Fan Art: The Misty Mountains (The Hobbit)

The Company of Thorin Oakenshield (and Gandalf), consisting of thirteen dwarves and one somewhat bewildered Hobbit, facing the intimidating heights of the Misty Mountains. At this point in their journey they have travelled for many miles, faced terrible hunger, rain and trolls, and have yet to face the gross Goblin King, the vast dim reaches of Mirkwood, the proud elf king, or the terrible glory of Smaug. First, they have to climb these damn hills.

Facing the Misty Mountains
on DeviantART

• Buy The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Extended Edition) 
• Also see: Fan Art: Thranduil

Orcrist Letter Opener: Photos

Orcrist letter opener (Sword of Thorin Oakenshield, The Hobbit)
 ThinkGeek and Amazon. 

I really like this letter opener, which I bought from ThinkGeek. It's pointy and opens letters easily, looks fantastic on the mantlepiece, could probably actually stab someone, but won't cut you.

I already wrote up an overview of the Hobbit/LOTR letter openers here, but had enough photos that I wanted to post these separately.

Photos of the details, from hilt to blade

The pattern in the pommel of the sword

The (fake?) wooden hilt, complete with grip and curving metal hilt and pommel

The shiny curve of the hilt, and the tiny detailing of Elvish runes
This extends out onto the blade.

The Elvish on the blade curving down in a long tendril and the trademark symbol (one side only, the other side is blank in that spot)

The shiny gold name and the clasp on the display box. 

Buy your own!

• ThinkGeek
• Amazon.com
• Amazon.co.uk

See more: Hobbit and LOTR Sword Letter Openers

Hobbit and LOTR Sword Letter Openers

See more photos of my Orcrist here!

If you want to own a sword from The Hobbit but can't afford (or risk) a fullsize replica (such as this awesome Orcrist), the letter opener versions from the Noble Collection are fantastic alternatives.

Orcrist (Goblin Cleaver) and Sting are the main swords, available from ThinkGeek and Amazon. 

Pointy, but not dangerously sharp, these real metal, realistic little weapons are official replicas and true to the film versions. I own Orcrist, because it looked more interesting than Sting, and I keep it in its display box on the mantlepiece, under the Minecraft sword. Except for when I take it out to show it off. It makes people very jealous. It's really beautiful, and it's a sword, so extra awesome.

 Found in a troll hoard on the way to the Misty Mountains by the Dwarves, Orcrist is a legendary sword of ancient elvish make that is taken by Thorin Oakenshield and Sting is a matching dagger that becomes Bilbo's 'sword'. Both glow in the presence of goblins. 

Sting (Amazon.com)

The more famous Sting is passed on to Frodo in Lord of the Rings, and looks like a traditional sword. Orcrist remains with Thorin and is buried with him, and has a much more interesting design, with a long, graceful blade evocative of leaves and a curling, onesided handle.

Orcrist (Amazon.com)

 They come in a small wooden display box with a clear glass lid and a nice catch, and their name written on the front in the shiniest of lettering, so can be kept in or out of the box. I never remember to use letter openers (that's why we evolved teeth, after all), but it is nearly as good at slicing open letters as it is at hacking off goblin heads.

You can also find Glamdring (Gandalf's sword), Thorin's original Dwarvish sword, and the three troll hoard blades (Glamdring, Sting, Orcrist  as a set on Amazon.co.uk). They're much more expensive on the UK site. The three blade set is much better value, for some reason, at less than the price of two separate letter openers.

And then there are the original Lord of the Rings swords: ranging from about the same price to sets and 'collectable' higher prices, including Anduril / Narsil (Aragorn's "blade that was broken"; Narsil was the original sword, Anduril the reforged version), Hadhafang (Arwen's sword), King Theoden's sword and generic orc and elf swords. If you're after the swords, not just a cool letter opener, the six piece set is worth checking out.

Where to buy

Approx. Price: US$30 + shipping (20-30 pounds from Amazon.co.uk; Fifty pounds for the three sword set).

Amazon.com

• THE HOBBIT - STING Letter Opener
• The Hobbit ORCRIST Letter Opener
• THE HOBBIT - GLAMDRING Letter Opener
• THE HOBBIT - Thorin Oakenshield Dwarf Sword Letter Opener
  

  
  

LOTR

• Lord Of The Rings Narsil Letter Opener
• Steel Lord Of The Rings LOTR Letter Opener Set 6Pcs (Narsil, Sting, Glamdring, Hadhafang, Elf Sword, and Orc Sword)
• Lord of the Rings Letter Opener Hadhafang
• Lord Of The Rings King Theoden Sword Letter Opener

ThinkGeek

• Hobbit Letter Openers (Orcrist and Sting; choose from dropdown menu)

Amazon.co.uk

• The Hobbit Sting Letter Opener
• The Hobbit - Elven Sword Letter Opener Set
• The Hobbit Thorin Oakenshield's Orcrist Letter Opener
• The Hobbit Thorin Oakenshield's Dwarven Sword Letter Opener
• The Hobbit Gandalf The Grey's Glamdring Letter Opener

LOTR

• The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn Anduril Letter Opener

Check out the photos of my Orcrist letter opener!

Thranduil (Lee Pace) Fan Art

Just to kick this blog off, have a painting I did this week of Thranduil, the elven King of Mirkwood, played by Lee Pace in The Hobbit trilogy directed by Peter Jackson.

(found here on DeviantART)

• Buy The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Extended Edition) 
• Also see: Fan Art: The Misty Mountains