Museum Glamdring UC

I just found a MC Glamdring for $599 + shipping. Is this a good deal? Thanks for the help.

It's a nice price considering the retail cost but if you want a glamdring I would suggest looking for the regular version. There was a lot of hate for this version because it was poorly manufactured compared to the regular version.

Really? I thought the MC piece was supposed to be more realistic - hand worn etc. Isn't it also balanced? I have the regular Glamdring at the moment, but I was going to sell it for the MC. Before UC went bankrupt I had only seen to MC for over $1500...

I haven't read/heard a lot of feedback regarding the MC Glamdring, but what I have seen has ALL been positive. The MC Sting was a homerun with the exception of the backing for the display case, and fortunately that was corrected for the Glamdring.

Thats as good of a deal as ive seen in the past year or so.

But pray that you didnt get one with a bad wooden display case or warped blade. Ive heard many stories of people having to return theirs due to these two problems.

Oh and remember that you need to polish the thing consitantly or the blade will rust.

Does the MC sting require constant polishing too? What should I use for a polish?

Consider also that UC is no more.... and also the RRP, should be quite a good deal.... on the high side...though

That price is about what I paid when the sword first appeared, and I think it is worth it. It's not an item I've tracked or payed attention to current value, so I can't say more than that.

The MC does have a little deeper sense of "reality" to it IMO. It is not perfect. Some people wanted it to be fully "functional" since they were using the High Carbon, and apparently they were slightly dissapointed. I just wanted an ultra high quality film collectible that would stand up to very close inspection, and I think it comes through.

I owned both the versions of Sting, and the MC is a BIG step up. The handle is real wood, the etching of the Elvish inscription is much more refined, and the blade looks ultra smooth and perfect. I have only two quibbles with this sword - I do find it a little strange that they would "weather" the hilt, but have a pristine blade. I would have preferred a clean look everywhere. No doubt some would prefer more weathering everywhere. My second quibble: I really assummed the vine inlay would be actual silver inlay! They were very careful with their words here, and called it "onlay". Apparently that means a silver sticker, which looks somewhat cheesy IMO. It is a BIG improvement from the silkscreen paint on the regular version. The background image in the display was also distracting, but I covered it with velvet, and it looks great.

Back to Glamdring - The blade does not have the same perfect texture that Sting has, nor the same quality edge. It looks plenty nice though. Again, I find the weathering on the hilt a little distracting. The leather wrapped handle is fantastic, and the inlaid jewel is nice. They did make a very strange choice though - The seam in the handle leather is on the opposite side of the permanent UC logo - so you have to "break suspension of disbelief" by showing the logo, or you have to see the leather seam. I choose to display the seam, and it's ok.

The display boxes on these are also very ambitious. Perhaps too ambitious, I don't know. They are nice, but contribute terribly to cost and weight of the final product, and I wonder if they would have been better served with a lighter, smaller, simpler, but elegant real wood sculpted hanger. Save a few bucks to put back into making sure the people who collect these are 100% blown away with the SWORD ITSELF. You really can't afford ho-hum responses or mixed reviews in the limited edition high end world.

Overall, the quality is excellent, noting the strange "lapses" (IMO) mentioned. It's a real shame the trilogy of most famous named swords (Anduril) was not completed. The line was growing a little stale as the movies finished and waned in the larger public's perception. For whatever bad timing or management missteps, they imploded before this could get done.

United Cutlery is a blade manufacturer that tried to play the game of high end collectibles. I wonder if they were a little out of touch with the desires and level of pickyness of the client they were trying to appeal to. Actually I wonder about the way some other companies are run at the top levels and front end as well, and get the idea they would be better served knowing their base a little better too - Gentle Giant for example ?? Almost all could take a lesson in customer relations and feedback from Sideshow I think. But that's another thread.

I heard from people on the RPF forum that United Cutlery is not a manufacturer, but instead only a "distributor". People were saying that UC doesn't even make their own stuff, they just buy them from another company and put their UC name to it while selling.

True or false?

nash said:

I heard from people on the RPF forum that United Cutlery is not a manufacturer, but instead only a "distributor". People were saying that UC doesn't even make their own stuff, they just buy them from another company and put their UC name to it while selling.

True or false?

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That I've never heard, but I couldn't deny it either. It was not my impression.

nash said:

I heard from people on the RPF forum that United Cutlery is not a manufacturer, but instead only a "distributor". People were saying that UC doesn't even make their own stuff, they just buy them from another company and put their UC name to it while selling.

True or false?

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True or not, their quality is so far assured... from I understand from many in this forum... at least no one really talk about swords from other companies...e.g. Noble?

gtb said:

True or not, their quality is so far assured... from I understand from many in this forum... at least no one really talk about swords from other companies...e.g. Noble?

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I wouldnt stroke UC too hard and fast. Their quality is passable, but by far nothing compared to other sword manufacturers. UC stuff are 'wallhangers' at best. Their quality is fine for simply looking at. But when put next to a real sword, you can't even compare. At the suggested retail prices UC "Tried" to sell their swords at, for the quality you are getting at that high price is just absurd. Thankfully many retailers marked them down 50% or more, and rightfully so.

The Earl of Dunfield said:

Does the MC sting require constant polishing too? What should I use for a polish?

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The blade is carbon steel instead of stainless which means it requires a little more attention. I oil my samurai swords so I already have those supplies on hand. Pick up a bottle of Hanwei's sword oil and use a clean piece of terry cloth. Keep the cloth in a zip lock bag when not in use and eventually the oil on the cloth will be sufficient for oiling the blade.

As long as you keep the blade oiled it will not rust.

nash said:

I wouldnt stroke UC too hard and fast. Their quality is passable, but by far nothing compared to other sword manufacturers. UC stuff are 'wallhangers' at best. Their quality is fine for simply looking at. But when put next to a real sword, you can't even compare. At the suggested retail prices UC "Tried" to sell their swords at, for the quality you are getting at that high price is just absurd. Thankfully many retailers marked them down 50% or more, and rightfully so.

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The other option to this is trying to own the actual movie props, which is all of poorer quality of course. I don't think the quality of the UC swords were meant to be anything more than for display. God forbid if I bought an actual samurai sword that I'd try to use it for play! Bottom-line, UC had a great niche and the quality was exemplary for that niche.

Here's a sample of what one of these actual props was:



And look at the details:

nash said:

I wouldnt stroke UC too hard and fast. Their quality is passable, but by far nothing compared to other sword manufacturers. UC stuff are 'wallhangers' at best. Their quality is fine for simply looking at. But when put next to a real sword, you can't even compare. At the suggested retail prices UC "Tried" to sell their swords at, for the quality you are getting at that high price is just absurd. Thankfully many retailers marked them down 50% or more, and rightfully so.

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Pardon my ignorance, but there isn't many other sword manufacturers that I know of that produce commercial (for sale to the public) props from the LOTR movies. If you really want to talk about the real thing, then it have to be coming from the forging fires in Weta then.

They are after all props, we are not really going to use it for hacking and slashing, are we?

The real thing that I know of are those of Japanses samurai swords, and those really good ones are expensive... for they are hand-made.

gtb said:

Pardon my ignorance, but there isn't many other sword manufacturers that I know of that produce commercial (for sale to the public) props from the LOTR movies. If you really want to talk about the real thing, then it have to be coming from the forging fires in Weta then.

They are after all props, we are not really going to use it for hacking and slashing, are we?

The real thing that I know of are those of Japanses samurai swords, and those really good ones are expensive... for they are hand-made.

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As far as I know, only The Noble Collection and United Cutlery had licenses from New Line Cinema to produce "prop replica" swords and other items (like that gorgeous replica of Boromir's shield below! ) from the LOTR movies. Many of us who have some of those items are massively bummed that UC has folded, but I'm hopeful another company will pick up the ball and continue where UC left off. Only time will tell. Anyway, the prop replicas they made were intended for show, yes, even the MC editions. Although they were made of similar materials and construction to the movie props produced by WETA Workshop and Peter Lyon, and would probably stand up to use in mock combat or sword training exercises, who in their right mind would want to bang up their valuable collectible like that when there are now companies making swords specifically for that purpose? (The swords I refer to are "real" swords, not movie props and not wall-hanger replicas, but actual weapons.)
If you're interested, here are a couple of places to check out:
www.albion-swords.com
www.windlass.com
www.armsofvalour.com

Btw, I had a Japanese katana "shinken" (= "real" sword) custom made for me for use in the Japanese martial art I practice several years ago, and (after my wife, of course) it's the most precious thing I have!

Earl, if you must know, that is not a replica sold by a 3rd party manufacturer. Rather, that is the real prop made by Weta themselves that found their way into the homes of true collectors. That is why the detail on it is quite astounding. PM me if you want to know more.

Radagaster said:

...that is not a replica sold by a 3rd party manufacturer. Rather, that is the real prop made by Weta themselves that found their way into the homes of true collectors. That is why the detail on it is quite astounding.

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I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the photos you posted. I don't think I've ever seen a LOTR replica that looked THAT good...and now I know why! Thanks for sharing those truly amazing shots of Boromir's shield!