Is Museum Replicas THAT bad??

Qew71

Qew71

Joined
Dec 4, 2000
Messages
169
I'm expecting a resounding yes from you guys... but oh well...

I'm actually eyeing the Heron Mark Sword based on Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.

It seems to be the only sword available based on those books... anyone got any constructive input?

I'm expecting a wallhanger... I doubt I'll even bother to pierce pizza boxes with it... Just want a memorablia piece. Does anyone have any experiences with this sword? Is the finish any good? Or does it suck even as a wallhanger??

Thanks for your comments in advance.

Incidentally, I AM aware that it's a fantasy piece and the strange mix of western and eastern treatments is entirely fictional and almost laughable... but... well... I like the books a lot and want some memorablia from the story... thanx again
 
The sword leaves the sheath
flashing brightly in the sun
blood flows yet again.
(Ken Cook, Feb 25, 2002)

That's a "Hi Qew!"
:D

Is MRL that bad?

No, not really. They're not bad for what they are, they're just over priced.

Considering that the sword you want isn't available elsewhere, comparison shopping is out of the question for you. As to quality, if you're mainly wanting a wall hanger and something to occasionally take down off the wall and do a few test swings, I'd say the sword is perfectly fine for you.

I have no problem at all with "Fantasy Swords" even though I have no interest in them personally. I do have problems with people who want to try and use them as a "real" sword as there are safety issues to contend with.

However, I've seen and fought with several MRL blades, and they are at least mildly "battle worthy" blades.

They don't hold up as well or as long as other, better quality blades, but you're not going to hurt yourself or anyone else due to poor workmanship. (Although you can sure hurt yourself or someone else due to carelessness, be careful!)

In short;
I have no actual experience with the particular sword you mention but if it is up to the normal standards of MRL's Quality Control, it should suit your needs quite well.
 
Well I'd both agree and disagree with Ken. Yes they are overpriced which in my opinion makes them that bad. However for what you want the Heron mark sword should be perfect. Do you really like it? It is not what I imagined at all? Of course neither is the Shienaran longsword, but at least I like the way it looks. They were great books right up until the last few Path of Daggers and Winters Heart were completely unnecessary in my opinion. Of course when I am a multimillionaire author then I guess I'll really be qualified to make judgements. :)
 
wow there was a shienaran longsword?? damn how come I never saw it??


To be honest it wasn't what what I expected either (heron sword) but then again, these blades seldom turn out the way I imagine them to be. But if it's really approved by Jordan himself, it probably can't be too far from what he intended.
 
Yes there was a shienaran longsword although I have not seen it on their site in a while. I wouldn't put to much stock in them just because RJ approved them. The shienaran longsword looked nothing like the way it is described in the book so one can't help but wonder what politicing went on to get RJ's stamp of approval. I believe that there was a Seanchan sword as well that looked a lot like some Chinese pieces I've seen.

I have to say that I think Kris is a better value, they aren't as varied and they aren't as pretty as MRL's are (in the catalog anyway) but they are well made for the most part and a lot less expensive. Basically for MRL you are paying a lot for a poorly quality controlled and in many cases poorly made weapon. For Kris you are paying a little bit for a simple but generally pretty tough weapon.
 
yeah I guess there ust've been some major payoff involved to get RJ's "stamp of approval"...

but it's the closest to "authentic" that I can get. I know KC has way better functional blades... but it's not "licensed" if you know what I mean...

One other sword I would love to have is Claw. Do you read George RR Martin? You know, The Game of Thrones, Clash of Kings, etc...

So far he's on to the third book... and I really like the character of Jon Snow, one of the main protagonists in the storyline. "Claw" is a re-shafted Valyrian (near as I can tell some form of Damascus steel with magical properties) steel great sword. It's a bastard sword, if I can recall correctly... kinda appropriate (almost corny thogh) coz Jon is the bastard son of a great lord.

BUT that series of books has some nice swords in it... now if only they made repros from that...
 
No problem, if you feel the need to get the official sword by all means go for it, because as you say that is the only place your are going to get it. Also, at least it isn't stainless like so many other official swords. I still sigh every time I see the Lord of the Rings swords. They are beatiful and absolutely functionally useless. I'm afraid I've never read the other series which you mention.
 
yeah... the swords are nastily heavy... I guess some corners have to be cut somewhere. but as wall hangers, they do look good.

You know, as fantasy blades go, I must say that the LOTR swords are pretty damn decent in design and aesthetics. I mean, a lot of the time I look at other "fantasy" blades and cringe. They almost always looks like some heavy metal groupie designed them. They'er just so... vulgar. But the LOTR swords seem to exercise some restraint... and that makes them rather attractive to me.

You know of any other nice fantasy blades to recommend??
 
The Heron Mark sword was actually pretty damn close to what I was expecting. The repro that I was drooling over though was Fain's dagger. And what I'd like to see is Mat's naginata type thing. Triton, you didn't think Winter's Heart had any redeeming value? I though Path of Daggers was about 600 pages too long but WH seemed to show some improvement.

Qew71, I've read Game of Thrones but haven't gotten any further in the series. Somewhere in the book a cloak made of crow feathers was mentioned. I think that would be damn cool to have. Been looking at the crows in my back yard then looking at my .22 and thinking... :)
 
wow, I barely remember that cloak... who wore it? I'll have to go back and re-read it again...

but won't maintaining the damn feather cloak be a nuisance? but if you ever get around to making one, post a pic here!!;) ;)

hmmm and Mat's spear would be a nice piece of work... I always envisioned the spear to look like a single pronged version of Grendel's fork. (you know grendel the comic, aka Hunter Rose... i think... NOT the epic)
 
Well, I have to admit that WH was better but that's not saying a whole lot. It really seems like they could have probably just taken the last couple of chapters even from that one and put them in the next book and done just as well. I think RJ really ought to wrap this up soon he is having to invent to many tangents to get to his magical number 12.
 
I must say that I enjoyed reading WoT initially... but this is turning into a real drag... just writing books to fulfill a quota is sad. I personally think a trilogy is just about a nice length for a single story line. The only flogging to death as far as I'm interested in is the BG getting their just desserts.
Guy Gavriel Kay is another good guy to read... pity that there doesn't seem to be any significant blades that I can recall...

he seems to focus more on the trivial stuff like character development and plot... bah! These guys should just put a good sword or 4 in there... har har:p
 
Kay is alright, but I felt sleazy reading Tigana. Everyone was some sort of sexual deviant in that book.
 
Originally posted by Disco Stu
Kay is alright, but I felt sleazy reading Tigana. Everyone was some sort of sexual deviant in that book.
Click to expand...

:p :p :p :p :p

HAHAHAHA in RL everyone IS some sort of sexual deviant!!

bwahahahaha
 
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