SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS

Orcrist came out of a troll-hoard in Tolkien's The Hobbit, though it was forged ages earlier in the lost city of Gondolin, and the creatures of the Misty Mountains knew it under a second name, Biter, and dreaded it. Thorin Oakenshield carried it to Erebor, and it was laid upon his chest when the story ended. Our version is inspired by that blade and built for the shelf, the wall and the display case — shaped by an atelier whose usual work is Japanese steel, turning the same obsession with line, polish and proportion onto a weapon out of Middle-earth.

Silhouette: You can identify it from across a room. One cutting edge, a long shallow sweep that thickens past the midpoint, then lifts into a fine upturned tip. Sighted along the spine, the curve runs through without a flat spot or a wobble in the grind.

Etched detail: Working forward from the fittings you meet first a row of angular Cirth-style characters, then a braided ribbon of interlace, and finally a tight spiral that dissolves into the polish. The pattern sits below the surface, so light slides over it instead of catching — readable from two metres away, absorbing from twenty centimetres.

Fittings: In 304 stainless steel, greyed by an antique finish, the guard drops forward as one horn-like crescent whose outer edge carries its own band of runes and knotwork. The pommel replies with a bare, smooth spike that curls back above the hand, held by a small squared peg. Nothing about it is symmetrical in the European sense — which is exactly the intention.

Grip: A 30 cm (11.8 in) wooden core hand-covered in black cowhide and worked into deep coils that climb toward the pommel. Matte, dry under the fingers, and long enough to look right from any camera angle.

Sheath: Wood beneath black cowhide, closed by a pale contrast stitch over the full length. The silver locket opens into flame-shaped tongues, a matching cap protects the point, and two riveted straps with a buckle hang it from a belt, a hook or a wall bracket.

Presence: 100 cm (39.4 in) from tip to spike, 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) in the hand. Enough to hold a wall above a desk, and at the same time compact enough for a two-post stand beside a katana without stealing its show.

Care: Spring steel likes dry air and a thin film of oil; wipe fingerprints away after handling and the mirror stays deep for years. Laid on its stand with the blade upward, the scabbard keeps its shape. A Tolkien piece for collectors, cosplayers and everyone who has read the Thorin chapters more than once.

Sold as a collectible item, intended for display and collection purposes.