Lunaman
Sr Member
This began as a post in the 'grail' thread, but my word gushing was growing out of hand as I typed and I decided to splinter my discussion of this precious item off into its own area. :lol I'm new to the RPF, but I've been a collector for a long time, with my interest primarily in swords.
When I first began collecting awesome things, my 'pie-in-the-sky' single desire was to own a real, functional ranger sword like the one Strider wields in the Lord of the Rings films. That was my Excalibur, the artifact that filled me with a childhood sense of wonder and magic. I picked up the officially licensed United Cutlery wallhanger version early on, but it felt dead in my hands and wasn't built to be a useable weapon. It's a good-looking replica, but it wasn't for me.
To clarify what more I desired, here's a quote by my favorite swordsmith, Peter Johnsson, about the fundamental power and fascination associated with a sword.
It took me over a decade, but I got my real ranger sword. Mind you, I didn't end up getting a screen accurate one (though I know they exist). I got something better. At least in my eyes.
In the years since I've started collecting I've learned more and more about swords and developed tastes that went beyond simply replicating the exact sword seen in the film. I wanted a blade profile with slightly more taper and historical influence. I wanted the grip to be deep red instead of green. I wanted a shorter cross guard and a more elaborate hilt shape, but with fewer brass details. I wanted a ranger sword that truly belonged to me, though still one Aragorn would approve of. A sword that was true to its historical predecessors in function, true to the film inspiration in appearance, and true to my own preferences in detail, "a well proportioned, responsive and reliable weapon."
To custom commission something that specific from a trusted smith would cost many thousands of dollars and be worth every penny, but I lucked out tremendously when one of my favorite cutlers teamed up with the most well-respected production sword company in the business to produce something that lined up perfectly with my desires for a much more economical price. I ordered the very first one that was available.
This is a semi custom Borderwatch by Christian Fletcher and Albion Armorers and it's magnificent. Dream achieved. :eek
The blade is 6150 high carbon steel, made by Albion Swords of Wisconsin. Their lead designer, the aforementioned Peter Johnsson, took hands-on documentation of hundreds of authentic medieval swords and combined the features of certain examples into an idealization of the Oakeshott type XVIa longsword form, which was in use around the time of the 100 years war. These measurements were transferred to a CNC computer-controlled milling machine that carved out the blade blank to match the dimensions, mass distribution, and distal taper of authentic medieval swords as directed by Peter's research. The blade was then heat-treated using forges and a molten liquid salt bath, quenched, and given a spring temper and a hard edge from the rearrangement of the molecule structure within the steel. The blade was then refinished and sharpened by hand. Normally, the blade would be then be hilted up to become an Albion Next Generation Crecy, but this finished blade was sent to Christian Fletcher to become my Ithilien Ranger sword. A video showing the process of creating an Albion single-handed sword can be seen HERE.
Christian Fletcher then crafted the crossguard, pommel, and grip ring from mild steel and fitted them to the blade.
The Grip core was carved from poplar and shaped to an elegant taper.
The hilt assembly was peened (riveted together using the end of the tang) and risers and leather wraps were applied to the grip sections, bound by cord while they dried, and then hand-dyed to a deep red.
The hilt was then given a light bluing, and it was sent to me. It's probably my finest possession.
I could not afford one of Christian's custom scabbards at the time I ordered.
I have made do in the meantime with a United Cutlery scabbard that I got for $50 because the sword and byknife were missing. I modified a Generation 2 seax for the byknife and added a belt made by Valiant Armory. Shockingly, the scabbard fits quite well, so I'm no longer in any particular hurry to upgrade the scabbard set up.
Thanks for reading,
--Luna
>>P.S.
A little bonus regarding all the talk about functionality and mass distribution. I don't have any video of my sword moving around, but here's some footage of my friend Mike doing some target cutting with his Albion Crecy, which is built on the same blade as my ranger sword.
VIDEO: CUTTING WITH THE ALBION CRECY
Enjoy. Swords are just the best.
When I first began collecting awesome things, my 'pie-in-the-sky' single desire was to own a real, functional ranger sword like the one Strider wields in the Lord of the Rings films. That was my Excalibur, the artifact that filled me with a childhood sense of wonder and magic. I picked up the officially licensed United Cutlery wallhanger version early on, but it felt dead in my hands and wasn't built to be a useable weapon. It's a good-looking replica, but it wasn't for me.
To clarify what more I desired, here's a quote by my favorite swordsmith, Peter Johnsson, about the fundamental power and fascination associated with a sword.
This is the type of power and respect that the ranger sword represented for me, so a wallhanger simply wouldn't do.
It took me over a decade, but I got my real ranger sword. Mind you, I didn't end up getting a screen accurate one (though I know they exist). I got something better. At least in my eyes.
In the years since I've started collecting I've learned more and more about swords and developed tastes that went beyond simply replicating the exact sword seen in the film. I wanted a blade profile with slightly more taper and historical influence. I wanted the grip to be deep red instead of green. I wanted a shorter cross guard and a more elaborate hilt shape, but with fewer brass details. I wanted a ranger sword that truly belonged to me, though still one Aragorn would approve of. A sword that was true to its historical predecessors in function, true to the film inspiration in appearance, and true to my own preferences in detail, "a well proportioned, responsive and reliable weapon."
To custom commission something that specific from a trusted smith would cost many thousands of dollars and be worth every penny, but I lucked out tremendously when one of my favorite cutlers teamed up with the most well-respected production sword company in the business to produce something that lined up perfectly with my desires for a much more economical price. I ordered the very first one that was available.
This is a semi custom Borderwatch by Christian Fletcher and Albion Armorers and it's magnificent. Dream achieved. :eek
The blade is 6150 high carbon steel, made by Albion Swords of Wisconsin. Their lead designer, the aforementioned Peter Johnsson, took hands-on documentation of hundreds of authentic medieval swords and combined the features of certain examples into an idealization of the Oakeshott type XVIa longsword form, which was in use around the time of the 100 years war. These measurements were transferred to a CNC computer-controlled milling machine that carved out the blade blank to match the dimensions, mass distribution, and distal taper of authentic medieval swords as directed by Peter's research. The blade was then heat-treated using forges and a molten liquid salt bath, quenched, and given a spring temper and a hard edge from the rearrangement of the molecule structure within the steel. The blade was then refinished and sharpened by hand. Normally, the blade would be then be hilted up to become an Albion Next Generation Crecy, but this finished blade was sent to Christian Fletcher to become my Ithilien Ranger sword. A video showing the process of creating an Albion single-handed sword can be seen HERE.
Christian Fletcher then crafted the crossguard, pommel, and grip ring from mild steel and fitted them to the blade.
The Grip core was carved from poplar and shaped to an elegant taper.
The hilt assembly was peened (riveted together using the end of the tang) and risers and leather wraps were applied to the grip sections, bound by cord while they dried, and then hand-dyed to a deep red.
The hilt was then given a light bluing, and it was sent to me. It's probably my finest possession.
I could not afford one of Christian's custom scabbards at the time I ordered.
I have made do in the meantime with a United Cutlery scabbard that I got for $50 because the sword and byknife were missing. I modified a Generation 2 seax for the byknife and added a belt made by Valiant Armory. Shockingly, the scabbard fits quite well, so I'm no longer in any particular hurry to upgrade the scabbard set up.
Thanks for reading,
--Luna
>>P.S.
A little bonus regarding all the talk about functionality and mass distribution. I don't have any video of my sword moving around, but here's some footage of my friend Mike doing some target cutting with his Albion Crecy, which is built on the same blade as my ranger sword.
VIDEO: CUTTING WITH THE ALBION CRECY
Enjoy. Swords are just the best.
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