Sword Hangers

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Hey folks,

I've ditched my UC plaques to mount weapons directly on the wall (with a 3/4" board stretching the length of the wall). The idea being to minimize the number of holes I'm punching in the wall and reduce the wall real estate the plaques eat up.

I've dug around Amazon and the like trying to find a good universal hanger that will allow for the standards like Anduril/Glamdring, but I'm also looking to hang the likes of Orcrist and Hadhafang. Anyone have any tips for how they've made the leap away from plaques?

Thanks in advance!

Re: Sword Hangers

2
Finding a universal option is going to be hard as most of them will only cover about 70% of the swords you probably have leaving you with either modifying or coming up with another solution.

I suggest just using the same type of "L" hooks that come with the plaques and adding some clear plastic tubing to protect the hilts and screw them into the board were you want them.
https://www.amazon.com/MTMTOOL-Diameter ... 820&sr=8-4

This doesn't lend itself to being able to rearrange them. I went down this road when designing my weapon wall in my display room. I went with a french cleat system and unique holders for each item. It is a lot of up front work, but also makes it super easy to move them around and add more to the wall.
Image
Here is an example of one for Glamdring. It has magnets to hold it on as well as a metal bracket to keep it on in case the sword gets bumped. I covered the magnets with sticky back felt and heat shrink tube for the metal bracket to protect the sword.
Image
Image

Re: Sword Hangers

3
Damn that's beautiful...

While I'd love to do something like that and would likely be able to skill-wise (not nearly as amazing as yours, but passable... :P), I don't have much up front time. Currently my entire sword collection is resting on the guest bed as my former office is now the kiddo's playroom. And them kiddos eat up time like nobody's business...

I've been struggling to find hooks, so thank you for sending that link along. Most of the "universal" sword displays are right out. They have a weight limit of 3 lbs which most LOTR swords are over. I'll give these a shot.

But I adore the idea of the French cleat. I think it'll be something I'll aspire to eventually. I've got the boards to extend across the length of my small "trophy" room and I'm just going to place the swords where they fit for now. I'm mostly done collecting LOTR swords (Guthwine will likely be my last), and more than a few pieces will need to have their own space with the original plaques. Sauron pieces and axes just won't hang well otherwise.

Re: Sword Hangers

4
GuardianWolf wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:09 am Damn that's beautiful...

While I'd love to do something like that and would likely be able to skill-wise (not nearly as amazing as yours, but passable... :P), I don't have much up front time. Currently my entire sword collection is resting on the guest bed as my former office is now the kiddo's playroom. And them kiddos eat up time like nobody's business...

I've been struggling to find hooks, so thank you for sending that link along. Most of the "universal" sword displays are right out. They have a weight limit of 3 lbs which most LOTR swords are over. I'll give these a shot.

But I adore the idea of the French cleat. I think it'll be something I'll aspire to eventually. I've got the boards to extend across the length of my small "trophy" room and I'm just going to place the swords where they fit for now. I'm mostly done collecting LOTR swords (Guthwine will likely be my last), and more than a few pieces will need to have their own space with the original plaques. Sauron pieces and axes just won't hang well otherwise.
You could do the french cleats and make super simple hangers with the "L" hooks as well as hangers for the plaques. That is what I did for the staves and Sauron's mace. I just wanted my hangers to be extremely minimal and showcase the weapons only.

Re: Sword Hangers

5
Well! Some months later and after much mulling I wanted to come back to say that I took your advice! While they will likely not come as close to being as gorgeous as your setup, I'm giving the French cleat approach a try and I'm happy with the results thus far.
FC.jpg
This is just a prototype of sorts---I intend to take it down and sand/stain all pieces. Given the cost of lumber these days I won't be doing many of these, but luckily my collection is small enough that I shouldn't need too many.
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Re: Sword Hangers

6
GuardianWolf wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:51 am This is just a prototype of sorts---I intend to take it down and sand/stain all pieces. Given the cost of lumber these days I won't be doing many of these, but luckily my collection is small enough that I shouldn't need too many.
Great start! To help make the screws less noticeable, you could use a smaller finish type screw that has a smaller head and you could screw the cleat portion on from the back so you won't see them at all on the individual holders. A little wood glue will also help keep them together as well.

Re: Sword Hangers

7
N2darkness wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 8:44 am
GuardianWolf wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:51 am This is just a prototype of sorts---I intend to take it down and sand/stain all pieces. Given the cost of lumber these days I won't be doing many of these, but luckily my collection is small enough that I shouldn't need too many.
Great start! To help make the screws less noticeable, you could use a smaller finish type screw that has a smaller head and you could screw the cleat portion on from the back so you won't see them at all on the individual holders. A little wood glue will also help keep them together as well.
100% agree. I'm hoping to go to a specialty shop for some decent hardware in the next week or two. Shouldn't be too difficult to swap. I'm thinking of adjusting the holders themselves in a few ways. I'm going to try the screws from the back method but I was too paranoid I'd crack the 45-degree pieces and/or scratch up the walls behind the cleat. Might try to drill out the holes to properly sink the screws in the back to prevent that.

Re: Sword Hangers

8
N2darkness wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 11:49 am Finding a universal option is going to be hard as most of them will only cover about 70% of the swords you probably have leaving you with either modifying or coming up with another solution.

I suggest just using the same type of "L" hooks that come with the plaques and adding some clear plastic tubing to protect the hilts and screw them into the board were you want them.
https://www.amazon.com/MTMTOOL-Diameter ... 820&sr=8-4

This doesn't lend itself to being able to rearrange them. I went down this road when designing my weapon wall in my display room. I went with a french cleat system and unique holders for each item. It is a lot of up front work, but also makes it super easy to move them around and add more to the wall.
Image
Here is an example of one for Glamdring. It has magnets to hold it on as well as a metal bracket to keep it on in case the sword gets bumped. I covered the magnets with sticky back felt and heat shrink tube for the metal bracket to protect the sword.
Image
Image
Wow, this is truly is stunning.

I'm looking to hang my Hadhafang vertically like that again, but I want to be able to mount it on its original plaque. I actually was just about to make my own post here asking for some tips until I saw this thread pop up. I don't suppose you were able to keep Hadhafang on the original plaque when hanging it like that? If not, do you think it'd be possible to?

Re: Sword Hangers

9
Celebrian wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 2:59 pm
Wow, this is truly is stunning.

I'm looking to hang my Hadhafang vertically like that again, but I want to be able to mount it on its original plaque. I actually was just about to make my own post here asking for some tips until I saw this thread pop up. I don't suppose you were able to keep Hadhafang on the original plaque when hanging it like that? If not, do you think it'd be possible to?
As you can see from my photo I didn't use any of the original plaques and made my own hangers.
It could definitely be done, modifying the horizontal stand and making it a wall mount vertical version, but would have to modify the arms or make new ones to hold the sword better as well as add holes to back to mount it to the wall. Almost as must work as making a new one.

Re: Sword Hangers

10
Other than some custom-made Hadhafang wall plaques that I've seen over the years, there was at least one person that I recall doing just what N2 suggested and modified the original table stand to function as a wall plaque. Sadly, that was a long time ago and I wouldn't know where to begin looking for those old photos around here.
This Space for Rent

Re: Sword Hangers

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N2darkness wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 5:01 am
Celebrian wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 2:59 pm
Wow, this is truly is stunning.

I'm looking to hang my Hadhafang vertically like that again, but I want to be able to mount it on its original plaque. I actually was just about to make my own post here asking for some tips until I saw this thread pop up. I don't suppose you were able to keep Hadhafang on the original plaque when hanging it like that? If not, do you think it'd be possible to?
As you can see from my photo I didn't use any of the original plaques and made my own hangers.
It could definitely be done, modifying the horizontal stand and making it a wall mount vertical version, but would have to modify the arms or make new ones to hold the sword better as well as add holes to back to mount it to the wall. Almost as must work as making a new one.
And there's always the risk of ruining the plaque by doing that. A shame because the plaque is stunning and I'd like to display is on my wall with my sword.

My dad's pretty handy and could probably figure out a way. Is there a drill that would be delicate enough to drill into the back of that plaque without completing splitting it? And could I make new hooks/holders that fit the holes in the front of the plaque?
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