Ice, Sword of Eddard Stark, Damascus Book Edition

Got my Damascus Ice a few months ago but only had time now to give a fair review.</br></br>The Good:</br></br>1.  Very imposing.  57 inches tall.  What a good 2 handed blade should be.  Truly as wide as man's hand.  Good weight</br></br>2.  Hilt is a thing of beauty.  Sure it may not be realistic but it is gorgeous.  24karat gold accents very classy.  The wolf running looks great.</br></br>3.  Damascus steel.  Very beautiful.  As close to valyrian steel as you're going to get.</br></br>Con's</br></br>1.  This is a major one.  It wobbles a little too much.  Obviously the longer you make a sword the more wobble you're going to introduce, it's unavoidable.  But the degree of wobble here is pretty bad, it's definitely caused by too thin of a blade and the worst part is that it gives the sword a cheap wall hanger vibe which is the last thing you want.  I used to own a United Cutlery Anduril which was almost as long and half the price.  Did NOT have the tip wobble this sword does.  </br></br>2.  Hilt.  The suede is a nice idea but quality control needs to be a bit better.  Mine came a bit smudged right out of the box.  Thanks for the tip about wiping the oil off the blade but it might have been nice to tell the guys at the factory to do the same before touching the hilt while packing these puppies up.</br></br>Overall, this is an excellent sword but the wobble of the tip is major flaw.  At the end of the day, I think Valyrian Steel needs to think long and hard about what they are truly offering with their Damascus line.  Is it just a nicer wall hanger or do they aspire to "real" high carbon swords?  I can tell you right now that being stuck mid-way is not a great place to be.  At 700 dollars and change, this is  A LOT of money to put into a wall-hanger sword.  But at 700 dollars, the quality necessary to make a true battle ready sword can't be met.  Too many sacrifices have to be made.  Likely if the blade was made thick enough to lower the wobble, we might be looking at 1000 dollars or up.</br></br>I think it would be a shame to just have a slightly improved wall-hanger in the Damascus line.  You are already taking the proverbial next step, just do it right.  Make these swords TRUE battle ready blades like the type Albion forges.  YES, they will be  more expensive but that's as it should be.  You have the 300 dollar wall hanger versions for the masses.  </br></br>Those of us willing to pay 1000 dollars a sword want the real thing and represent a HUGELY different market than the  normal fans who just want a wall hanger.</br></br>Also, it is usually a big mistake to try for too high a number when selling something so expensive.  It's no coincidence that at 100, the Damascus Longclaw is the only sell-out.  Everything else is going to be available for years yet.  The market for a sword that big and that expensive is very small.  No matter how big Game of Thrones is, that won't change.  Just look at Avatar and the money it made nationally and internationally.  But you don't see Avatar collectibles generating anywhere close to the level of buzz or success of the movie.  Personally, I think 150 would have been a very solid number and likely would have sold out already.</br></br>Again, in my opinion, I don't think the Damascus line should be marketed so that everyone who wants one gets one.  This is a high end EXCLUSIVE line and should be treated as such and made as such.  Right now, I see a sort of half-assed attempt to make it such but little things means it doesn't quite make the cut.</br></br>Make it special, make it expensive, make it limited, and make no apologies about it.</br></br>I'm hoping for a better, stronger, and more expensive HBO series Damascus Ice from Valyrian in the future.</br></br>While this Ice is certainly a worthy effort, it falls a bit short for what I expect from a true premium level blade in the Damascus line.  But at 700 dollars it is very very fairly priced.  The sword I WANT would probably be double at 1400 but I would have gladly paid that price and I have little doubt many true sword enthusiasts who are also fans of aSoIaF would have done the same.</br></br>Thanks for reading.

The sword is awesome.  The steel actually sings instead if clanking.  Sharpened it will be death in hand.

Just came today DAMASCUS ICE No 35, i love this sword,'Let Winter Come, I'm Now Ready.'

I got my Damascus Ice #75 today and was very impressed. Excellent grip, awesome blade and has great detailed work.

Love the work you guys put in on the damascus Longclaw People everywhere want to know where I got and and want to buy it from me you'll have to be stupid to let one of those go...</br></br>Great job guys beautiful work </br></br>