[quote=""Moonglum83""]
"Seems like someone is telling stories. This is not true.

The Anduril was - and is - strictly limited to a numbered edition of #01 to #10. One Artist Proof was accessioned by the Royal Armouries in Leeds, UK (I *believe* they are a world leader in medieval swords and Anduril is the only fictional sword they have on display).

Rest assured, there are no more in existence, and nor will there be. We are NOT making or selling any more Anduril.

And yes, you can quote me on this )"
[/quote]

I had a feeling that was total b.s.

Weta obviously conducts business properly, with integrity, and is true to their word. They are not just out to make money at any e xp ense.

[quote=""Moonglum83""]A few questions to stir some discussion around Strider's Sword, and the continuation of this line...

I'm curious if anyone has an opinion on getting Strider's sword with the standard Peter Lyon satin finish, or if you would go for the aged/weathered finish that is true to what is seen in the films?
[/quote]

I would go with the aged/weathered look personally. I'm sure it would feel, and look as if it was shipped to you directly from Middle Earth. Congrats on your amazing purchase!

Thank you ed and Moon, I've been reading but not posting until the issue was a little less muddy.


As for the finish, I'd go with the weathered look for Strider because to me, seeing Strider and then Anduril next to each other, would symbolize Aragorn's ascent from weathered Ranger to Crowned King. As for Sting and Glamdring, I don't really know. They are great pieces, and I would like them to look great, however as Val points out these are OLD swords in Tolkiens' Middle-Earth. And not only old, but they survived the gruesome and bloody fall of Gondolin, only to be locked in a Troll's Lair for Eru knows how many years. So in retrospect, they SHOULD be weathered.

Film accuracy is irrelevant for this line of swords. Pristine is the only way to go on such an e xp ensive sword. I wouldn't want to point to one of these (including Strider's sword) on my wall and tell someone that I payed 6K for that brand new sword, even though it looks like I found it some where in the woods. I'd feel different if it really were centuries old.

Knowing that the Royal Amouries Leeds museum has one just doubled the value for your swords guys. I'd recommend some serious security, like a metal display case with 10 mm Lexan cover bolted to the wall. Want this sword? You need to tear down the wall to get it.

I'm envious to be sure, but so happy for you who got one, or getting one of the future releases.

Agreed ^

Fake aging (let's face it, that's what it is... intentional and done in no time) screams "replica". Getting a brand new sword that shows no sign of wear also shows potential as a real weapon of its own. Trust me, a hundred years from now if these blades are still in your families or whatnot, they will be aged - and naturally at that. Sure they won't have orc blood on them but do you think if Aragorn hadn't needed to slay any orcs he'd find other means of damaging his sword so it looked cool? You guys won't be chopping orcs after all. Aragorn's sword must have been new at some point. What we see in the film(s) is only from a point in time. Surely it was sparkly clean at some point in its life. That's the sword you should go for. Let it be a clean slate for you to write your own history on.



You never know. People are clumsy. They might uh "weather" them accidentally.

It couldn't have been said any better Sedhal!

I see your point, however I'm a fan of Tolkiens Middle Earth, not Peter Jacksons LOTR Trilogy, so if I'm going to pay a lot of money for a sword based off of one from middle earth I want it to look like it would in middle earth. This really only applies to Sting and Glamdring, since in LotR FotR Aragorn doesn't have. A sword, he only has the broken hilt of Narsil.

[quote=""Thranduil""]I'd recommend some serious security, like a metal display case with 10 mm Lexan cover bolted to the wall. Want this sword? You need to tear down the wall to get it.[/quote]

I was wondering about exactly that! There was this image going through my mind of being afraid to go off on a trip and leaving one/several of these swords hanging there for the taking. I'd just have to carry them with me (imagine the problems at airport security!).

[quote=""Fingolfin""]I see your point, however I'm a fan of Tolkiens Middle Earth, not Peter Jacksons LOTR Trilogy, so if I'm going to pay a lot of money for a sword based off of one from middle earth I want it to look like it would in middle earth. This really only applies to Sting and Glamdring, since in LotR FotR Aragorn doesn't have. A sword, he only has the broken hilt of Narsil.[/quote]


Then why buy props from Peter Jackson's LOTR?

Even in Tolkien's Middle Earth I'm sure swords weren't made with pits in the guard and nicks in the blade. The reason these swords can withstand such weathering over time and through battles is because they -- originally -- were made as best as they could be.

But don't get me wrong, you shouldn't feel the need to justify yourself for wanting it weathered. It's a matter of personal taste.

Good discussion, and it is great to see the different opinions and the thought process behind them. So far, I count 5 people for the pristine version, and 3 for weathered.

My order for Strider's sword is currently for the unweathered / satin finish. Yet I continue to wrestle with this decision, and almost changed the order to 'weathered' serveral times before inquiring on these boards for other opinions. I'm still torn.

Another perspective is that the weathering is part of Weta's "craft". Peter Lyon himself does the aging on the swords, and it does take considerable skill to do this properly. I've seen some blades that were properly aged by Raven Armoury, and it can add a lot of character and historical believability to a sword when done well.

But the satin finish Peter is able to achieve on his swords is truly amazing in person. I've never seen its equal. And all this is without even considering the mirror polish finish, which I have yet to see. Hopefully Ed will post some pics of his Anduril, which if memory serves, has the mirror finish.

So the dilemma continues as to which finish to once-and-for-all settle on. And the decision for Strider's sword would be one I'd like to carry forward with the other swords in the collection, if I am fortunate enough to continue with them. At some point I guess you just bite the bullet and go with whatever feels right. But talking it through and hearing other opinions certainly helps, so thank you to all of you for that!

[quote=""Moonglum83""]

Another perspective is that the weathering is part of Weta's "craft". Peter Lyon himself does the aging on the swords, and it does take considerable skill to do this properly. I've seen some blades that were properly aged by Raven Armoury, and it can add a lot of character and historical believability to a sword when done well.

[/quote]


It also takes great carpentry skill to shape a wooden sword for practice but it's still not a real sword

[quote=""Sedhal""]Then why buy props from Peter Jackson's LOTR?
[/quote]

You got me there! I don't necessarily dislike PJ's LotR, just I'm more of a book nut. LotR is the whole thing that got me into blade collecting. As you say, its a personal preference.

[quote=""Sedhal""]It also takes great carpentry skill to shape a wooden sword for practice but it's still not a real sword [/quote]

LOL. True enough Sedhal.

What I was really getting at is that Weta makes some of the finest props for the film industry today imo. As much as the hero swords are in fact real swords, they are also props intended to have a sense of age and history to them. So they are both props and real swords at the same time. Looking at these swords from that perspective, it makes me wonder about having Weta bring all of their skills to bear on these recreations.

The question seems to be coming into clearer focus: Do I want a full and accurate recreation of the Weta hero swords from the films, or do I want swords that are focused specifically on the sword smithing qualities? Do I want Weta recreations, or Peter Lyon swords. Truth is they are both pretty awesome.

Based on other replies in this thread, it also seems to be a question between "story focus" versus what you might call "sword purist". A story focus would seek to maintain the link of history and believeability that these swords are THE swords from the stories. A sword purist focus would seek to accentuate the qualities of Peter's awesome craft.

Clearly I'm split between these camps, and so can't make up my own mind. Since this boils down to taste and personal opinion, I will eventually have to decide. This discussion has certainly made the question clearer, but a final answer on my own preference continues to elude me.

Still hope to hear more opinions if anyone else cares to share a preference and their underlying reasons behind it.

Well that's certainly the best argument so far for the weathering I've read here.

Moon- thank you for saying what I was thinking!

Definitely plucked the words from my mind there, Moon.

I'd like to think that with Tolkien making a point about the magical qualities of the elven swords such as glowing blue when orcs are drawing near, that all elven magical qualities include a tarnish, break, and chip resistance (beyond that of other races).
Therefore Sting, Glamdring, and Anduril would remain closer to pristine; while Striders sword would not have these qualities, in the case of the price (as I said b4) satin finish is the way to go.
So since Anduril only sees battle at the end, it would be "very young" in its newness, therefore a mirror polish makes sense to me.

Well Anduril wasn't made by the elves only reforged, so I don't know if it would have the same qualities as say Glamdring would.

[quote=""Fingolfin""]Well Anduril wasn't made by the elves only reforged, so I don't know if it would have the same qualities as say Glamdring would.[/quote]
Reforged yes, and more than likely put through the same magical processes they would apply to any sword they make. Do you really believe that Elrond would give his son-in-law to be with anything less.
But that doesn't really matter when you realize it would be renewed and the blade would show that.

Lest we also forget the fear instilled in the Enemy by the blade.

True, true.

There was a doom upon on the blade, right?

I'm thinking along the lines of the Doom foretold about the Witch King? It was worded peculiarly enough that he must've believed that he'd never be defeated.

No the prophecy about the WK was made by Glorifindel after the Battle of Fornost.

The Tengwar Runes on Anduril's blade read:

"I am Anduril who was Narsil, the sword of Elendil. Let the thralls of Mordor flee me."

Right, right but I mean... wasn't there a doom upon Anduril/Narsil? (similar to a foretold Doom about the Witch King) Not that the sword would be involved in the downfall of the Witch King... I'm just talking about "Dooms"

Oh, I see what you mean...I'm not sure.

I don't know if the inscription on the blade is actually from the books, I believe that was entirely created for the movie. The description of Anduril in the books just reads that there were runes upon it.

Exactly! "There were runes upon it..." from the text... I knew that the film design was incorrect (or made to fit the story).

I thought I had read somewhere there was a doom written on the blade. I am probably wrong about that.

Ask Val, I'm sure he'd know.

No 'doom' upon Anduril that I can recall. In the grand scheme of things, it was a relatively new blade. The original blade, Narsil, was forged by Telchar in Nogrod. No 'doom' was on that blade that I can recall either, unless you count that it was fated to be destroyed by Sauron and cost Elendil his life.

Perhaps you are confusing Anduril with Mormegil? Mormegil was not a sword, though it does mean Black Sword. It was a name given to Turin Turambar, who wielded the black blade Gurthang, a sword that was cursed and definitely had a doom upon it.

[quote=""Valkrist""]No 'doom' upon Anduril that I can recall. In the grand scheme of things, it was a relatively new blade. The original blade, Narsil, was forged by Telchar in Nogrod. No 'doom' was on that blade that I can recall either, unless you count that it was fated to be destroyed by Sauron and cost Elendil his life.

Perhaps you are confusing Anduril with Mormegil? Mormegil was not a sword, though it does mean Black Sword. It was a name given to Turin Turambar, who wielded the black blade Gurthang, a sword that was cursed and definitely had a doom upon it.[/quote]
Sauron broke Narsil in the film but Elendil fell on it in the book as I recall.
Anyway, I'm still for Anduril having a mirror polish after it's reforged (it's for a King after all).

If I had 40K it would be Anduril with mirror polish and sharp edge, meet up with ed in NZ to collect it, pay for Strider's sword with satin finish, and put a deposit on Glamdring and Sting, stick around to hound Peter Lyon to get them done while I do dishes and take out the garbage for Weta to keep myself alive while I wait, .

[quote=""Thranduil""]Sauron broke Narsil in the film but Elendil fell on it in the book as I recall.[/quote]

Yes, but ultimately is Sauron not the cause of Narsil's destruction in either case? Semantics, my friend, semantics!

Personally, the only ME blades that I'd want aged and weathered as per the movies would be the Mordor blades - the WK and Ringwraith swords. Rust those babies up and knock a few chunks out of the blade edges - superb!

[quote=""MorgulMike""]Personally, the only ME blades that I'd want aged and weathered as per the movies would be the Mordor blades - the WK and Ringwraith swords. Rust those babies up and knock a few chunks out of the blade edges - superb! [/quote]

Oh goodness, even though you're advocating weathering for them, now I have a mental picture of all the Ringwraiths' swords in pristine condition!

What have you done, MorgulMike?!

Well, even those blades were newly forged at some point, right?

[quote=""Valkrist""]Well, even those blades were newly forged at some point, right? [/quote]

Having followed this thread from the beginning, I had to laugh at this post. A bit of comic sarcasm from the aged/weathered camp perhaps? A shiny new ringwraith sword is indeed hard to imagine.

It is interesting how some ideas/opinions only hold true for certain blades. It is distinguishing which blades require which finish that is so difficult. Do you make the decision on each one individually, or apply an overarching decision to the entire collection? Again no right or wrong answer. Just a wide array of opinions and personal preferences.

Obviously United Cutlery has been inconsistent on this topic too...

First, most of the original good-guy swords were not weathered, including Strider's sword. But there is some aged effect on the Shards of Narsil. And the bad-guy weapons did have an aged look applied to them.

Next, they produced the museum collection Sting and Glamdring which had some aging (dings/dents in the hilts and pommels).

Now, under the new UC, we get the Samwise sword in multiple versions, which was really an entirely different approach altogether. An MC version with a totally different type of aging applied, as well as a standard non-weathered version.

Pehaps the only solution is to buy both a weathered and non-weathered version of Strider's sword from Weta. Come to think of it, I believe there is still one sword left available. That would be the end of my marriage for sure, not to mention total financial ruin (which I am flirting with already).

[quote=""Valkrist""]Well, even those blades were newly forged at some point, right? [/quote]

This completely off topic.. but Val... you changed your pic.. you went from "Khhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaann!!!! " to "How you doing? "

[quote=""Jamanticus""]Oh goodness, even though you're advocating weathering for them, now I have a mental picture of all the Ringwraiths' swords in pristine condition!

What have you done, MorgulMike?! [/quote]

Pristine? Perish the thought!!!

The appearence of those swords in the trilogy just oozed with the evil of the place they were forged in and the beings they were wielded by. No need to take care of them, just hack up a few people then go on about the business of finding the Ring!

This is a good thread.

[quote=""Valkrist""]Well, even those blades were newly forged at some point, right? [/quote]

Hmmmmmm...but they would still be pitted, and nasty like the newly forged Uruk Hai Scimitars. No? It's hard to smitty pure evil!

[quote=""Moonglum83""]
Now, under the new UC, we get the Samwise sword in multiple versions, which was really an entirely different approach altogether. An MC version with a totally different type of aging applied, as well as a standard non-weathered version.

Pehaps the only solution is to buy both a weathered and non-weathered version of Strider's sword from Weta. Come to think of it, I believe there is still one sword left available. That would be the end of my marriage for sure, not to mention total financial ruin (which I am flirting with already).[/quote]

The non-MC Samwise sword still confuses me. I've asked this in another thread, and I will here as well...why?

Also, don't flirt with financial ruin too much, your wife may get jealous.

[quote=""BladeCollector""]This completely off topic.. but Val... you changed your pic.. you went from "Khhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaann!!!! " to "How you doing? "[/quote]

Very handsome, indeed.

[quote=""MorgulMike""]Pristine? Perish the thought!!!

The appearence of those swords in the trilogy just oozed with the evil of the place they were forged in and the beings they were wielded by. No need to take care of them, just hack up a few people then go on about the business of finding the Ring![/quote]

Strider couldn't even touch the Morgul Blade's handle with out the blade turning to dust. Seriously evil.

[quote=""Valkrist""]

Perhaps you are confusing Anduril with Mormegil? Mormegil was not a sword, though it does mean Black Sword. It was a name given to Turin Turambar, who wielded the black blade Gurthang, a sword that was cursed and definitely had a doom upon it.[/quote]

Yes! The sword that spoke. What an interesting blade.

[quote=""MorgulMike""] Pristine? Perish the thought!!!

The appearence of those swords in the trilogy just oozed with the evil of the place they were forged in and the beings they were wielded by. No need to take care of them, just hack up a few people then go on about the business of finding the Ring![/quote]

Perished

Agree with you completely! I loved the look of the Ringwraith swords in the films. First was just their design. I mean, all of them have a very practical, even somewhat regal look, with a few small details evilified, like the metal thorns coming out of the guards on the lesser Ringwraiths' swords, or the spikes coming off the pommel of the Witch-king's. And then their finish... Like you said, not just rusted, not just really badly cared for, but absolutely ruined blades with notches and chunks hacked out of the edge.

Just by looking at one of those props, just one Ringwraith's sword, you immediately have a really good idea of the level of the wickedness of them. And you get a nice amount of insight to the physical effects of evil in the film: evil corrupts, eats away at things, even physical objects, and generally ruins them.

That's the power that really great props have, I think- they tell you a great little story on their own, and they enhance the e xp erience for both the actors and audience.

My Strider's sword and scabbard are tentatively scheduled to be completed by April 30th. This could slip another week. I wasn't e xp ecting it so quickly, and actually would have liked more time to fund this purchase.

The next sword in the collection will likely become available for order soon after all the Strider swords are completed. My guess is early June.

I will also make a guess that Glamdring will be next in line, and Sting will finish out the initial 4 sword collection sometime later in 2010. No concrete information yet from Weta if the collection will extend beyond these 4 swords.

If anyone else is seriously considering Glamdring, you may want to be prepared to make your decision quickly in the June timeframe. Weta requires a $1k deposit on the swords, and another $1k deposit on the optional scabbard/belt sets. Remaining balance is then due at completion.

Cheers.

Wow, I wasn't e xp ecting a new one so quick! When did they first come out with Anduril?

If they do make others, which ones do you guys think they'll go with? I'd venture a guess for Hadhafang, maybe Boromir's sword. I don't think they'll extend much beyond that though...

I've gone for a mirror polish for striders sword because if i want it aged then all i have to do is use it in a forest for a couple of years.

This particular blade i want in pristine gleaming condition.

Ships next week...wooohoooo!!!!

Oh..and wear is ed209? i want to here about is epic adventure to middle earth and see those pictures!

[quote=""Night Rider""]I've gone for a mirror polish for striders sword because if i want it aged then all i have to do is use it in a forest for a couple of years.

This particular blade i want in pristine gleaming condition.

Ships next week...wooohoooo!!!!

Oh..and wear is ed209? i want to here about is epic adventure to middle earth and see those pictures![/quote]
Yeah, you and everybody else! Damn curator takes an epic trip to buy a sharpened Anduril, declares it to be the greatest sword in the world and somehow gets the idea he's a king? Can't imagine what could cause that .
It better be an EPIC novel! . Full of adventure !!!! And wild nights .

Have patience!

just another ferry tale,being spookinig.
there is no ,ultimate anduril sword.
and it might be, never made.

god luck to whom ,who whis to go search ,for somthing ,whit is not there.

[quote=""Night Rider""]Oh..and wear is ed209? i want to here about is epic adventure to middle earth and see those pictures![/quote]

Alive and kicking, thanks for asking.

Congratulations on triple #01 win!

They say that a report is a dish best served cold.

How's this for a little sneak preview?



Cheers everyone!

More more more!

lol... welcome back, Ed, and nice touch with the WETA t-shirt.

Weta hat, Weta shirt, Weta Sword...I think Ed's turning into a New Zealander!

I wonder if the guy on the rocks above him pretending to be Gollum is also a kiwi...

Sneaky little Spaniards...they stole it from us. Give it to us!