Lord of The Rings Swords ReviewedAlso includes reviews of the "unofficial" fully functional kick ass replicas by Generation 2!!!
The Official Lord of The Rings Swords were produced by United Cutlery - and much as a generally disdain stainless steel ornamental swords, I have to admit - I had a soft spot for these beautiful replicas… Maybe it’s because I am an avid fan of the books, the movies and anything Tolkien that made be biased towards these swords. Or maybe it’s because, despite the fact that these swords are just ornaments, there was something quite “magical” about these replicas... Naturally, since the Trilogy was released so long ago, interest in all things LoTR have faded. And unfortunately because of this, the Official United Cutlery swords have since been discontinued (though there are still tons of reasonably decent looking 'pirate' copies made in Pakistan and China floating around to be had on ebay!). But it's not all bad news for lovers of Lord of the Rings Swords...
In the wake of the wave of mass interest in all things LoTR, only the true hardcore fans remain. And for them, there are some real treasures washed up on an otherwise barren shore... I am talking of course about the re-release of two extremely popular fully functional and extremely strong replicas designed by my friend and fellow Tolkien fan Jason at Arms of Valor, based more on the books than the movies...
Brought to life by the talented team at Generation 2, the two swords that are the direct result of this collaboration are both beautiful and extremely tough to boot. In short, they would shatter the stainless steel movie replicas into shards with a single blow!
It is also the official sword chosen by Lord of the Rings Fansite http://www.warofthering.net Conceived by AoV and put to canvas by Tania Diotalevi Hodges (of which you get a free signed 8" x 11" Collectors Print with each sword - pictured above!) the latest revised edition has a lighter, more flexible full tempered spring steel blade and an almost mirrored polish though loses almost none of its incredible strength and resilience (the tang is even peened in the historical manner for even more durability). You can see a video of just how durable this blade is at Jason cuts through a massive fallen tree branch with two powerful blows...
The second is the Ranger Sword also known as the Generation 2 Pro-sword (pictured right).A very practical yet graceful looking sword it is based on (surprisingly enough) the Rangers, the woodland defenders of Tolkien’s dark forests.. At $279 for the High Elven King Sword and $259 for the Ranger Sword, these replicas are no more expensive than the official replicas were (actually, they are cheaper!) - but boy, they sure are a whole different ball game. While the Official versions were nice for display, these swords are sturdy enough to be used for some very serious heavy duty backyard cutting - and both with razor sharp edges, are certainly NOT for any kind of re-enactments! Not only do these swords look the part - they ARE the part!
To really get an idea of how tough these swords really are, check out the review submitted by SBG visitor Daniel Rabenstein from California of the discontinued 'Halfling Sword'. Now times the strength and cutting power by a factor of 3 and you'll have just some idea of exactly what these Lord of the Rings swords can do...!
Generation 2's Halfling Sword
My love for the books and movies had me spending the $193 for it without much thought. There is an exact replica offered by United Cutlery however it is only a wall hanger and thus eliminated from my thought process altogether. The sword came tightly wrapped in plastic and newspaper and was covered by messy renaissance wax. Once cleaned off I noticed just how beautiful the overall appearance is and how everything is fitted very tight as you should expect from all Generation 2 swords. The leaf shaped blade is very sharp and polished fairly well leaving consistent grind marks from its original shaping. The guard is unique in shape and bares the stamp marks from Gen 2, G2 on one side and HS045 on the other.
This lord of the rings swords handle is made of solid Madagascar ebony hardwood and appears to be stained as there are a few areas showing a lighter color underneath.The pommel is polished to match with a few shaping marks still showing but most important is the slightly visible mark where the tang has been peened into it for added strength. The scabbard is constructed of wood covered in leather with steel accents making it a very attractive addition to the sword. "The design of the accents really do give it an Elvish look..." The scabbard is included in the price of the sword unlike United Cutleries Lord of the Rings swords. At first the sword fit almost too tight in the scabbard but as time progressed it wore in nicely and has a perfect snug fit now.
Putting Generation 2's Lord of the Rings Swords to the Test To be honest I knew this was a well constructed sword however I didn’t know just what to expect from this little thing.
I decided to get right down to business and see if it could split some fresh wood.
This is where the size and weight was a disadvantage, the blade stopped in this piece about 3 ˝ inches in. Several more attempts yielded the same result however it had no problem with smaller pieces. Now it was time to move onto the jug of water which I knew at this point stood no chance... "The blade passed through it like a hot knife cuts butter and I felt no resistance what so ever..." Overall this small sword performed beautifully and exceeded my expectations for performance and durability. I recommend this sword to anyone who is looking for a fully functional Sting as apposed to the very beautiful sword like objects offered by United Cutlery's Lord of the Rings swords.
I hope this information on Lord of The Rings Swords has been helpful. To Return to the Movie Replica Swords Guide from Lord of the Rings Swords Reviews, click here.
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The first of this dynamic duo is the visually striking 
This short sword is Gen 2’s version of Sting, the Elvish sword found by Bilbo Baggins in J.R.R. Tolken’s “The Hobbit” and then carried by Frodo Baggins in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
To my surprise it had no problem splitting these smaller pieces so I decided to go for a larger piece.
