Rhys sez: “The Journal of Metallurgy interviews Peter Lyon, sword- and weapon-maker for The Lord of the Rings films. Possibly the only academic journal in which you’ll find a discussion of the material properties of Ringwraith weaponry.”
So for four years, in an on-site foundry, Lyon focused his skills on Middle-earth weaponry. From artists’ drawings he crafted swords that were designed to reflect their own histories. Those that had seen many battles were forged, then aged by applying acid and other chemicals to create a pitted, corroded effect (Figures 2a and 2b). The damaged surfaces were cleaned to give the appearance of an old blade that was still cared for. Swords used by elves were elegant and curved to represent their more evolved culture (Figure 3). Orcs who were barbaric fighting creatures, carried crude, chunky weapons…
Such details — the metalsmiths hand-forged more than 10,000 buckles for the Orcs alone — pass by so quickly they are nearly impossible for the average viewer to notice.
“Unfortunately, so much of it isn’t actually seen in the film, and so people would argue, why do it then? Why on earth would you go to that trouble?” Taylor said. “Because the real world has a level of subliminal detail that supports a cultural inheritance through graphic design that gives you the feeling that what you are looking at in the present is predated by a huge cultural influence that goes back hundreds, if not thousands of years. . .Therefore, every single actor, every single character, had a different buckling system, a different belting system, a different level of cultural integrity built into the variety of detailing on the armoring, to emulate the feeling of this process.”
(Thanks, Rhys!)