Wow, very nearly a dead ringer. Probably a reproduction of the same historical piece.

This is a Del Tin model 2070.
I have the same, it was my first "real" sword.
Nice work on the scabbard.

I'd love to go, and I really should go, but in the back of my mind I remember, was it the second year they were on? They completely canceled everything without notice. Makes me wary still.

Here's a good start:
http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showth ... Sax-styles

Could you get a grey military blanket and bleach the hell out of it?

I have a wooden bowl, wooden cup, and horn spoon, but I don't normally carry it on patrol because it clanks and gives away my position.

I get a lot of my stuff from Jas Townsend and Son, Inc.

Excellent! Very inspiring!!

Thank you, our new group has already begun to learn about archery and edible plants...

To Jackson's defense (somewhat), Tolkien did not stick to a three-act dramatic structure. After the dragon is finally killed, now let's have a big battle. And the Scouring of the Shire as well, after the Ring is dealt with several chapters previously.

I'm certain that JRR Tolkien did not have this in mind, but the Yamabushi of Japan, are "Mountain Warriors" literally. They are ascetics who, incidentally, are said to have founded the way of Ninjutsu.

I was wondering why they saved the final Smaug scene until this film. It was just loose ends. And for those who hadn't seen #2, they were all "WTF, who is that guy, etc." Too much the film seemed CGI, even cartoonish, even the GOLD. Come on Jackson, you can afford that much real gold at th...

Eric, I assume that the green fittings are wax, to be cast later? In that case, it looks like you did the inletting (ie, cutting away so it fits over the blade) in the wax, first, before you cast it in metal. I've never done this, so I am wondering, does that work okay? It's gotta be helpful to see ...

Good looking blades, they look practical.

How is the repro Strider's knife? Would it be worthwhile to use the handle and add a 8" leuku blade to it?

A little too heavy for boffer combat.
I'll bet it weighs 20 pounds. Nice.