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Post by warriorpoet on Apr 23, 2018 4:55:32 GMT
Hello all.
After exhaustive searches on eBay and classifieds I can't find a windlass mercenary or even a UC boromir.
I'm looking at strongblade's deathbringer mercenary sword. I found reviews from 2007 or so. But not much else.
Boromirs sword is a popular design. Surely some must have given this make a try.
Tempered and sharpened of course.
Any feedback on this model?
Any leads on a windlass mercenary if not?
As an aside, I wish more companies would consider functional lotr inspired models. Most were based on quite functional fantasy designs. I think they would sell well, and should be doable under 300 or so.
Windlass use to also do a ranger sword. A neat mock up between aragorns sword with dagger in the scabbard and glamdring.
I own one and it's nice. Got it for 160 or so from realm collections roughly a decade ago.
I miss the cheaper usable fantasy sword options
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christain
Member
It's the steel on the inside that counts.
Posts: 2,835
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Post by christain on Apr 23, 2018 5:35:27 GMT
You might look at modding a Hanwei Mercenary. I think they are in stock at Kult of Athena. Either that, or the H/T bastard or longsword.  |
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Post by tancred on Apr 23, 2018 6:10:55 GMT
I bought a used...Something...off SFI a few years ago. I couldn't tell if it was the Windlass Mercenary or the Strongblade Deathbringer. It had an India mark on it, but not a Windlass one, so I'm thinking it was the Strongblade. From the pictures in the MRL catalog, the two look pretty much the same.
I was in the same boat as you; really wanted a functional Boromir Sword, wouldn't have minded the UC Boromir, but couldn't find it. Jumped at the mystery sword. In any case, whether it was the Strongblade or the Windlass, I was pretty disappointed.
The guard on the actual Boromir Sword is twisted, and has grooves on each end. The guard on my sword was not as ornate. No grooves, and instead of twists, it was simply segmented. Instead of the sort of twig look of the original, the guard reminded me of a grasshopper's mandibles.
No real complaints about the hilt.
The pommel of the original is very wide/broad, and (to me) looks sort of like a vase that then has the top half of an orb in it/on top of it. Also has an incision similar to those on the guard. My sword's pommel was not as broad, no incisions, and was very smooth. Whereas the original looked almost like a two-piece, mine was definitely only one.
The blade was terribly heavy. Trying to use that sword for simple practice was not fun at all. Very labor-some. Finally, the blade shape was not the same; Boromir's is a nice Type XIV, whereas mine was not quite that.
That's my long way of saying that I'd be wary of either the Strongblade. As I said earlier, I really think mine was the Strongblade, but can't be certain. I was so disappointed in the sword, I gave it away to a friend. Even though its a wall-hanger, there's nothing like the original, licensed sword. I'd keep looking for that one. Best wishes in finding one!
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Post by warriorpoet on Apr 25, 2018 23:45:32 GMT
Thanks everyone. I'd love to support a smaller company and I like the design, but it'll does appear the grind geometry and furniture are quite different.
If anyone has more photos or owns one that can chime in please let me know. I'm leaning towards looking for a windlass mercenary.
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Post by celegon on Apr 26, 2018 0:32:05 GMT
I love those merc swords, but I was always wondering if the thin brass guard would hold up or not, kinda scared me off
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Post by warriorpoet on Apr 26, 2018 20:16:49 GMT
I hear you. I'm half tempted to drop the one fiddy or so and take the plunge for sbgs interested parties.
Tempered sharpened mercenary deathbringer sword, 2018 style.
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Post by demonskull on May 9, 2018 1:44:28 GMT
I bought a used...Something...off SFI a few years ago. I couldn't tell if it was the Windlass Mercenary or the Strongblade Deathbringer. It had an India mark on it, but not a Windlass one, so I'm thinking it was the Strongblade. From the pictures in the MRL catalog, the two look pretty much the same. I was in the same boat as you; really wanted a functional Boromir Sword, wouldn't have minded the UC Boromir, but couldn't find it. Jumped at the mystery sword. In any case, whether it was the Strongblade or the Windlass, I was pretty disappointed. The guard on the actual Boromir Sword is twisted, and has grooves on each end. The guard on my sword was not as ornate. No grooves, and instead of twists, it was simply segmented. Instead of the sort of twig look of the original, the guard reminded me of a grasshopper's mandibles. No real complaints about the hilt. The pommel of the original is very wide/broad, and (to me) looks sort of like a vase that then has the top half of an orb in it/on top of it. Also has an incision similar to those on the guard. My sword's pommel was not as broad, no incisions, and was very smooth. Whereas the original looked almost like a two-piece, mine was definitely only one. The blade was terribly heavy. Trying to use that sword for simple practice was not fun at all. Very labor-some. Finally, the blade shape was not the same; Boromir's is a nice Type XIV, whereas mine was not quite that. That's my long way of saying that I'd be wary of either the Strongblade. As I said earlier, I really think mine was the Strongblade, but can't be certain. I was so disappointed in the sword, I gave it away to a friend. Even though its a wall-hanger, there's nothing like the original, licensed sword. I'd keep looking for that one. Best wishes in finding one! The attached is a pic of the Windlass Mercenary: i.imgur.com/kn0AAau.jpg This was bought on the second hand market, This particular sword has been through the wringer, one of the quillions had been bent. This was most likely due to the sword standing up point down, falling over, hitting the floor on that quillion and bending it. Knowing that trying to bend it back would result it in snapping off, I simply dropped it on the other quillion from a lower level, several times until it approximated the other side. The blade has a decent amount of rust on it and I've spent several hours getting it to look as good as it does now. |
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Post by tancred on May 9, 2018 5:33:08 GMT
Demonskull, I'd say the sword you have and the one I had at one time were extremely similar. Almost identical, but the India mark on mine was slightly different, and it didn't have the dark horse head mark on it, either.
For me, the sword wasn't bad in and of itself. It was just a huge step down comparison wise with the original from the movie. Its only too bad there isn't a licensed replica that's also more than a wall-hanger. So, I'm in the same spot as I was before--looking for the licensed wall-hanger that isn't terribly high priced.
I do hope you enjoy your sword, and can get it back to looking like you'd want it to. Thanks for sharing!
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