Swords
Oh my god, I am so tempted by Glamdring. How can something so useless to me be so cool?
I obviously need another sword to hang on my wall. Maybe a matched set?
Shouldn’t Narsil be broken?
I bought Sting for my dad for his birthday last December, and he subsequently bought both Glamdring and the Witchking sword. They’re very cool. Except the handle on the Witchking one seems kind of…loose and wobbly.
Hmmm…I always thought the ultimate souvenir would be a simple gold ring that sometimes has an inscription…
But yeah, the swords are sweet. Shop around for them before you buy - several blade sellers have them, and the prices vary even though the swords themselves come from the same source. There are too many sword sellers out there to even begin to mention them.
How would these swords compare with “real” swords that were once used for fighting? If two geeks actually tried to fight with these, one with a historical sword and one with “Narsil”, would “Narsil” shatter?
I seem to recall that the process for making a sword can be very lengthy and complicated, requiring a good deal of experience and skill. More than what you can expect for $299?
You can get battle-ready swords for $400 and up, I think. The “stainless steel, false-edged” bit makes me suspicious. Nevertheless… swords aren’t useless! You can… uh… well… cut hedges with them! And snowmen!
Anyway, I want to get Narsil for my SO (adding to his already impressive collection) and Sting for me. That would rock. Yeah. Except for the price…
My brother bought a samurai sword in Japan which I suppose would be similar to the things offered at the site. It had no edge but I would hate to have someone work me over with one. Using the sword and an old bran muffin we got up a pretty good game of “baseball”.
BTW I have seen a (German or French) site that sold replicas of the ring.
The steel in these reproductions is far superior to the steel used in real fighting swords back in the middle ages, or even in the last century. The steel in the old swords was often quite brittle and would shatter on impact (Narsil) or was often tempered incorrectly and would bend rather than flex under stress. And of course they were made from carbon steel rather than stainless steel, so they required constant maintenence to keep them from rusting.
Unfortunately they aren’t quite as ruggedly made, having a “rat-tail” tang instead of a “full tang” for example.
If I buy one I’ll be forced to swing it around and make menacing poses. If I do that I’ll accidentally cut off a toe or two, it’s inevitable. Sigh.
Anyway there are other people selling these replicas too?
naw, I got the ultimate souvenir:the complete set of Burger King light-up talking action figures. woohoo
Sam’s gift from Galadriel (it’ll be in the Dir.'s cut I hope) otherwise…
I’ll take Aragorn anyday.
I must beg to differ. Swords and swordmaking have varied widely throughout history. While some might be as you say, many swords made in antiquity were very fine products of meticulous, exacting craftsmanship. The Damascus blades of Spain were wonderful, as were the Katanas from Japan, being crafted from metal folded multiple times, then differentially tempered to create extremely complex combinations of soft and crystalline steel, resulting in hard, durable edges, and softer, more flexible spines. Swords created this way were (and still are) works of terrible art, both beautiful and dreadful.
Today, swords are being made which are probably superior to any that have been before, but there is also a great deal of dreck out there. Any sword that you find displayed in the mall with a hilt that looks like it came out of the movie “Highlander” is going to be a piece of crap. These may cost anywhere from $50 to $500, and will be a complete waste of money. They will not be tempered, balanced or furnished well, and while they may be sharp, they will not hold an edge.
A moderately good sword may be purchased through a reputable dealer, but these will mostly be factory reproductions or “museum replicas” and not really intended for use. Of course, the use for swords is somewhat limited today 
(and this is a Good Thing) but you never know. Seriously, martial artists do require well made swords for practice, and those in this range will usually do.
Really good swords come from individual makers, just as they have always done, and will cost a good deal of money. A good example of this would be Dawson Swords (Scroll down to the bottom of the page for description and pricing. This is the maker I commissioned a sword from many years ago. I can speak for the quality of his work).
For more information, and some stunning photgraphs of swords, go to Sword Forum Magazine.
Don Fogg’s work is particularly beautiful.