As a LOTR fan, when I commisioned John Lundemo for a LOTR inspired sword, I named it Ithilcalad, meaning Moonlight. But other then that, I don't really name my blades as a rule, especially not if they are production swords.
I don't mind production swords (well, some maybe ;)), but what's the point in naming my Albion Knight, if they already did??

I MIGHT consider naming a custom sword, but only if that type of sword could have had a name during the period it comes from. For example, were I to commision a viking sword, custom made, I might name it in a way that was customary for the time. Headsplitter, or something. :D

Seriously though, as a rule, I don't name my blades.

I've been planning to (eventually) get me an Albion Baron and Mercenary, with black grips. I'd call them Agnes and Adder, respectively...

My first "sword" was a machete that I picked up for six dollars at an army surplus store. I was twelve at the time and I, my head being crammed with Tolkien, thought it was the coolest thing ever. Certainly forged of mithril in the dwarf mines of Taiwan or wherever. I lived about three hundred yards from the American River back then and a few months later I used the thing to kill a rattlesnake that had found its way from the river to my backyard. I tried to relocate it without harming it, but we had dogs and horses and in the end I didn't want to risk any of them being harmed. A spooked horse is really something you want to avoid whenever possible. After it was done I named the machete Serpentbane. I still have it, sixteen years later, along with the snake's rattle which I strung from the hole in the hilt. I was kind of a weird kid, ok?

That was the first and last weapon I officially named. I think that some weapons certainly deserve names, but the ones that do have a tendency to let you know that on their own. I have a tactical shotgun that I call Boom Stick after the scene in Army of Darkness, but that's not really its name. I haven't named my hunting shotgun, even though it's a very nice gun that I've had since I was sixteen. I just call it Fox, since that's it's model. I'm certainly open to naming all of the other swords that I have on my list, but they'll make do with their factory-given name until they show me that they need another one. Kind of like a Roman general. You get the name that your parents gave you and then you get a second one after you do something heroic. To just throw around those names in an age where these weapons will never see battle seems just a bit pretentious, but I'll make exceptions for those blades that have a bit of extra spirit. And it would have to be something better than Tatamislayer. I'd probably use culturally appropriate sword names from mythology or literature. On the other hand I didn't hesitate to name my hiking staff, which has seen hard and frequent use fulfilling its intended purpose. I guess I'm a weird adult, too.

I think the norse named their weapons more out of an inately morbid sense of humor, rather than Tolkeinesque romantacism. In that context it's not so cheezy.

Something along the lines of writing "to Saddam with love" on a tomahawk missle, as opposed to holding your sword up in a pillar of angellic light, while heavenly choir sings and bequeathing some vaguely elven name.

I, personally don't think a sword should be named until you've done something particularly bad*** with it, or at least hack-and-slashed your way through a decent campaign with it. That said, of course none of the swords I actually own have names, but I've thought up a few pretty nice ones. Apologies for any bad Japanese.

Kami-no-Te-Maru - Hand of God
Ryukiba - Dragon Fang
Satsukaze - Killing Wind
Shinigama - Death Scythe

...and saving the best for last...

Kikenjugirimaru - Machinegun Cutter :D

I have recently decided to give two of my weapons names. One is a large dagger that I built. It is very wide (about 2 inches) and still has painfully noticable hammer marks from the forging of the blade. I have chosen to call that one "Big Ugly." Less flattering, but vaguely inspired by Patrick's "Big Johnsson."

The other sword that I have named is my MRL European sword. That one I have named simply because I do not like the manufacturers name (European Sword is awfully nondescript), but still need to call it something so that my brother knows which sword I am discussing when on the phone with him. To that end, I named it "Black Simon," after the character of that name in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The White Company.

Still, by and large, I think naming swords is one of those personal preferences that doesn't hurt anything, but is more than a bit pointless.

-Grey

Reviving this thread because I find it fun and interesting. :)

I don't think I'd feel a need to name a sword I've bought; naming is a very personal thing that represents a deeper connection to the weapon. Like Tyler Weaver above, the only time I'd feel a need to name a purchased sword would be if I ever did something quite outrageously awesome with it.

However, I do name swords I make myself, in the same manner any artist will title his or her work. That is because I do feel a deeper connection to blades I forge with my own hands since to me, sword-making is an art with almost mystical qualities.

So far, I've only made three blades fit for naming:

Vårsnö - "Spring Snow"
Nymåne - "New Moon."
Högmod - "Hubris/Arrogance." (A failed experiment.)

When I name them, I take into consideration 1) the character of the sword, 2) my own feelings towards it and 3) whether or not it sounds sufficiently cool without sounding corny. ;)

Thomas Hoogendam wrote:

what's the point in naming my Albion Knight, if they already did??

Well, if all Albion swords of that type is called a Knight, then it's not really a name, is it? Then it's a classification.

Naming is about personalization. The name singles out the object and gives it a soul. It's a way of saying: "This sword is special. There is no sword like this one. At least not to me."

Sam Barris wrote:

I think that some weapons certainly deserve names, but the ones that do have a tendency to let you know that on their own.

Couldn't have put it better myself. :) [/i]

if I was going to call my Albion Talhoffer anything, I think "Ceiling Biter" would have to be it. Hilarious.

My new Gallowglass from Albion was accidentally named George from the Bugs Bunny cartoon "Spaced Out Bunny." I was just so excited when it arrived it slipped out. "Oh, boy, oh boy! A Gallowglass of my very own. I will hug it and stroke it and cuddle it and sing to it and call it George. "

:lol:

I own several of the Mad Piper's basket hilted claymores, but it's really awkward to refer to them in general conversation (primarily with my wife, mind you) by their classifications, i.e. Stirling S-hilt broadsword, Walter Allen such-and-such hilted backsword, etc. As such, I have actually given a few of them "pet names" - for example, my broad-bladed Stirling S-hilt is "Mr. Cleaver", my narrow-bladed early Glasgow style is "Mr. Pointy", and my wife's early Anglo-Scottish backsword (with a running wolf engraved on the blade) is "Muddy Mudskipper." I know, it's kinda silly, but there you have it! It makes us laugh a bit about a hobby that, after all, is concerned with weapons of destruction.

Also, I'd love to have a Viking sword engraved with a Nordic-style name. THAT would be really cool! :)

My SCA daughter named my Del Tin Bastard sword "Frank".
Don't ask me why, she just did. It's been "Frank" all these years.

I don't name any other sword that I own.

I guess I should have named my Albion Crecy Grete "garage door rail and car door destroyer" as it got the better of both opponents. Luckily my spouse forgave the sword and my practice skills. I was not sure I was going to get to continue the hobby.

I have named a few of the swords in my collection.

Arms & Armor Edward III Sword and the customized Black Prince are predictably "Father and Son"

Albion Berserkr "The Amputater"

Albion Vassal "The Dissemboweler"

Arms & Armor German Bastard Sword "Otto The Great" Though the timeline is off by a few centuries :lol:

Arms & Armor Highland Claymore "Wallace The Great" After William Wallace of course.

Arms & Armor Three Ring Rapier "The Skewer" lol

Arms & Armor Customized Sparth Axe "The Impaler or The Torso Wrecker" LOL! 67 inch haft, tempered blade,
rigid reinforced spine on distal edge.

One sword was baptized Ysgithr and the accompanying dagger Crafanc, basically a variation on the notion of tooth and nail or fang and claw. Cervenka etched them quite nicely. None of my others have names, hell I don't even remember the names their makers called them, I have to check their sites each time... except for the Schiavona, which I call the Schiavona, how could one call her anything else...didn't the Clash have a hit song by the same name ''My Schiavona''?

I have only one sword so far.... its a german bastard... so I call him:

Bastaard I (which is Dutch for... obviously Bastard)

So easy... for any other bastard sword I might get, I just name it Bastaard II, III, IV, V etc.

I have a customized DT 2070 that has the runes for "Walsung" etched into its blade in honor of the Wagner Ring Operas. It is called Nothung.

I also have a custom langseax named Gullinkambi, which translates to "the golden comb". In Norse Mythology, Gullinkambi is the rooster whose crowing awakens the warriors daily in Valhalla. It is also believed his crowing will singal the start of Ragnarok.

Those are the only two I have yet named.