Forged in Cinematic Fantasy: The Mythical Swords of Battling Blades, Inspired by Epic Movie Sagas
More people have bought their first real sword because of a film than because of a museum. That is not a criticism. A sword on screen is the only place most people ever see one used, and a handful of movie blades have done more for the craft than any book.
This is about those swords: what they actually were, what a hand-forged sword in the same family looks like, and how to end up with one that is yours rather than a copy of someone else's.
The three swords everyone asks about
One trilogy accounts for most of the questions we get. The props were made by Weta Workshop in New Zealand, and three of them became famous enough that people describe them to us without knowing the names.
The king's reforged sword. A long, straight, double-edged blade with a cruciform hilt and a long grip. In sword terms it is a hand-and-a-half sword, sometimes called a bastard sword: usable in one hand from horseback or in two on foot. The film design added elvish script down the blade and a flame motif on the guard, but the shape underneath is the knightly longsword of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
The hobbit's short sword. A leaf-shaped blade, short enough to be a long knife in a taller hand. Leaf blades are among the oldest sword shapes there are; the Greek xiphos and Celtic swords used the same swell toward the tip because it puts weight where a cut needs it.
The wizard's sword. Also leaf-shaped, but at full length, with a sweeping guard. Again an old idea in a film costume: a broad-bladed cutting sword with a long grip.
The film versions are licensed replicas, made and sold under license by other companies. We do not make those and nothing here is one.
What we make instead
What we make are hand-forged, full tang swords in the same families those props were drawn from: the hand-and-a-half longsword, the leaf-bladed short sword, the broad two-handed cutting sword. No character names, no script copied from a prop. Steel and a shape that has been used for six hundred years.
The Longsword with Knife, 44", 1095 Steel, $199.99, is our best-selling sword and the plain answer for anyone who wants the knightly longsword the films dressed up. Full tang, hand-forged, and it ships with a matching knife. The longsword collection has the rest of the family, and the fantasy swords collection holds the pieces that lean further from history.
Making it yours instead of a copy
The thing a film sword cannot be is yours. It is someone else's design, and the best a replica can manage is faithfulness. A custom sword goes the other way.
Customize Your Sword, $199.99, lets you choose the blade profile, steel, guard, grip, pommel and scabbard, and engraving is done in our own Illinois workshop rather than sent out. A line from a book you love on the blade is your business and nobody's trademark. A family name, a date, a motto: those age better than anything borrowed from a screen.
Custom sword builds take three to eight weeks, with expedited two to three weeks on request, and they ship unsharpened unless the sharpening option is selected. Inside that window, buy from stock and have it engraved.
Reenactment, LARP and display
A hand-forged longsword is a real sword. It suits a wall, a stand, or a reenactment group that allows steel, and it does not suit a LARP field, where foam is the rule for good reason. If you are buying for an event, ask the organizers what is permitted before you buy anything with an edge. A Wall Mount Sword Stand, $49.99, is the difference between a sword that is displayed and one that leans in a corner.
For the history behind the shapes the films borrowed, read Falchion to Zweihander: the history behind fantasy swords and the guide to the hand-and-a-half sword.
Battling Blades is not affiliated with, licensed by or endorsed by the Tolkien Estate, Middle-earth Enterprises, Weta Workshop or any film studio. Film and character names appear here only to describe what the props were.
Frequently asked questions
Do you sell replicas of the swords from the films?
No. Licensed film replicas are made and sold by other companies. We make hand-forged swords in the same historical families the film designs were based on.
What type of sword is the long straight one from the films?
A hand-and-a-half sword, also called a bastard sword or longsword: a straight double-edged blade with a grip long enough for two hands. Ours start at $199.99.
Can I have a quote from a book engraved on a blade?
Yes. Engraving and etching are done in our own Illinois workshop, on the blade or the scabbard.
