# What weapons do you own?



## Spirit of Fire (Jul 3, 2020)

What Middle-earth weapons to you own? Either private or renditions from the movie? I own the prop of Anduril, with scabbard, but looking to get Aeglos and one of Gimli's axes. Maybe Celeborn's knife too.


----------



## Squint-eyed Southerner (Jul 4, 2020)

None. I did want a Sting, ever since first reading The Hobbit, decades ago, but the "official" products seemed way overpriced to me, for what they are. 

There are "unofficial" ones that are actually better quality, _as weapons, _produced by such companies as Museum Replicas, using tempered steel. At least they can be sharpened. 


Oh wait -- I take it back; I do have a plastic Sting, picked up at a dollar store. It even features "authentic sound effects"! 😁


----------



## Halasían (Jul 4, 2020)

Squint-eyed Southerner said:


> I do have a plastic Sting, picked up at a dollar store. It even features "authentic sound effects"! 😁


I saw a plastic Sting in a store that had blue LEDs in it. Some kid said it was a 'funny looking light sabre'.


----------



## Squint-eyed Southerner (Jul 4, 2020)

Oh yeah, I've seen those too. Mine's a "budget" version -- no orc-detector.


----------



## CirdanLinweilin (Jul 4, 2020)

Spirit of Fire said:


> What Middle-earth weapons to you own? Either private or renditions from the movie? I own the prop of Anduril, with scabbard, but looking to get Aeglos and one of Gimli's axes. Maybe Celeborn's knife too.


I have Sting and its scabbard and a knockoff of Aragorn's dagger, and I bought Anduril still yet to get here.



CL


----------



## Hisoka Morrow (Jul 4, 2020)

Saruman's C4?XD😈😈😈


----------



## Barliman (Dec 19, 2021)

I have a Woodman's Pal which sort of reminds me of an Orc weapon.
I didn't buy it because of that though. I got it at a flea market a few years ago for $15, but I've been wanting one since I first saw them in the Last Whole Earth Catalog.


----------



## Squint-eyed Southerner (Dec 19, 2021)

Like this?

The movie versions, maybe, but most ocs in the books used scimitar-like swords, except for Saruman's Uruk-hai, who carried short, straight swords, similar to the Roman gladius.


----------



## 1stvermont (Dec 19, 2021)

I have almost bought bilboes pipe many times.


----------



## Squint-eyed Southerner (Dec 19, 2021)

I suppose you could use that to blow smoke at orcs. 😁


----------



## Barliman (Dec 30, 2021)

Squint-eyed Southerner said:


> Like this?
> 
> The movie versions, maybe, but most ocs in the books used scimitar-like swords, except for Saruman's Uruk-hai, who carried short, straight swords, similar to the Roman gladius.


Should have been more clear. Reminds me in its wicked appearance as a weapon.


----------



## Will Whitfoot (Feb 23, 2022)

I have a couple of OLD Japanese swords that my dad brought back from the Pacific after WWII. I have seen them and have been permitted to handle them since I was a child. They are SO incredibly awesome that no prop-replicas could ever come close. The feel, the balance, the sharpness is amazing. It is these curved katana style single-edged blades that have always screamed "Elvish" to me since I first read LOTR (circa 1969-70). The straight double-edged blades depicted as Elvish in the films seem "mannish" to my eye. No better steel or blades have ever been made, to this day, than the best of the old Japanese blades, and no form of swordsmanship has ever been developed that is as elaborate and fine-tuned as the swordsmanship of medieval Japan. That is why I associate them with the Elvish, who simply by their age and longevity will have developed their smithing and swordsmanship arts far beyond those of short-lived mortals.


----------



## Squint-eyed Southerner (Feb 23, 2022)

I'll share a little story with you:

Years ago, a friend told me of something odd he witnessed at one of the biggest of the US militaria shows He happened to notice a pair of well-dressed Japanese men, one carrying a briefcase, the other a large book,quietly moving from table to table. He started unobtrusively following them, trying to figure out what they were doing.

Whenever they came across a "samurai sword", they would examine it very carefully. The book might be consulted, and occasionally the briefcase opened, revealing stacks of hundred dollar bills, which would be counted out and handed over. No haggling involved. 

During WWII, the Japanese military equipped officers with inexpensive stamped katanas, but as many of these officers were from Samurai families, they might well be entrusted by them with a precious heirloom-- the ancestor's katana. Needless to say, many never returned. These two guys were buying the "war souvenirs" in the US, and selling them back to the families-- no doubt for a hefty profit.

This is just to say you may be sitting on a goldmine, at the very least.


----------



## CirdanLinweilin (Feb 23, 2022)

Will Whitfoot said:


> I have a couple of OLD Japanese swords that my dad brought back from the Pacific after WWII. I have seen them and have been permitted to handle them since I was a child. They are SO incredibly awesome that no prop-replicas could ever come close. The feel, the balance, the sharpness is amazing. It is these curved katana style single-edged blades that have always screamed "Elvish" to me since I first read LOTR (circa 1969-70). The straight double-edged blades depicted as Elvish in the films seem "mannish" to my eye. No better steel or blades have ever been made, to this day, than the best of the old Japanese blades, and no form of swordsmanship has ever been developed that is as elaborate and fine-tuned as the swordsmanship of medieval Japan. That is why I associate them with the Elvish, who simply by their age and longevity will have developed their smithing and swordsmanship arts far beyond those of short-lived mortals.


I mean, European medieval craftsmanship is a tie but I agree!



CirdanLinweilin said:


> I mean, European medieval craftsmanship is a tie but I agree!


I have a replica katana myself!



CirdanLinweilin said:


> I have a replica katana myself!


And a lot more weapons!


----------



## Will Whitfoot (Feb 24, 2022)

Squint-eyed Southerner said:


> During WWII, the Japanese military equipped officers with inexpensive stamped katanas, but as many of these officers were from Samurai families, they might well be entrusted by them with a precious heirloom-- the ancestor's katana. Needless to say, many never returned. These two guys were buying the "war souvenirs" in the US, and selling them back to the families-- no doubt for a hefty profit.
> 
> This is just to say you may be sitting on a goldmine, at the very least.



Very true! In fact, I understand that there are a dozen or so important historical swords that are "missing" from Japan, and the men you describe were probably hoping to stumble onto one of these. The "Orcrist" and "Glamdring" analogues if you will. Swords that were carried by Shoguns or powerful daimyo in documented historical battles etc. Also, older swords are far more highly valued in Japan than they are here. But there were also many thousands of lesser blades that have disappeared. In this case, I have had them examined professionally, and they are medium grade, not in top condition, and neither famous nor considered "important". Actually the collection my father amassed is more focused on the sword 'furniture", especially the tsuba (guards) which achieved a very high degree of craftsmanship, as they were the most visible part of the Samurai attire. 

The story my dad told about the acquisition of these is that, as a member of the occupation forces in Japan 1945-47 he was tasked with assuring that the population followed rules, and also that they were not victimized by organized crime. One rule was the complete disarming of the population... not only firearms but swords and spears and archery equipment as well. Since many families had old swords, these were all required to be turned in, supposedly to be returned "afterwards". Any not turned in voluntarily were subject to confiscation. But the paperwork to identify the original owners was never properly attributed or kept with the swords. They were simply thrown into a heap in a storeroom. It was not a priority for the occupational government... they had much larger problems to face, such as the potential of a looming famine. 

Now each American soldier had exactly one steamer trunk that they could bring home with whatever they could fit into it. Some of the guys would go in the storeroom and strip the swords down to the blades, so they could pack more blades into their trunks. My dad started out just picking up the leavings... the guards, handles, scabbards etc. He did get a couple of complete swords, but mostly bits and pieces. They were not acquired in battle. 

As far as the modern Japanese government is concerned, this is all "looted" goods that should have been returned to the families, but since all the paperwork was lost or destroyed, it would require some real sleuthing to ever return these to their original families.


----------

