Review: Darksword Armory LoTR Boromir Sword

Review: Darksword Armory LoTR Boromir Sword

Introduction

Why did I buy the DSA Boromir sword?

Because, for a time, I was Boromir.

Yes, that’s right. I am not having a schizophrenic episode or delusions of grandeur. There is a bit of history here that came to a culmination in 2005. During that year, I was chosen to be the official Boromir model by New Line Cinema/Museum Replicas when they introduced the short-lived Boromir clothing line inspired by the LoTR films:



I have had a long time connection with the tragic hero from The Fellowship of the Ring. When I read the novel at 12 years old, his death was the first time I had cried reading a novel. Many of my friends felt that Boromir was merely wanted to take the Ring for himself. I saw it differently – focusing on these points:

All humans are fallible. Boromir’s weakness was not his own desire for the Ring, but his want to use the Ring to defend his homeland against the overwhelming forces of Mordor. His love for his father was his downfall, not his personal greed.

Boromir was the only one of the Fellowship that died in combat thereby becoming the only martyr of the nine. (Gandalf does not count; he was saved from death by the Valar and transformed into Gandalf the White).

Had Boromir not tried to take the Ring from Frodo; then later someone else, such as Legolas or Aragorn would have attempted to and succeeded in taking the Ring as it grew in power. No mortal could resist its temptation, and this fact would have eventually spelled the failure of the Fellowship. Frodo’s success was dependant on the Fellowship splitting up, and Boromir was the sole catalyst for this.

When the LoTR movies came out, I immediately was held in thrall by the way Sean Bean portrayed Boromir. I began construction by hand of the Boromir costume ensemble. By the time The Two Towers came out, I had managed to build an accurate costume worthy of his namesake. For the next few years, I was Boromir at every period event, convention, Renn faire, and movie line party in America it seemed. OneRing.net had my costume featured during the premiere of Return of the King. Pictures circulated around the internet of my design, and in 2004, I was contacted by MRL, who I was a vendor for at the time. They were doing the Boromir clothing ensemble under the New Line Cinema license, and they wanted me to be Boromir. I could not refuse this offer and soon became one with my childhood hero. It was the pinnacle of what I called my Lord of the Rings Days. Soon after this, I re-enlisted in the Army, cut off the long hair, and I finally retired the Boromir persona. So, I mothballed the Horn of Gondor, and looked back on the fond memories knowing that I would not duplicate Boromir again for I had emulated him as well as I could have ever hoped too. But, there was one thing that always bothered me; I never owned the correct sword for the part. I always carried a Windlass Mercenary at my side as a replacement and even years later, something inside of me still wanted to change that.

Returning to the context of the review, I purchased the DSA Boromir because needed a version of the Boromir sword that was functional, aesthetically pleasing, and well-made to reflect the spirit of Boromir and what he stood for.

Don’t take my story for being biased from the get go. I promise you, I will judge this weapon as an implement of war, not a studio prop – just as a real Boromir would have done.

Historical Overview

There is no real historical precedent for the Boromir sword. The originals were designed by WETA Workshop and crafted by Peter Lyon. If I had to loosely apply a typology to this offering from DSA, I would say that it is a Type XII blade (which I will address later), with a Type T5 pommel and twisted Style 2 guard.

There were only two other makes of Boromir sword on the market: The United Cutlery UC1400 - Boromir Sword SLO and the functional Christian Fletcher Redeemer. The latter of the offerings was only made in a limited production run of 200 swords built on modified Angus Trim 1429s with custom scabbards/belts (the Redeemer sold out years ago). There are dramatic differences between all three versions and none of the offerings actually meet the specifications of the original Peter Lyon Boromir sword. It appears that everyone doing a Boromir sword has kind of taken their own inspiration and slant on things to make their own unique creation.

Initial Impressions

I special ordered the DSA Boromir from the SBG Sword Store for $275.00. I placed the order on the 26th of March and received it on April 2nd.

The Boromir sword came well packed in a plain cardboard box. The sword was tightly wrapped in bubble and plastic wrap with a thick coat of clear grease on all the steel components. There was no damage visible when I unwrapped it, nor any type of corrosion on the fittings. The sword was wrapped separately from the scabbard, as in other DSA swords I have owned.

Statistics

Blade Length: 33.0”

Handle Length: 8.0”

Overall Length: 41.0”

Guard Width: 9.75”

POB (Point of Balance): 6.0”

COP (Center of Percussion): 25.0”

Weight: 3lbs, 8oz

The Blade

The blade on the original Boromir sword was a wide Type XIV with a wide ¾ fuller, however, DSA opted for one of their Type XII blades as featured on some of their other weapons. Additionally, the DSA Boromir is 4” longer than the sword designed for the movies. The fuller is ¾ length and fairly narrow for its form. The finish on the blade is even without flaw and there is no evidence of hammer or tooling on the surface.

The blade is made from the same 53RC carbon steel at other DSA swords with a 2mm rounded edge. The blade tapers dramatically at the end to a wicked acute tip. The geometry is surprisingly graceful, more so that my old DSA Black Knight. The blade projects excellent presence and of course, it worthy of the DSA maker’s mark.



The Grip

The grip is a full hand and a half grip with a wood core, spiral riser, and black leather wrap. The grip is carefully stitched up the side and has a good overall appearance. Taking the sword in the hand, the grip is comfortable to hold and wield. It is a perfect fit for my large hands though, but might be a tad large for others.



The Guard

The complexity of this type of guard cannot be easy to make, and it is the most attractive feature of this sword. The guard starts as a square guard which is twisted around on itself 720 degrees (two times) to give it the detailed spiral geometry. The guard terminates in square finials that slope toward the blade. This guard is hand-forged and not cast, the details are obvious in that there are slight differences in the twisting in either side. I really like this fact, because it attests that the guard was twisted by hand and not milled/cast.





The rain guard is made onto the guard, and though it is attractive, it is slightly uneven and touches the blade on one side. This does away with any tonal quality that the sword would have because the guard contacts the blade. This comes as a slight disappointment to me because I like swords to Ring (Pun intended). Sadly, this version of the Boromir sword never will…



The Pommel

The T5 pommel is of the standard scent-stopper type. The tang is peened through the rear of the pommel and has a nice clean, finished appearance. The peen seems to be a little small for the size of the tang, but I believe that only the pommel is held on with a small peen and that the tang is actually screwed onto the grip under the pommel as with other DSA swords for added strength. I won’t be taking it apart to find out and I don’t plan on doing anything hardcore with the blade, so it is unimportant. However, any buyers wanting to use a Boromir practically might want to investigate this fact further.



The Scabbard

The scabbard is an unspecified wood core with a black leather wrap that is affixed by through a single stitch up the back. The chape and locket are polished steel and attached to the scabbard with clear epoxy. It’s on par with other offerings for DSA – which is nicer than a Windlass leather sheath, but not as well-fitting or as thin as is should be. It would be a pretty good platform for further customization.

The scabbard had a significant amount of play allowing for the blade to rattle. I fix this by soaking a small 1” x 3” strip of leather in gun oil, folding it in half, sticking it on the end of the blade, then pushing the blade into the scabbard. The leather ends up at the tip of the scabbard and catches the end of the sword to prevent rattle.

The fittings on the scabbard offer a tad of disappointment. They are very solid, but they are not well-fitted to the core and are lacking aesthetically. The locket, though made to fit the rain guard on the sword, does not fit properly and leaves some small gaps. The chape is way too large, leaving very visible edges on either side of the tip that are large enough for a Nazgul to land on.

Needless to say, I will be doing some alterations to this scabbard or perhaps creating another one in the near future. But, for now, it will do fine to protect the blade.



Handling Characteristics

First off, this sword is heavy at nearly 4lbs. I knew this when I purchased it. The Type XII blade does not make for a light, fast single-hand sword. In one hand, you will sprain your wrist wielding the Boromir – because the point of balance is 6” and there is a significant amount of weight on the end of the sword making it excessively tip heavy for single-handed use. Recovery is slow and the energy required to move the sword will result in you having cave troll forearms after a couple weeks. Think of wielding an axe in one hand, and you get the idea. This sword is not for the weak, but then again, it was not meant to be. The DSA Boromir is a beast, which can be either good or bad, depending on the swordsman.

But, the story changes when you switch to a two-handed grip. When using the DSA Boromir two-handed, I was pleasantly surprised at its nimble performance. It moves fluidly and tracks decently with little effort. Thrusts are accurate and recovery from Gondorian-type cuts is good. It seems to shine in this area a little more. Since I train in the two-handed Italian method, this is really the only performance factor I was wondering about. The Boromir is a bastard sword, but it performs much better as a two-hander where the weight is not nearly as much of a factor and you can control the balance a little better.

As far as I am concerned, I’d not want to be on the receiving end of the heavier DSA Boromir, because whatever it hits does not have a hope in Mordor of stopping it. This sword can cleave and thrust with tremendous power, and in my book, that is a very good thing!



Test Cutting

No test cutting was performed with the DSA Boromir because it is not currently edged. A significant amount of metal would have to be removed in order to achieve a proper edge, so this will not be something that I will undertake soon. The good thing is that this could result in a sword that is several ounces lighter, in which case, I will offer a cutting test to add to this review.

Conclusions

I would not mind seeing some things change about this sword. Perhaps a better scabbard, slightly lighter weight, more care in spacing the rain guard away from the blade, a larger peen, and maybe even more of an Oakeshott Type XIV blade form. Even with the possible improvement areas, Darksword has not let me down with the Boromir sword. At its price point of $275USD, I find it to be a fairly good deal.

Pros

- Fully functional with legendary DSA durability.
- Great overall aesthetic quality with a fairly accurate LoTR theme.
- Excellent for two-handed use.
- Should excel at cleaving and hewing Orcs, Goblins, and Uruk-Hai.

Cons

- Scabbard does not properly compliment the sword.
- Weight makes single-handed use challenging.
- Rain guard touching blade should be improved.



The Bottom Line

Would Boromir carry this sword into battle? I believe that he would after making some minor alterations. Overall, this is a good sword. It is not quite great, but you won’t find another Boromir-themed sword that can touch this offering unless you pay a couple thousand dollars to a custom manufacturer. Despite the small indifferences I have with this sword, I am still quite happy with my precious…I mean…my purchase.

And if I am happy, Boromir would be as well. Trust me on that.