samurai of Japan.

PFP drops will be followed by a series of NFTs of 3D artifacts associated with that culture. That means that in the week after the samurai PFP release, you can expect to see NFTs of real samurai swords like the katana and tanto, hundreds – and in some cases thousands – of years old.

These objects are scanned using a painstaking process known as photogrammetry, where hundreds of images are taken of the object from different angles and under demanding lighting conditions. The images are then layered over a 3D mesh that is adjusted to match the dimensions of the real object, and adjusted so that the lighting is consistent across the entire object. “It’s like a 12-step process that takes up to 40 hours per object,” Richey said, adding that in the future, NFT holders may be able to 3D print a copy of the object.

Richey wants to push the cultural reach of the project as much as he can. An experienced screenwriter, he is currently creating elaborate scripts and character arcs for the ancient warriors depicted throughout the project – all of which are based on real historical figures, such as Tomoe Gozen, a female samurai from the late Heian period of Japanese history.

“We will release them to our community so they can read them episode by episode,” he said, adding that he is also pitching the project to various television and animation studios. “Ideally I’m going to go to Adult Swim world and try to find a partner. If Knights can’t find a partner, so is the Web3 space,” he added, pointing to the example of NFT series such as Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ Stoner Cats.

The legacy DAO

Knights Who Say Nah isn’t just about presenting a collection in a new way; it also aims to evolve into a legacy DAO, where Knight’s NFT holders will vote on how to curate the digital collection, and even which new pieces to acquire on the open market.

As DAO acquires parts, Richey has an ambitious plan in mind: 3D scan the physical objects and then donate those physical objects to the communities they come from. With museums around the world grappling with their colonial legacies and the various claims to the objects in their collections, there is a new approach.

Museums could, he suggested, hold 3D-printed versions of the artifacts while the artifacts themselves are returned to the tribes or nations from which they originated. They can even form revenue streams, with objects licensed to video games or metaverse platforms. “It’s not just about you making money, it’s about the project having a treasury so we can give back to these cultures,” Richey explained.

An ambitious plan, sure, but Richey is ambitious. And he knows that Web3 is a bold experimental space.

“Imagine being someone in our community who owns this gothic warhammer NFT,” he said. “You get to go to the Metropolitan Museum and you can see that it’s donated by the Knights Who Say Nah, and you hold your AR version in front of the real thing. That would be pretty cool.”

Follow the Knights Who Say Nah on Twitter for updates on upcoming NFT launches.