I have been wanting this replica sword since I first saw it in the movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
I have always wanted a sword, but just never knew how to pick one. My husband got this for me for my birthday, and we couldn’t be happier! It is by United Cutlery. We purchased ours from Amazon (I am not sure which seller — but it was far more affordable there), and yes… we definitely want the scabbard when it’s available! 😉
I hope to make a Thorin costume for my husband, and while we’re not sure if we’ll make a “dummy” sword to strap onto his back or use a replica like this one, it’s just nice to have a few pieces for display. I’m hoping I won’t go overboard with collecting items like I have done in the past, but how could we pass up the chance to get a piece like this!
I have seen a few prop collectors who take and post video and photos of themselves opening the item they purchase. It’s nice for a review, so you know what to expect when you are trying to decide what to buy. It’s also fun! Like I said, I may not buy every item, but they can be really neat — so it’s like you’re there helping them unwrap the package.
We did a small number of photos when we purchased the Key to Erebor, so we started taking some photos as I unwrapped Orcrist.
I had such a hard time deciding which photos to keep and which to get rid of…. plus, I didn’t want the blog entry to be so long. It just made more sense to go ahead and make a page to post them all.
So below are photos from when I unwrapped the sword, and some of the detail photos. I don’t really do reviews, but I hope to include some of my thoughts.
(Note: I am currently having some issues with my blogging software, so unfortunately I am unable to do my usual captions and have to use regular text in front of the images.)
We ordered the sword from Amazon. This is the outer shipping box. It had information on the end, showing what was inside:
Unfortunately, there was some damage to the outer box during shipping. From what I could tell, the inside box did not seem to have as much damage, and as it turned out, the sword was packed safely and also did not seem to have any damage:
Carefully cutting into the outer shipping box. I didn’t want to damage the product box, just in case I wanted to keep it:
It was at this point that it really hit me… “oh boy oh boy, my first sword! Orcrist!!”
The back of the “display” box. This is a fairly long box (almost 42 inches):
Some of the text on the box, about Orcrist:
After sliding the “display” part of the box off, I got to work cutting the inner box open:
The white styrofoam box opened as well, and there was Orcrist. You can see the handle on the left, and under the tip was the certificate of authenticity, with the wall plaque hanger in a box under that:
The resin handle was protected by the styrofoam packing form, the point of the sword had a plastic tip over it, and the entire sword was in plastic:
The blade of the sword had the least protection, probably (only having the plastic sleeve and the cardboard to keep it in place, but the broad sides of the sword — at least on mine — were protected enough even with the rough shipping that occurred. The blade was coated in what I think was a mineral oil. This was a bit sticky, and left the blade cloudy. I polished it with a soft cloth to smooth it back out:
The side of the sword that faces the wall when it is hanging has this brand stamp on it. I don’t think it stands out too badly, thankfully, but here it is:
The sword itself does not have a sharp edge. The tip has a pretty good point on it, as I found out when I accidentally rested the tip on my inner heel later that night:
Finally! I have Orcrist in my hands, free of the plastic and foam… but still needing a good wiping down:
The certificate of authenticity:
And on the back of the certificate, a copy of the map:
The last thing left to open was the box holding the wall hanger:
It was inside plastic, and I almost missed the little bag of hardware in the box, at the very bottom. Make sure you don’t accidentally throw yours away:
The back of the wall hanger. I didn’t take photos of putting on the metal holders or hanging the wall plaque. I figured I had already taken enough photos at that point, and it was dark when we finally did those steps:
And now for some photographs of the sword. Sorry for some of the glare — I laid down some black taffeta, and the sun helped in some of the images, but the full-length images got a bit fuzzy from the light:
I had almost forgotten about this detail. A blinged-out sword! I knew it was perfect for me! 😉
The point of the sword. As I mentioned, it has a very dull edge, but you can see how much of a point the tip has (and I don’t think those are scratches, but they are slight imperfections in the finish, I think):
Now, as far as “damage” — I don’t really see any big scratches or anything that happened due to rough shipping. Right along this raised edge on the blade however, there are some of these little spots. You really can’t see them unless you look closely, and they run along that ridge here and there, on both sides. I consider it to be acceptable imperfections, really, as I know this thing won’t be absolutely perfect:
Edited to add more photos showing the point of the sword…
This is from the underside (what would be the “cutting edge” of a sword). As you can see from my old tape measure, the thickness of the metal is about an eighth of an inch wide (slightly wider from the top edge, tapered slightly less on the underside… such minor thickness differences, I do not have anything better to show the precise measurement). You can see the point of the sword is wide across. There is a slight narrowing as the sword rounds down to the main part of the shaft, and then it gets wide again. This is what many of us are referring to when we say the “cutting edge” of the sword is blunt. The point-tip has a very sharp angle, but the width of that tip is wide and has not been sharpened to a true sword’s cutting edge.
You can see from a side view, however, that they have created a bit of an “angle” to make the sword look nice, so it doesn’t look like a regular cut-out chunk of metal. It has a slight beveled edge to it (forgive me if I don’t know sword terminology to more properly describe this).
This photo is a little hard to see (sorry about that — I was trying to hold both the sword and my iPad in early-morning low light, but there are some better photos coming up), but if you look at the tip, you can see some of the width of the metal up to the point, and some of the shaping to create the illusion of a nice sword-edge.
Here is where I’m hoping it’ll start showing what I’m talking about. The darker shadow is the flat-side of the sword, the medium gray tone is the beveled edge to trick the eye into thinking it has a proper cutting-edge shape, the brilliant shine is the bottom edge. You can also make out that transition I mentioned earlier, where that one section (where it curves between the point to the main shaft) is slightly narrower.
Another view, and you can hopefully see the very very tip of the sword is indeed “blunt.” I hope this helps give a better idea of the edge and tip of the sword. No, it is not a true cutting sword, but it is a hefty one and even with a blunt tip like that you still learn to watch where you put it or swing it. 😉
And finally, here is Orcrist hanging on my wall. I think he looks a little lonely, don’t you? Sting and Glamdring would look nice hanging beside it, I think! 😉
Why yes, I have admired it many times since we put it up. Unfortunately, the felt pads that came in the hardware pouch were of no use. The adhesive came apart from the felt, so we will need to get a few more round felt pads to place at the four points on the back to help stabilize the plaque. I think they also shipped another bigger one you could put on the front of the plaque where the sword sits against it, but for now, I think I will skip doing that. Also, the metal hook-holders have plastic sleeves on them to help cushion the sword. I may need to screw the bottom two down more, but I didn’t want to risk damage, and you want to leave room to easily get the sword in and out:
My husband is built like a 6’4″ dwarf, and has huge bear paw-hands. It was really neat seeing him holding the sword (*swoons*). Oh, and I forgot to mention, the sword is heavy! I can’t remember if they list how much it weighs, but even he is amazed at the size of the sword and how heavy it is.
And speaking of us holding it… I’m about 5’10.5-11″ tall. Here is me holding it (and trying SO hard not to grin like some insane gargoyle, so that’s why I look like I’m struggling to be serious):
And my husband, who was trying to get some work done and was kind enough to help me take a few last photos and pose for some himself (like I said, he is about 6’4″ tall):
