Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Those who have been around long enough will have seen that I have a prediliction to the use of Narsil iconography. While mentally fleshing out my own take on a late third age ranger, I've borrowed from medieval devotions to particular saints and relics.

Apart from putting broken swords on everything, I am trying to figure out how to incorporate this devotion to into specialized gear. What I have in mind is specialzations among the Dunedain, of which Halbarad's Grey Company is just one, the silver star brouch being their particular symbol. The Company of the Sword, is another.

Has anyone gone in a similar direction themselves?




Perty leaf-blade Narsil pics by John Howe - isn't the Sauron's finger notch melted into the blade a cool detail?

I like the concept. For people to willingly stay in the wilderness and guard those who more often than not treated them as vagrants or scoundrels, a deep, abiding faith in their mission and purpose would have to be there, and symbols certainly help people remind themselves of such devotion.

The survivors of the Fall of Fornost could have easily fled as refugees to Gondor, or even dispersed and assimilated into other local populations, but instead they clung to a common ideal and endured great hardship and a kind of permanent exile for the greater good.

I use the six pointed star with the addition of small four pointed starts between each of the arms, as well as an uprooted fir tree for the Northern Rangers here. Mostly the star since it is a lot easier to deal with than the fir tree.

Defense of the land and people, regardless of their attitudes, is the highest virtue. If simple people are left in peace, then simple they will be. There is a great value in letting people live in peace even if it costs you to have it that way. This trait is lauded in all sorts of ballads and books, and not just from Tolkien either. It is also, in Tolkien, a knowledge and gesture of ongoing respect to the Valar and Eldar, I think. The Valar made Numenor for them, the Eldar taught them and worked with them (their ancestors) and this long friendship and love is not forgotten by the Dunedain. Fitting.

Eledhwen

Its a cool idea.

Ok, the idea is still rattling about, did a little historical chart. Dates are probably wrong.... ANto make sure this is explicit, none of this is canon.

I like it! The blade designs remind me a little of something that Eric and I have been discussing. To add a little to the discussion, this blademaker has some Ranger knives that feel similar to your later designs. http://gullinbursti.cz/index.php?lang=e ... etail&id=7

Ken

Wow! I love what you did with that! I am buying into the whole idea of the Cult of Narsil and how we then as Northern Rangers might have the seaxes we do!
When I read this I stopped everything I was doing and took an 18" CS seax and cut the outline! Lake Evendim was my old stomping grounds Hee hee!

Well isn't THAT just lovely!

Greg wrote:Well isn't THAT just lovely!

What?!? That I stole your sword as my type for Narsil? It's an awesome sword.

caedmon wrote:

Greg wrote:Well isn't THAT just lovely!

What?!? That I stole your sword as my type for Narsil? It's an awesome sword.

Er...I'm sorry, Greg did I go over the top? I do get jolted into infectious enthusiasm at times. (And you know I am a sucker for a CS seax project.)

Not a fan of the seax myself, preferring my elven hunting knife.

That said, excellent work there. Definitely.

Eledhwen

caedmon wrote:

Greg wrote:Well isn't THAT just lovely!

What?!? That I stole your sword as my type for Narsil? It's an awesome sword.

I agree, and it really is pretty close to perfect for what we do...but it may be retired in the near future as my carry blade on account of a few key factors:

Mine was a part of the first run of Bristols before they had all of their issues with the chinese forges worked out, and as such, my blade is noticeably warped if you look at it edge-on.
The grip and pommel don't stay super-tight anymore, no matter how tight you crank down on it, because the handle has compressed a bit over the years. So they wiggle a bit.

...and, of course, because I've been caught by the custom bug. The images Manveruon posted of Yeshua's work on his blade project inspired me. I'm getting some fittings for a bare blade of mine made this fall, but in the meantime, that bare blade is being transformed from a longsword into a (short) arming sword blade by a friend on these boards, to be a quicker, [straighter], and more compact sword specifically for ranger purposes. I'll still carry the Bristol when I want to look like Aragorn, since I think it fits that character well, but as a nameless ranger, which I most often portray, I want a fully custom, unique-to-me sword that just bleeds middle earth...without looking like something out of the mad dwarf workshop. Loved their stuff...but I think it was just a tad too fantasy-filled for my kit.

Glad you like it, though! Bristols are popping up all the time on sword forums, and they're fairly cheap brand new still, too...I'd never discourage anyone from buying one. Mine's just been heavily used for six years or so, mostly in the woods. *counts fingers* Yeah...right about that long. Have a blade spend a few nights in solid downpours, slide down gravelly hillsides practically riding on the hilt, and things just don't fit together like they did from the factory.

I'm glad I could aid in your addiction, Greg, haha. I'm also a huge fan of the design of the Bristol. I'd love to get my hands on one someday, if it was priced right and I had some extra green lying around (however unlikely that might be). I had to scrape and save for a loooooong time to commission the one Ernie is making for me now though, so that might not be for a while, heh.

As for the whole "Cult of Narsil" idea, I think it's brilliant. The idea that the Rangers of the North may have purposely designed weaponry to resemble a broken Narsil, as a sort of homage to that famous blade, is an incredibly cool one to me. It's something that does seem to make sense, culturally, and it would be very in line with Tolkien's mythology to sort of "ret-con" that as an explanation for the evolution of the "broken back" style of seax. Personally, I'd love to see a few of these actually produced.

got the blank cut out of an 18" cs seax but it was just a little too easy...I think Brother Jack drew the last one with this particular prototype in mind!

Ringulf wrote:got the blank cut out of an 18" cs seax but it was just a little too easy...I think Brother Jack drew the last one with this particular prototype in mind!

Close, I based it on my own CS Seax... But I like the way it looks so much that I'm considering getting a bladesmith to realize it for me as something more than a shete.