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Re: Morgul Blade.
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 6:58 am
by SierraStrider
Iodo wrote:Eric C wrote:Hold still! Ima stab you with this healing blade! It'll make you feel better!
thanks for the offer but, I think I'll take my chances...
LOL
If only this were such a ridiculous notion! With the astonishing popularity of bloodletting in Europe, and the equivalent Chinese practice that has since been rebranded as acupuncture, "Ima stab you with this healing blade" was likely pretty close to what a lot of ancient folks heard right before they were gleefully exsanguinated.
Eric C wrote: That could present some serious heat treat issues. Such a notch would likely create a stress riser and crack in heat treat. There is a way to try to avoid it by rounding the notch so there are no sharp angles.
Seems like stress risers are the whole goal, there--maybe you could go with the rounded notches, then file them square after heat treating?
Re: Morgul Blade.
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 7:51 pm
by Iodo
SierraStrider wrote:Seems like stress risers are the whole goal, there--maybe you could go with the rounded notches, then file them square after heat treating?
I second this, it's a great idea
Re: Morgul Blade.
Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 8:25 pm
by ForgeCorvus
Late to the party again.
I pictured them as more of a Misericorde, the "Mercy knife" used by knights of the 12th to 15th centuries.
Their function was to kill fallen men as quickly and (hopefully) painlessly as possible.
I suppose that fits in with 'Made for a noble purpose and corrupted when the Nine fell' idea
Re: Morgul Blade.
Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 3:48 am
by Eofor
Udwin wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 2:38 am
"And more deadly to Frodo was this!' He stooped again and lifted up a long thin knife. There was a cold gleam in it. As Strider raised it they saw that near the end its edge was notched and the point was broken off. " LR I:12, Flight to the Ford
Now this may seem pedantic but knives have a typology all of their own. A knife is by definition a single edged blade and the quote above says 'it's edge was notched' not 'one of it's edges'
The Professor uses the term dagger to describe both sting and the barrow blades and clearly knew the difference so is it possible that the Morgul blade is in fact a long thin fighting knife or seax? Add to this that the bolsters in the prancing pony are slashed and not stabbed and it's at least a possibility?
Though there is one small counter argument to this though as later in the same passage as Udwins quote it says
He sat down on the ground, and taking the dagger-hilt laid it on his knees
Re: Morgul Blade.
Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2021 6:44 pm
by Eric C
ForgeCorvus wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 8:25 pm
Late to the party again.
I pictured them as more of a Misericorde, the "Mercy knife" used by knights of the 12th to 15th centuries.
Their function was to kill fallen men as quickly and (hopefully) painlessly as possible.
I suppose that fits in with 'Made for a noble purpose and corrupted when the Nine fell' idea
This could be a possibility worth looking into.
Eofor wrote: ↑Mon Nov 15, 2021 3:48 am
Udwin wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 2:38 am
"And more deadly to Frodo was this!' He stooped again and lifted up a long thin knife. There was a cold gleam in it. As Strider raised it they saw that near the end its edge was notched and the point was broken off. " LR I:12, Flight to the Ford
Now this may seem pedantic but knives have a typology all of their own. A knife is by definition a single edged blade and the quote above says 'it's edge was notched' not 'one of it's edges'
The Professor uses the term dagger to describe both sting and the barrow blades and clearly knew the difference so is it possible that the Morgul blade is in fact a long thin fighting knife or seax? Add to this that the bolsters in the prancing pony are slashed and not stabbed and it's at least a possibility?
Though there is one small counter argument to this though as later in the same passage as Udwins quote it says
He sat down on the ground, and taking the dagger-hilt laid it on his knees
It looks like once more the Professor has given us room to play with it and see what we like best, how each of us interpret it. We often forget that in medieval Europe, not every blade was double-edged.
Re: Morgul Blade.
Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:35 pm
by ForgeCorvus
Slender but stiff blade, probably parallel or maybe slightly flared near the tip (as a Roman Pilum, once the point is in theres nothing to stop it going in the rest of the way ).
Edge and a half, like a Highland Dirk?
A very small guard, just big enough to stop your hand slipping down onto the blade.
And maybe a flattish pommel (more like a Rondel dagger, but not as big) to press the other palm against as you push it home.
Thats what I'm seeing
Re: Morgul Blade.
Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:58 pm
by Elwindil
Perhaps it was something similar to a sword breaker in design, single edged with a dagger hilt, and spines or notches along the back to break off in a wound, as it were. Then again, if it was something corrupted when the Nine fell, perhaps it was originally some sort of surgical type blade, similar in function to a modern day scalpel but larger and meant to remove arrowheads and other such things embedded in wounds.