glamdring balance

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I understand I am probably driving everyone mad with my balance questions but I just ordered glammy and I have the ranger sword and I am wondering if the balance is far off should I be prepared swinging a sword shaped war hammer
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Re: glamdring balance

2
These swords are not properly balanced. None of them are. They're not meant to be swung. Can you? Yeah. Will it be awkward? You'll get used to it. Will it be awkward compared to a real sword? Definitely. It's simply not in their design to be balanced in any way other than: not falling apart when you pick it up. That said, it's a thick and heavy leaf blade. It's much less balanced than the Ranger sword, which is much less balanced than a real sword. Hope that helps.
-_-

Re: glamdring balance

4
Will it be awkward? You'll get used to it.
Lmao.

But yeah, Sed is right. The blade is unnaturally thick, and although it's only slightly leaf-shaped, those extra grams has alot to say when it comes to swinging it around.

It would be very hard to make a properly balanced Glamdring, as you'd either have to make the blade thinner near the tip, or make a larger crossguard/pommel.
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Re: glamdring balance

5
...Or just make blade, crossguard and pommel in their correct dimensions (which are exactly what they ought to be: thinner blade, larger pommel, thicker crossguard like you said), something which has eluded both the standard and MC editions. Mr. Lyon's design is good, just needs good execution as well.

EDIT: And, if Glamdring were a historical sword, that leaf in the blade would lend more weight to blows by increasing angular momentum. In its nature, it'd pack more of a punch, but would be harder to change directions with. It could indeed be properly balanced (and the point of balance would be very near where it would normally be on a more conventional primarily slashing sword), but it'd handle differently than your run-of-the-mill sword
Last edited by Jamanticus on Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:44 am, edited 10 times in total.
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Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho i 'ruith!

Re: glamdring balance

7
EDIT: And, if Glamdring were a historical sword, that leaf in the blade would lend more weight to blows by increasing angular momentum. In its nature, it'd pack more of a punch, but would be harder to change directions with. It could indeed be properly balanced (and the point of balance would be very near where it would normally be on a more conventional primarily slashing sword), but it'd handle differently than your run-of-the-mill sword
Wait what?

Everyone knows that leaf bladed swords were made so they could double as a frying pan for far-travelling adventurers. Fuller's there to keep the butter in place.
"I had the blues, 'cause I had no shoes, until upon the street, I saw a man who had no feet"

The biggest problem about a zombie-apocalypse would be to hide my excitement about it

Re: glamdring balance

9
1 strange thing though this is a quote from a guy named joe piela a metal smith

Joe Piela: I'll comment on the United Cutlery swords, most specifically Glamdring, since one of my friends owns one of them and I've examined it in person. United cutlery has actually done a pretty good job. The look of Glamdring is actually excellent; it's a nice, artistic reproduction of the Glamdring in the movie, complete with lots of nice runes molded into the cast handguard. As to the practical aspects of the weapon, they've done pretty well. I noted on their website that the tang (the part of the sword inside the grip) has a nice substantial width for good strength. The stainless steel used to make the blade is not the best (nor the worst) material for sword making, though it has a sturdy feel to it. The handguard and pommel seem to me to be made of cast aluminum (the box only says "solid metal" so I am not absolutely sure of the alloy), though it does seem to be a high quality grade. The leather covered grip has nice roping wound around it for good traction. The blade sockets into the handguard for a solid fit, and the front end of the grip has a metal (probably aluminum) band on it to prevent splitting (very important). Amazingly, United Cutlery has managed a very good balance on Glamdring, with a balance point about 3 inches in front of the grip. The real practical test for such a sword would be to use it in simulated combat to see if the various components vibrate apart. Since my friend doesn't wish to try that on his Glamdring, I would make an educated guess that the sword would hold up well to short term combat conditions, though it wouldn't match the fighting performance of a sword with a forged, high carbon steel blade. If you are getting the United Cutlery LOTR movie swords strictly for looks and the aesthetics of hefting a nice, solid, sword that is rust-resistant, then go ahead and buy one & you shouldn't be disappointed. Now, if you want an authentic Middle Earth sword that looks nice and will get you through a long battle, there's some things I can do for you..... :-)

Is he accurate in saying this or is he close because from what you guys have told me the balance is not great and I saw a picture of glamdring with a thin tang on it sooooo what is happening
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Re: glamdring balance

10
Hmm, lots of stuff in that statement of his. But as to the most relevant stuff for this thread...

Firstly, the man is only going by what he read on the UC website as to tang thickness, from what I gathered. I think we can safely say he was just a victim of UC misinformation there and that the tang is indeed painfully thin (just like all rat-tail tangs. It's in their nature).

Secondly, the point of balance (only time he mentions anything to do with balance) doesn't tell very much about the sword apart from, well, where the point of balance is. A sword's handling characteristics are much, much more determined by overall length (the UC is shorter than the original), what materials it's made of (again, different), its taper (different again- the replicas have so little distal taper, making them feel very "dead"), blade shape, its fuller (much more deeply-ground on the real thing)...

To answer your question: the man knows what he's talking about, but none of what he said truly applies to your question.

EDIT: In retrospect, the man doesn't know what he's talking about. I need to stop posting at late hours of the night lol!
Last edited by Jamanticus on Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:27 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho i 'ruith!

Re: glamdring balance

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[quote=""Jamanticus""]...Or just make blade, crossguard and pommel in their correct dimensions (which are exactly what they ought to be: thinner blade, larger pommel, thicker crossguard like you said), something which has eluded both the standard and MC editions. Mr. Lyon's design is good, just needs good execution as well.

EDIT: And, if Glamdring were a historical sword, that leaf in the blade would lend more weight to blows by increasing angular momentum. In its nature, it'd pack more of a punch, but would be harder to change directions with. It could indeed be properly balanced (and the point of balance would be very near where it would normally be on a more conventional primarily slashing sword), but it'd handle differently than your run-of-the-mill sword[/quote]

How appropriate is the name foe hammer? Almost genius. :thumbs_up

Re: glamdring balance

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The handguard and pommel seem to me to be made of cast aluminum (the box only says "solid metal" so I am not absolutely sure of the alloy), though it does seem to be a high quality grade.
Amazingly, United Cutlery has managed a very good balance on Glamdring, with a balance point about 3 inches in front of the grip.
No Jaman, this guy has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. Do I even have to e xp lain? Lmao.
"I had the blues, 'cause I had no shoes, until upon the street, I saw a man who had no feet"

The biggest problem about a zombie-apocalypse would be to hide my excitement about it

Re: glamdring balance

13
LOL I was just going to say, no... he doesn't know what he's talking about at all.. What does he smith, exactly, horseshoes?


I can do better than "my friend has it and I handled it once". I just took it off my wall and I can safely say the balance point is more like six inches than three. But that's not a huge difference compared to the distance to China. And frankly, it's irrelevant because: these swords should NOT be used for any practical purposes of any degree other than display. He's full of it. Hold up to "short-term fighting conditions" ? If by "short-term" he means "first hit, then flies apart", yes.

I don't know how many different ways we can say it to you. I think you're in denial about these swords not being functional. The steel is all wrong, they're not sharpened, the geometry is all wrong, the construction is totally completely wrong, the rest of the materials aren't suitable, the balance is off, the weight sucks, etc. You probably won't believe me until you find out for yourself someday, so find access to an Albion or even some medieval Cold Steel, Windlass, or Hanwei blade. Then pick back up your UC LOTR blades. You'll feel it. Having a "sturdy" blade has nothing to do with functionality these days, and people who say "sturdy" clearly show they don't know very much. Sure, Glamdring's blade doesn't wobble when I tap it. It's pretty... "sturdy". And when I hit something as hard as I can, it'll most-likely break. Blades are meant to bend and flex to a degree. These blades do not at all (well, they bend... but they don't exactly spring back).

Just get it out of your head to go around the yard hitting stuff with your Glamdring, okay?

And one other piece of advice: do NOT have this guy make you any "real" swords.
-_-

Re: glamdring balance

14
Sorry about saying the guy knew what he was talking about earlier. Was darned sleepy when I wrote that and I just wasn't thinking.

I went and did some research into what this guy makes (or used to- he's retired now), and here's one of his swords...

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Yeah...

And excellent post, Sedhal :thumbs_up
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Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho i 'ruith!

Re: glamdring balance

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[quote=""Sedhal""]LOL I was just going to say, no... he doesn't know what he's talking about at all.. What does he smith, exactly, horseshoes?


I can do better than "my friend has it and I handled it once". I just took it off my wall and I can safely say the balance point is more like six inches than three. But that's not a huge difference compared to the distance to China. And frankly, it's irrelevant because: these swords should NOT be used for any practical purposes of any degree other than display. He's full of it. Hold up to "short-term fighting conditions" ? If by "short-term" he means "first hit, then flies apart", yes.

I don't know how many different ways we can say it to you. I think you're in denial about these swords not being functional. The steel is all wrong, they're not sharpened, the geometry is all wrong, the construction is totally completely wrong, the rest of the materials aren't suitable, the balance is off, the weight sucks, etc. You probably won't believe me until you find out for yourself someday, so find access to an Albion or even some medieval Cold Steel, Windlass, or Hanwei blade. Then pick back up your UC LOTR blades. You'll feel it. Having a "sturdy" blade has nothing to do with functionality these days, and people who say "sturdy" clearly show they don't know very much. Sure, Glamdring's blade doesn't wobble when I tap it. It's pretty... "sturdy". And when I hit something as hard as I can, it'll most-likely break. Blades are meant to bend and flex to a degree. These blades do not at all (well, they bend... but they don't exactly spring back).

Just get it out of your head to go around the yard hitting stuff with your Glamdring, okay?

And one other piece of advice: do NOT have this guy make you any "real" swords.[/quote]

I would never hit anything with these swords the reason I ask about balance is just because I like picking up a sword and having it feel right in the hand the reason I posted this guys quote was because I wanted to hear all your responses to it because I could already cherry pick a lot of things that are wrong such as the so called wide tang which I have seen from photos is teeeny and that he can get you to believe you could fight for a little with these swords that are stainless steel. I dont want you guys to think that I was going to chop down a tree with the darn thing of course you would need a tang not welded and a not brittle steel blade such as stainless. just to clear things up. I own the ranger sword and it has never crossed my mind to go out and hit stuff with it
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Re: glamdring balance

17
That sword is hideous, I could've done a better job four years ago when I first set foot in workshop.

On the topic of hitting things with crappy swords, I took my crappy katana outside, and chopped down a few branches. Was good fun lol.
"I had the blues, 'cause I had no shoes, until upon the street, I saw a man who had no feet"

The biggest problem about a zombie-apocalypse would be to hide my excitement about it
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