buy swords for over $100 dollars ?

$800 swords ?

Explore our world of swords from Amazon com. pay more,
get a better sword.

To buy or not to buy .. . this is the question.
I have bought cheap swords for $180 dollars. They may Rust.
I have been told that any sword will rust. No matter what you pay for it.
You know why?

Because everything contains carbon. And carbon creates rust. Here is a page that helps you minimize the rust on your sword.
It’s entitled Ceremonial Swords.

However,
Take some time to think about what you want to buy. Do you want a sword for under a $100.
Do you want a sword for over a $100.

,

Gil Hibben – Dragon Lair sword

Famed master sword and fantasy knife maker Gil Hibben has added another custom design to his annual Fantasy Series collection with the Dragon’s Lair sword! This special autographed edition is strictly limited to 3,000 pieces. It measures 38 1/8″ overall and features a double edge 21 1/4″ blade constructed from 420 J2 stainless steel . The blade offers an impeccable mirror finish and a Fuller groove down the surface of the blade. If you buy this sword, it does come unsharpened. However, I paid $15 to have mine professionally sharpened on one side only.

The purpose of the fuller groove is to increase the strength of the blade. The guard, pommel, and blade collar are solid cast metal construction with a mirror silver finish. The Gil Hibben Dragon Lair sword.

Blade length is 21″
Total length is 38″
Weight 4.4 lbs.

 
 
 
 
 
sports – outdoor swords, fencing swords, what you are looking for?

you get to choose.
 
 
find your outdoor sword .
 
 
 

Kit Rae fantasy Sword Designer

Background

Kit Rae specializes in fantasy sword and knife design and was born in Burlington, Ontario, Canada in 1966. When he was young, Kit started developing his flare for the creative while making charcoal drawings and oil paintings of fantasy scenes. Some of the people that influenced his “flare” for the fantasy was
 
 
 
 
 
 
Frank Frazetta,
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
  5 minutes   and 5 seconds into this video is my favorite picture.
 
 
 
 
to name a few. Frank helped in the design of the Buck Rogers comic book covers and the comic strip Flash Gordon. Michael Whelan, Michael was an imaginative artist that worked in science fiction and fantasy also. Some of his work consisted of cover designs for many of the Stephen King novels, Melania Rawn’s Dragon Prince and Dragon Star comic strips and Meat Loaf‘s, Bat Out of Hell album covers. There was also the well know J.R.R. Tolkien that inspired Kit, (which Kit later went on to designing the swords for the Lord of the Rings series). Besides the creation of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Tolkien also created The Silmarillion, which was the sequel to the Hobbit.

Kit Rae fantasy swords and knives have kept him busy for over 18 years of his life. His designs have varying inspirations including Greek and Egyptian mythology. Some strikingly beautiful, some wickedly haunting. They are very popular among serious fantasy sword and knife collectors and have appeared in numerous television shows and feature films.
The Kit Rae line consists of edged sword and knife art with some pieces defying conventional description. Each new piece is part of the concept that forms the Tale of The Swords of the Ancients, a fantasy story written by the artist. The story is about the eternal struggle between good and evil. Each sword or knife with KR stamping on it includes a new chapter printed on parchment.
The Kit Rae special annual knife and periodic sword release’s also include companion art prints of fantasy paintings by the artist that feature the blades in scenes from his story.

Kit Rae fantasy swords designed by Kit Rae

Avoloch Mithrodin Sword of Enethia

The Avoloch Mithrodin Sword of Enethia
 
A Mithrodin warrior in service to the Great Realm who fought against the Dark One. Forged by the dark elf Tethietol, the side blade is engraved with “Avoloch will yield to none but truth”, in Anglecal runes. The word Avoloch is from the ancient language of Thant, and it was the name used for the warrior class of the Mithrodin, translated as “soldier of steel”. Kit Rae from his latest, Swords of the Ancients collection! Strictly limited to 1500 pieces worldwide! Autographed and serial numbered first production run. The Avoloch features three 420J2 stainless steel blades (false edged), engraved runes, finely detailed cast metal hilt parts with “antique” finish, and a genuine leather wrapped blade and handle grip. Includes a certificate of authenticity and hand autographed custom art print. Sword has a 24-1/2″ blade. Sword is 43-3/4″ overall.

Avoloch Mithrodin-Sword Gold Edition

The Avoloch Mithrodin Sword Gold Edition

This special 24K gold plated, serial numbered edition is strictly limited to 300 pieces worldwide. Kit Rae created this fantasy sword of the ancients, the Avoloch which features white ray skin grips with genuine leather wrapping, three 420J2 stainless steel blades (false edged), engraved runes, and finely detailed cast metal hilt parts with “antique” finish. Includes a hand-autographed certificate of authenticity and custom art print. 24-1/2″ blade. 43-3/4″ overall.

Kilgorin-Sword of Darkness ll

Kilgorin Sword of Darkness II

Sword is 34-1/2″ overall. It has a 25-1/8″ unsharpened 420 stainless blade with a satin finish. Simulated black ivory grip with intricately detailed antique silver plated wing guard and skull pommel adorned with gold color highlights. Kit Rae gives away an art print called Vaelen Confronts Darkness II. Sword includes certificate of authenticity.

Luciendar-Sword of Light

Kit Rae fantasy Swords

Luciendar Sword of Light

Fourth release in the Swords of the Ancients collection designed by Kit Rae. Sword is 42-1/2″ overall. It has a 33-1/4″ black finish unsharpened 420 J2 stainless blade features mystic runes in the language of the ancients. Cast metal handle with black plated finish. Glass crystal pommel is said to give the user vision to detect the unseen. Comes with fantasy art print “Barlodir Slays the Shadows”. Sword includes certificate of authenticity.

Avaquar-Sword of the Deep Dagger

Avaquar The Sword of the Deep

The ninth and perhaps most unique of the Kit Rae fantasy Swords of the Ancients. The Avaquar is 20″ overall and a stunning thing to behold.
blades, loaded with engraved Runes of the Ancients, fork out from the hilt like mirror images. They’re made from a durable 420 Stainless Steel and look absolutely amazing. The pattern of these two blades works on two different levels. Taken as they are, two blades mirroring one another, they convey a delicate-yet-rugged beauty; The spaces between them gives the sense of an almost Elven craftsmanship. On another level, the footprint of the two blades and the negative space between them gives the impression of a much larger, more powerful sword. Includes a display plaque and black/white art print.

Anathar-Sword of Power

Kit Rae fantasy Swords

Anathar Sword of Power

Tenth release in the Swords of the Ancients collection. 46-3/4″ overall. 33-3/4″ unsharpened 420 stainless blade. Antique finish solid metal guard and pommel. Sculpted composite grip. First 1000 swords produced will include an art print personally autographed by artist Kit Rae. Sword includes certificate of authenticity.
Anathar is the most powerful of those ancient blades. It holds the power of all of the other swords of the Ancients combined in Kit Rae fantasy swords. Anathar’s blade is inscribed with runes in the lost language of the Anath that name it as the “Sword of Power”. Its hilt is formed with a spiked triple cross guard and the pommel is fashioned after the ceremonial winged and horned headdress of the Ancient Ones. The grip is carved from three pieces of red thorcan, a reddish stone jewel said to be an important talisman of the Anath, harboring their greatest powers.

Below, is part of the original interview with Kit conducted by: Blades By Brown Cutlery, date and time of the Interview was not located. I could find no indication of when it was conducted. I tried contacting BBB to ask if I could use this interview on my webpages. I checked the website they listed during the interview, bladesbybrown.com and found it to be vacated. I then tried bladesbybrown.net and found that to be under construction also. So there is really no way for me to check the accuracy or content of this interview. So, here it is.

Intro

(BBB) Blades by Brown Cutlery was fortunate enough to be granted an interview with United Cutlery’s Art Director /Product Designer Kit Rae. We will first ask kit some questions about his position at United and try to find out just what he does there. Then we will try to find out more about Kit Rae the person.

So lets find out more about Kit Rae and what role he plays in bringing to fans some of the finest cutlery out there today!

BBB:

What inspired you Kit Rae to become a weapon designer and how did you enter into your relationship with United?

KR: Books like Frank Herbert’s Dune and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings sparked my interest in swords and fantasy. I studied historical oriental swords, European swords and early American knives. Those old Conan, Tarzan, and John Carter of Mars book covers got me into the fantasy end of swords. I studied anything I could get my hands on that had to do with knives or swords. The opening scenes of the John Milius film Conan the Barbarian, showing Conan’s father’s sword being forged, was a huge inspiration. I loved all of the swords and pit weapons that Ron Cobb designed for that film, especially the Atlantean sword and Conan’s father’s sword.

I was originally hired by UC in the mid ’80s to do concept art for knife design, packaging and advertising graphics. Survival knives were all the rage at the time due to the First Blood and Rambo films and one of my first projects was to help design a survival knife with a flashlight built into the handle. I did not know the first thing about designing a survival knife at the time and the resulting product, the Bladelight, is to say the least, rather “unique” (sarcastically spoken) product I created, it was a fun project though.

BBB: You obviously need a bit of an engineering and mechanical background to head up the department that’s charged with the design and production of the United Products…has that been self taught or did you attend a formal school to require the engineering education?

KR: I had no formal engineering background at the time. I was primarily an illustrator. After the Bladelight I thought I should learn a bit about my trade, so I studied the knives the top factories were making, read books, went to custom knife shows, and learned all I could about the design, engineering, and manufacturing of a knife. In the evenings I studied college engineering manuals for about two years, so I guess you could say I was completely self taught. I also had the advantage of being able to visit the top factories making our knives and learned quite a lot from them.

BBB: As United’s Art Director/Product Manager would you tell us what you do in your position?

KR: It has changed over the years UC has grown. I did everything for a while, ran the art department and supervised all of our catalogs and printed materials, supervised marketing and advertising, and designed around 70% of the products across the various UC brands, both functional and collectible. People would be surprised at how many “normal” knives I have designed. Now UC has grown so much that I have had to give all of those other responsibilities up and focus strictly on product design and development. I design and supervise for UC, Gil Hibben, Colt, the occasional Harley-Davidson knife, and of course my own brand. Basically it involves doing the actual concept designs, engineering, drafting drawings, and supervising the tooling and sample process. I have a crew of three people who work under me.

BBB: You have a very successful line of swords of your own available through United, “The Swords of the Ancients”, could you tell the fans a little about this success full line. And how it evolved into what it is today? And what can fans expect to see in the future from “The Swords of the Ancients”

KR: Around 1997 we realized there was a growing following for my UC fantasy knives and the work I had done on the Gil Hibben line was very, very successful. It was just was time to branch out and make a dedicated KR line. I had already been thinking of how to make a true line of fantasy knives work for years, and one of the things I wanted was to illustrate the world these blades came from with artwork and story. This was the perfect way to get some of my artwork in print as well. I designed the first two Swords of the Ancients, the Sword of Darkness and Sword of Vaelen, believe it or not, as Lord of the Rings swords. I tried to get the license from the Tolkien estate to do swords from the books. The sword of Vaelen was Narsil. I even did a few Sting designs! (click to view). We did not get the license, obviously. The Hilderbrandt brothers got it, two of my favorite Tolkien artists, next to John Howe and Alan Lee.

We made them anyway under the KR brand in the beginning, then later I started using my full name on my swords. They have gone on to become UC’s most successful swords, and probably the two most copied swords on the market. I wrote a short fantasy story about these Ten Swords, and each sword comes with a little chapter of it, along with a print of one of my paintings. There are two more swords to go in the collection. The 7th and 8th, Cinthorc and Molotoch just came out this year.

BBB: What has been the largest influence for “The Swords of the Ancients” creations?

KR: For the first two, probably the LOTR books. After the first two I just kind of did my own thing. Can’t really say what influences me, I just draw until I see something that flows, that feels right. Lack of sleep maybe!

BBB: What can we as fans look forward to from “The Swords of the Ancients”

KR: The last two swords, Avaquar and Anathar, will be out late next year. Anyone who has read the Ancients tale knows that there are only ten swords, and the tenth, Anathar, is supposed to be one incredible sword, so I have some designing to do! Of course there are all of the other fantasy knives in my line, which I have woven into the Ancients tale. The Fang of Baelin and Valdris have been very successful and I intend to keep designing more unconventional weapons in that vein. I have a new knife coming out later this year, Archeros, that is reminiscent of my work on the Gil Hibben line and another knife for early 2004 that is very Fang-ish. Plus I have a the “Eye of Drakonus” out now, my first “official” collaboration with Gil. Gil works with designer Paul Ehlers on his hand made fantasy knives. I serve the same function as Paul for almost all of Gil’s “production” pieces, but I could never put my name on those knives in the past, until this one. It was a little annoying whenever one of my Hibben designs appeared in a film or on a movie poster, in the case of Nemesis, and I could not tell people that it was mine!

Kit knows how to play Pink Floyd because he’s friends with them.

Kit, i have not ever met you. But i wish i could some day.
you are a sword idol of mine. maybe, not my wife’s,   but me.

BBB: Tangerine Dream’s music, from 1971 to the mid eighties. I also listen
to classic rock like the Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, the Who and
classical. I also write music for the guitar. However, my favorite
thing to listen to when I work is my unabridged book-on-tape CDs of the
Silmarillion!

BBB: Any words for the budding artist out there? Tips from the “pro” so to speak. There are quite a few individuals involved in knife and sword collecting and the fantasy world that would love nothing better than to make a career of the stuff you do…How do they start, how would they get a little of your luck to rub off on them?

KR: Unfortunately there is not much luck, just hard work. I was only lucky in that when I started there was no fantasy knife or sword industry, just some makers in the small custom knife community, so I was able to help create that industry for the production market and I was lucky enough to work for people who supported it and encouraged me.

I am contacted by people regularly who want to get into this business. All I can say is study anything you can get your hands on about knives and knife making. You have to know how they are put together before you can have a successful design, so get some engineering knowledge. Study blades throughout history to get a well rounded knowledge. For functional or fantasy swords, you need to learn all you can about design and develop your own unique style. There is no school for this work. Submit your work to knife companies and maybe you will find
someone who recognizes your talents will take you on. Try your best to ‘be original’ and come up with your own thing. It is hard to do that when just about everything has been done before, but that is how you will get recognized.

BBB: Fans of the blockbuster series “The Lord of the Rings” have read many interviews, and seen many TV specials about what a monumental task it was to bring this trilogy to the silver screen. What we have not heard about is what role United played, and more importantly, what role Kit Rae played to make the Lord of the Rings Adult Collectible Series what it is today, and I quote, “The largest movie sword collection in history”?

KR: We really should not get any credit for that. It all goes to Richard Taylor and his team of great designers at Weta Workshop, and the sword making talents of Peter Lyons. If they were not superior swords in the first place, we would have nothing to copy. All I can say about myself and my crew is that we try and make them as accurate as possible, with every line and curve of the original props. Sometimes we are a little too anal about that. There are some compromises we had to make in a few places due to manufacturing constraints but I think overall we have been very accurate.

The above questions were directed mainly towards the business part of Kit Rae now for some more revealing questions, his likes and dislikes, and some advice he would like to pass on to others to others. More about what Kit Rae the person if you will.

BBB: Kit, I understand you are quite the artist as well…when did your interest in art, and particularly fantasy art, begin?

KR: My interest in art began when I was old enough to hold a pencil! I started drawing and painting when I was very young, probably at age six or seven. The Hobbit and Dune really sparked my imagination. The first two Star Wars films very a big inspiration. H.R. Giger’s work on Ridley Scott’s Alien film was another. You can see that in my Shadow Slayer knife design.

BBB: Kit, are there any particular fantasy, or other artists, that your are particularly fond of?

KR: I was a big fan of artists like Frank Frazetta, the Hilderbrandt Brothers, Michael Whelan, and Boris Vallejo. Jim Burns and Chris Achilleos were a couple of others. I like production designer Ron Cobb’s work for films like Alien and Conan. I was also a big fan of the early Heavy Metal magazine artists like Moebius and Richard Corben.Juan Giminez and Luis Royo’s recent art, and I love pin-up art. I could go on and on.

BBB: Which came first, your interest in blade design or the physical art portion?

KR: The art came first, then the blades. Although I love Frazetta’s art, the swords and knives in his paintings were rather boring. I wanted mine to be a little more interesting, so I spent a lot of time designing them beforehand.

TST: Does “Kit Rae” have a quote or adage that he lives by, a little tidbit for the fans?

KR: Not really. I’ll just say that you, and only you, are responsible for your success or failure. Success comes from hard work and dedication to what you believe in. If you persist and don’t give up, you will get where you want to be. I still have a ways to go.

Blades by Brown not only sponsors The Swords Tip but it also sponsors an up fast growing Fantasy site titled FantasyVault Net. We have been asked many questions from fans both at the board at Fantasy Vault and by direct e-mail about United’s products. We thought it would be nice to let them get involved in this interview. So we asked them to submit some questions they would like for you to answer. Here are a few:

FANS: Why doesn’t UC make functional swords? In other words why aren’t the swords made of Carbon Steel instead of Stainless Steel. Is this an option we may see in the future, and would you like to see this as an option?

KR: I would love to see all of our swords made from 1050 or A2 carbon steel, but we would not stay in business for very long. I estimate 99% of all swords are sold to people who never use them and would not pay the higher price for a functional sword. Most people are collectors. We have made functional swords in the past but the sales just don’t support keeping them in the line. The WMA market keeps growing, so you never know. I keep pushing the folks at UC to do a small functional sword line, but no luck yet. The LOTR swords are not made with sharp, fully functional blades because New Line stipulated that they not be. They wanted “collectibles” that were restricted to a certain cost ceiling.

FANS: I just heard that UC is not only limited to the Swords. I understand that they have now been granted the license to make Armour, Full Scale Helms, staffs and more. With all this it’s hard to decide which item to save my money up for. When can se expect to see some of these items?

KR: We are making helms, gauntlets, axes and staffs. Possibly shields and non-functional bows as well. Gimli’s and Elendil’s helms should start rolling out in the next few months. Staffs should be available late this year. About four new swords are in the works, the fighting knives of Legolas, Strider’s Elven knife, Anduril, and Theoden’s sword. Next year we hope to have the Elven warrior sword and a few more from ROTK. Probably Eomer’s and Eowyn’s. We are looking at the High Elven War helm and Gimli’s axes in 2004 as well, bur everything is tentative right now.

FANS: Wow! A Sauran Collection. What’s gonna be in this? ….I want it no matter what!

KR: Sauron’s gauntlet with the One Ring is in the works. Sauron’s mace should follow that next year. They will be very limited production runs. No more than 3000-5000 pieces. If we can get Sauron’s Helm made at a reasonable price we’ll do that one too, but it is looking difficult. It would be extremely expensive.

FANS: I would like to know how United Cutlery decides on which swords to make, and some details of the, process.

KR: It is based on a number of things: screen time, character popularity, book popularity, design recognition, and feedback from LOTR fans and collectors from sites such as this (thanks guys). New Line gives the final approval of our choices. Usually we are on the same page.

FANS: I would like to ask what Kit looks for in a new design. And when did he decide he wanted to design swords?

KR: I look for good flowing lines and attention to detail. I like something that hints at the old world but deviates into something unique and different. I also like a sword or knife that feels good in the hand, but sometimes I completely throw that out the window if I feel the design is stronger than the function, and if it makes sense.

KR: I always wanted to design swords, it just took a while for the folks at UC to let it happen. Swords require very expensive tooling and the manufacturing costs are enormous, so it is risky if they do not sell.

FANS: Something that interests me is the potential for swords from other movies like a Pirates of the Caribbean, or something to that effect, is there anything like that in your future?

KR: Right now Lord of the Rings is our main concern, but we are always looking at other movie projects so I’m sure there will be more to come! I have heard that John Milius wants to do another Conan film. I would also love to be able to do another Indiana Jones knife or sword. The new movie is in the works, so we’ll see.

A short story about Bucephalus,

The trusted black horse with a white patch over one of it’s eyes that Alexander the Great
rode for thousands of miles and through many battles to create his mighty Macedonia Empire.
Bucephalus mocked at fear and did not turn away from the sword. Swallowing the ground
with fierce rage during battle. Trained to charge during the sound and smell of war.

Bucephalus was originally from Thessaly, located in the center portion of Greece.

We begin in Thessaly around the time 345 B.C. during a battle in ancient Greece. During that battle a black spirited steed was speared in the eye from a pike weapon. The panic and confusion of that injury caused the horse to throw the rider from it’s back. The rider was then trampled to death during that battle. For about a half a year the horse was blinded in one eye. It was this that was presumed to have triggered the horse’s wild and spooked nature. Eventually the horse regained it’s eye sight and legends have it that this horse continued to see the demons and ghosts of war in that eye. That is why Bucephalus continued to remain wild and out of control.

As time went on many horse grooms had tried to tame Bucephalus again but failed. Seeing no other alternative, they had to try and sell the horse to someone. A horse trader in Thessaly by the name of Philoneicus took the steed along with many other horses to the north into Macedonia. When they entered the kingdom of Macedonia they contacted King Philip the II. The King bought Bucephalus for the cost of 13 talents.
In 1994 the World Almanac stated that 1 talent was worth 60 pounds. In today’s time 60 pounds is worth $95.28 US dollars. So multiple $95.28 thirteen times and you get $1,238.64
Back in 344 B.C. that no doubt was a lot of money!

After Philoneicus sells the black horse to the King, many of his horse grooms also had a bad time of trying to break and tame it. The horse was still extremely wild and this made the King angry at Philoneicus for selling him what he thought was an evil horse. While twelve year old Alexander, son of King Philip the II, was watching the men try to tame Bucephalus, he noticed something that no one else noticed. After watching the failed attempts a while longer. He created a challenge to his father. The challenge that Alexander put forth was that He could be the one that would tame the beast. His father was at first ashamed of his sons request. Ashamed then embarrassed about how his immature twelve year son could tame Bucephalus when all others had failed. His father took the proposition and told his son that if he failed he would have to pay back the 13 talents, the cost of Bucephalus. The boy agreed to the consequences.

Earlier while Alexander was watching the attempts to tame the horse. He had noticed that Bucephalus was shying away from his own shadow. It was “afraid” of something. Could this be the ghosts of war that were still in the horse’s visions? Was it this that was making the horse so spooked and wild. Alexander gently led Bucephalus around while speaking into his ear. He then directed him into the sun so that his shadow was behind him. These actions eventually helped the horse to relax, calm down and forever lose those ghostly visions that haunted him for so long. At that time he then proclaimed the horse’s name to be Bucephalus (meaning: ox-head). Alexander choose that name because of the huge head the horse had. It was the size of an ox’s head. There was also two ox horn marks branded into the horse’s backside. Now Bucephalus was able to be ridden. Much to the public humiliation that King Philip took, the King regained his composer and commented with tears of joy to his son and said,

“Look thee out a kingdom equal to and worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee“.

Legend has it that Bucephalus and Alexander were born simultaneously. Other stories tell of the horse being born in 355 B.C., a year after Alexander.

Bucephalus, the mighty stallion died of battle wounds in June 326 B.C. during Alexander’s last battle at Hydaspes which is now modern day Pakistan. This was the first time Bucephalus or Alexander ever saw an Elephant during a battle.

In honor of his horse, Alexander named a city on the west bank of the Hydaspes river, Bucephala. Now thought to be the modern town of Jhelum, Pakistan. And is buried in Jalalpur Sharif outside of Jhelum, Pakistan.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

A brief time line of Alexander the Great.

Alexander the Great’s Conquests Maps.

 
 
356 B.C. – Alexander is born in Pella Macedonia.
344 B.C. – 12 year old Alexander rides Bucephalus his horse for the first time.
343 B.C. – Greek Philosopher Aristotle starts to tutor 13 year old Alexander about humanity and the world.
338 B.C. – 18 year old Alexander commands the Cavalry at the Battle of Chaeronea.
336 B.C. – Assassination of King Philip II, his father, 20 year old Alexander ascends to the throne.
335 B.C. – 21 year old Alexander crushes the revolt at Thebes.
334 B.C. – 22 year old Alexander pushes into Hellespont Persia with 40,000 men and seizing vast quantities of
                 gold from the Persian Empire.
333 B.C. – 23 year old Alexander slices the Gordian Knot.
332 B.C. – 24 year old Alexander liberates Egypt.
331 B.C. – Egyptian oracle confirms 25 year old Alexander’s divinity.
329 B.C. – 27 year old Alexander pushes into Central Asia.
327 B.C. – 29 year old Alexander pushes into India.
326 B.C. – 30 year old Alexander loses Bucephalus due to battle wounds.
324 B.C. – 32 year old Alexander loses his lifelong friend Hephaestion.
323 B.C. – 33 year old Alexander dies in the city of Babylon.