Middle Earth Ranger Forum

That was a very generous gift, and a deserving owner. Well done, all around, gents. Enjoy it, Manveruon!

Awesome!

Iodo wrote: so maybe it's more plausible that the middle earth silver star broach ends up with lot's of different interpretations, shapes, styles etc... and that the thing that makes a ranger recognizable isn't the exact design of the star but the things Tolkien is specific on; the material it's made from and the way it's worn by the ranger?

I was just thinking the same thing. The fact that there is no concrete description of the star broaches suggests to me that while they all had "many rays" and were silver, that's where the similarities ended. I can imagine some might have been handed down from parent to child and others were freshly made as a "graduation" present or a coming of age gift to a new ranger. I think individuality in the star broaches is not only lore friendly but breathes some extra life into it.

Yeah, I honestly really like this idea. The concept that there was no one standardized pattern for them, but like... if you had a star made from silver and it was pinned to your cloak, folks would know you were a Ranger. Or at least other Rangers would.

OOOOOOOOKAY. So I keep meaning to post about this, but life has really been... something... lately, and I just keep forgetting.

After a bit of back-and-forth, the gentleman I had been talking to at Shadowstar Studio sent me a photo (below) of his finalized design. It’s still not exactly what I had in mind, but I do think it would make a lovely star brooch for anyone who might be looking to add one to their kit, and he’s willing to make a run of them for very reasonable prices. I’m currently planning to get one myself, even though I now have the beautiful silver one from Eofor, mainly just so I can fulfill the original intent of my discussion with the maker, and also so that I can have a secondary brooch in case I don’t want to wear the really really nice one out for some event or other where it might have the potential to get damaged or lost or so forth.

He is offering these as pins/brooches or as pendants, and you may request a stone of your choice for the center! They come in pewter, bronze, or silver-plated bronze!
Prices are tentative, but they should be somewhere in the ballpark of:
- $30 to $40 for pewter
- $50 to $60 in bronze or sterling-plated bronze
Of course that also depends on the type of stone you might choose for the center.

If anyone is interested in ordering one, feel free to let me know and I will try to get a list together so I we can put in an order with him! Otherwise you are welcome to contact him directly through his shop site: http://www.shadowstarstudio.com/

Found this 1960's brooch on etsy today. Not sure how strong the pin will be, what it's made from and whether it will hold a cloak in place but thought it was worth a look. Not too expensive. Will hopefully arrive in about two weeks.

Just shows it is worth keeping a look out for vintage items that may fit the bill.

My etsy find arrived today.

It's beautiful!

That’s fantastic!

It looks great!

Rob

Awesome

Wow, I really like that! Great find!

That looks lovely Ohtarvarno! What a cool find.

Going back to the idea of a historical precedent for a star, I did find this rather cool looking Macedonian motif.

Vergina Sun or the Argead Star - Wikipedia

It's definitely many-rayed as there are 16 points which is a lot but it looks really cool and it has the bonus of being thought to be the royal symbol of ancient Macedonia which is pretty neat. I don't think the Professor had Macedonia in mind specifically but it does sort of have that Gondorian pseudo-mediterranean flair.

How cool! I had no idea! It does kind of seem like the thing the Professor would have known and might have drawn inspiration from.