Middle Earth Ranger Forum

I'm putting this here instead of either Weapons and Armour or Hard Kit as I felt it could be either and it's more culture specific to kit.

That said, I've been thinking about what kind of blade to carry as an elven ranger. Since Legolas carries a "white handled knife" what do we think that may be? I was thinking it may be something akin to a hunting trousse or a moderate sized messer. Something that could take care of dispatching and breaking down large game like deer but also useful as a backup weapon should an orc get too close for comfort.

Examples:

I must admit, in my head Elves lean towards long and slender blades to make the most of their speed and dexterity (and the fact that they have literally Forever to practice).
Why smash though a guard when you can just weave around it?





Or if you feel you need something a bit heavier

My thought was less breaking a guard and more breaking down primals on a hunted animal.
Though the third example with the antler handle looks like it would work.

Ah. I see what you're after..... Hunting knife not fighting knife
The third one is a long hunter knife and the first is a gralloching knife (according to the photo captions)

I definitely think the Elves would have preferred whatever style of knife was most useful for the specific task at hand, but I also personally see the Elves as crafting every single thing they use with finesse and artistry, so nothing is rough or unfinished, no matter how utilitarian the item may be. Whatever style of knife an Elven woodsman would use, I think it would likely be wrought with extreme attention to detail, and a high standard of finish. Which isn’t to say that any given Elven knife couldn’t be absolutely brutal in terms of its design and cutting force - but the emphasis would be on elevating that kind of weapon/tool to a functional work of art.

Totally agree with you, Manv. Any thoughts on form though? I'm trying to come up with something for my kit that fits the bill and mulling it over as I do.

And again, this is mostly based off of the idea that Legolas didn't carry a sword, something I find fascinating since the elves didn't eschew swords (duh, Anglachel). And it seemed that if Legolas was only carrying a knife for close combat what would that knife look like.
I personally think the PJ movie versions are impractical. Like, I don't think Legolas would be toting around a modern looking all-purpose tactical/bushcraft/self defense blade either, but the ones in LotR/Hobbit don't seem right to me either.
So the idea was, what would work within a historical sense? It's why I gravitated to a messer or hunting sword/trousse. Or maybe a longseax?

Yeah, ultimately I agree - I think it would make sense for something like that to be a fairly large, multi-purpose weapon/tool combo, so a langseax or messer seem like good places to draw inspiration. In my head, I’m thinking of something fairly close to a seax, but maybe with more organic lines? Less angular, more flowing maybe? Now I kind of want to noodle around and draw out some ideas.

I've always envisioned a more graceful version of a bauernwehr or rugger as Legolas' sidearm. Something with maybe a 12-16 inch blade, but lacking the guard structure of a smaller messer. I also don't really like the visuals of a traditional nagel for elven design, so I usually imagine it with a similar hilt to the dagger Aragorn is given in the film but with a straighter and longer blade. Either a bone or white-colored wood handle.

Yeah, that seems pretty close to what I envision as well - maybe also with a bit of Khyber knife influence. These general shapes all seem to fit in fairly well with the image in my head (though perhaps with a little more Elven embellishment/flare).

I agree, especially with the lack of naigle. Though I like the s-curved guards.
Something like this, minus the shell on the
guard:

Barandir wrote: ↑Mon Oct 09, 2023 9:02 pm I've always envisioned a more graceful version of a bauernwehr or rugger as Legolas' sidearm. Something with maybe a 12-16 inch blade, but lacking the guard structure of a smaller messer. I also don't really like the visuals of a traditional nagel for elven design, so I usually imagine it with a similar hilt to the dagger Aragorn is given in the film but with a straighter and longer blade. Either a bone or white-colored wood handle.

Same, Barandir. A stout yet somewhat sleek Rugger Messer type blade. I know Tod Cutler has done some and I think Adam Bodorics is working on a Rugger as well.

A Mayer wrote: ↑Tue Oct 10, 2023 2:18 am

Barandir wrote: ↑Mon Oct 09, 2023 9:02 pm I've always envisioned a more graceful version of a bauernwehr or rugger as Legolas' sidearm. Something with maybe a 12-16 inch blade, but lacking the guard structure of a smaller messer. I also don't really like the visuals of a traditional nagel for elven design, so I usually imagine it with a similar hilt to the dagger Aragorn is given in the film but with a straighter and longer blade. Either a bone or white-colored wood handle.

Same, Barandir. A stout yet somewhat sleek Rugger Messer type blade. I know Tod Cutler has done some and I think Adam Bodorics is working on a Rugger as well.

Bodorics is one of the makers I was thinking of. His work is truly elegant, especially for a type of blade that is often considered "crude" like messers.

Then Legolas gave into his hand his silver-hafted knife, his quiver and his bow

I'm thinking that anything decorated with silver is usually more of a weapon than a tool, also I took a tour through the Lord of the Rings and it seems that the professor assigns the prefix 'long' to knives that are being used in combat. Other uses seem to just get knife (cooking etc)

Obviously I have my preferred asthetic but I think this example by our very own Gulli hits close to the mark - functional, decorated but not over the top, a big enough size to fight with and yet not big enough to be called a sword nor get in the way.

- Of course Imgur is down.... I'll update the post with the image when it comes back up.

Apologies for the delay, this is the sort of elegant/functional long fighting knife I picture it as - white handled and silver fitting in there as well.

Very pretty and a functional design for both camp and fighting!