Adam Savage Meets Gandalf's Sword Glamdring!

All right, I guess I should start. It's Adam Savage. I'm a prop store in London with Stephen Lane. Hello my friend. I'm holding glam drink Just having a moment This is one of Gandalf's swords from Lord of the Rings. This is built by Weta Workshop. I'm this is ground by Peter Lyon The sword master at Weta who taught me sword grinding. It's made in aluminum So when you when you're in McKellen and you swing it around you look really strong because it's super light. I Can't believe you have this piece. Do you want me to say anything? Yeah, I know it's it's it's a beautiful sword, isn't it? Of course this is from Return of the King And it's Gandalf's primary weapon along with his staff for the for the movie. You're absolutely right This is this is made of aluminum. It's an aluminum blade. I know there's a technical name for that the aluminum as well No, I can't remember 7071 instead of the normal aircraft 6061 they use 7075 because it's springier right and bounces back better Yeah, yeah, and isn't it also a safety thing as well? Isn't it something like that the blade this metal that that style of aluminum doesn't shatter so easily So if it's been used for action work, or you know, if it's clashing against another sword, it's less likely to actually And they also grind it so it's got a fairly thick edge even though it looks like it's sharp It's not and so it doesn't damage it as they as they as they battle with it. Yeah. This one also has a funny Little legend here Gandalf sword sideshow toys 12 June. Oh, too So clearly this was sent by weta I'm guessing to sideshow for making the their first replicas of floundering. Yeah, actually as the story goes they were actually presented to the Executives when they were on their tour there so they were having a tour during production and they were working out what the lines the product lines work and that we're going to come from them and They they offered them some of the samples literally for the film while they were there and so right off the press Here we go Take these away and use these as the samples for you guys to make the replica subsequently So, of course these differ from the replicas that were made because as we say the aluminum blade and the finishing details as well But it's actually an initially, you know when we first saw these come to market many years ago We're like sort of a bit of a shame that it's got the engraving down the blade now It's just like that's a moment in time this authenticates exactly when it was given to them the date it was given to them as well from the production and They weren't all made in aluminum some for hero close-ups. I'm I'm correct that they've made some in actual steel actual steel as well Yes, but I think they would still differ very much from the replicas that were made by site But yes, I think this is more of the action as you say the lightweight nature of it as well And it's beautifully balanced as well, isn't it? It really feels good as well You can tell that they were thinking about the balance on the sword Not just the aesthetic, you know when they were with them We're piecing them together when they were building them that is one of the things I love most about what wet it turns out is the entire scope of what they've Considered about how it gets handled how it's gonna look how it's gonna feel And I imagine that the actors all felt very affectionate for their for their hero prop pieces All I'm thinking about is actually I really wanted to try and grind a leaf blade myself, right? Because that's what this stylus call where it gets a little thicker out. Oh, it's a right Profile. So this is um, this is casting but the beautiful elvish writing is was is not really obvious When you see it on screen and there's so much extra detail. Yeah, it's just nice and subtle You got this sort of faux blue jewel sort of detail sitting in there Haven't you which is really just a bit of paintwork finish in there to dress it. But yeah, no, it's it's a gorgeous thing What is the pommel here? Is that just like a plated resin perhaps? Yeah, I believe that if I'm not incorrect Yeah, I think these are just a plated resin and it looks even that works perfectly doesn't right? Yeah Yeah to the camera that looks completely metal But it went the moment you touch it you realize this plastic and again No amount of close-up, whatever whatever yield that impression You have sold some some wet assorts before am I right? Yes. Yeah. Yeah Yeah, no, that's it. They do come up from time to time There was a whole batch that came out during this era and they have circulated a little bit But this one's been buried away in a private collection now for about 10 years So this is the first time that we've seen this come to market for a long time I have photos from the last time I came to market because I remember seeing this inscription. Oh, that's a really interesting story That's right. I mean that's We have done business together long enough where I've seen pieces come back to auction and you know You must feel like these are sort of like members of your extended family after a time You know what? there is definitely a bit of that and it's really interesting because you know without sort of focusing too much on the monetary aspect of It these things have really changed dramatically in value over the last 20 years And what we found is that the clients of prop store who with our big buyers going back 15 20 years ago A lot of them are now our suppliers because they've seen the market rise They think things change and also there's a lot more accessibility now. There's more content out there than ever before You know, we couldn't do a 1500 item auction, you know 10 years ago There just wasn't the material around so those people like, you know, what the buddy's gone up now I fancy this, you know the bright shiny thing over there And so they come back around a prop store and it's really exciting for us to have the opportunity to handle them again Well, because they're not just they're not just bits of commerce. They're genuine artifacts They are you know And when I walk through the the Victoria and Albert Museum and I read the labels and the stories of the objects there To me I view what we're doing here as part and parcel of the same process We're holding on to the stories that these things tell exactly that and look we all know that we're only temporary custodians Don't we we're gonna have them for a while the important part is it's preserved story gets passed on as you said and the next person has the same level of enjoyment and hopefully it lives on for the next few decades and if you are feeling flush and would like to be the steward or Of this piece the auctions happening right now. It is. Yeah, it's online right now You can check it out a prop store comm fittings taking place and then it culminates in a four-day live auction November the 3rd to November the 6th Thank you for indulging me sir pleasure man, all right, I'm just gonna swing this in the parking lot