The Mountain Sword

The Mountain Sword: A Weapon to Inspire Fear

The Mountain Sword is a claymore, which is an enormous style of sword designed to be wielded with two hands. Because of this, the leather-wrapped hilt is fairly long, allowing for the wielder to easily hold it with two hands with a nice wide grip, to allow for different manoeuvres when fighting in both a duel and on the battlefield.

The blade is made of hand forged steel. It is relatively broad and has a distal taper, much like a traditional claymore. The tang is thick and sturdy and is visible as it passes through the ringed pommel.

The design of the pommel in particular is very distinctive, having an open ring shape. This is a style which appears in both fantasy, such as in the Game of Thrones, and in history and mythology. Historically, the open ring pommel was known as an “Irish Ring Hilt”, because it commonly appeared on both historical Irish weaponry and in Celtic artwork.

While the Mountain Sword is inspired by the weapon wielded by Gregor Clegane, it is a replica and so may have some slight differences. However, it is still very recognisable, with the ringed pommel and visible tang.  It was also designed with a slightly curved guard which is both attractive and functional.

Inspired by History, Made Legend by Fantasy

The pommel wasn’t the only part of the Mountain Sword that is inspired by Irish history. The design of the claymore itself is found throughout Medieval history, back when Ireland was ruled over by their own kings until the 1300s.

While the sword design is historically sound, it was most famously found in Celtic legends and myths. These legends likely inspired many modern fantasy stories, such as Game of Thrones. Likewise, the famous swords found in these legends also inspired the design for this sword.

In the Game of Thrones, Gregor Clegane displayed his incredible strength by wielding this great claymore with only one hand, leaving his off hand free to hold a shield. If you aren’t quite the mountain of a man that Gregor Clegane was, then you will likely wield the mountain sword with both hands.

The Mountain, Gregor Clegane used his claymore to great effect, despite it being designed for two hands. In the book series and the show, Clegane rarely wielded his weapon with much in the way of finesse or speed, preferring to use powerful and vicious strikes. Famously, he was able to cleave men completely in half with a single strike, as well as behead horses with relative ease.

Because of this, the sword of The Mountain is recognisable as a warrior’s weapon, efficient and simply designed while having an impressive presence. This makes it great for cosplay as The Mountain himself, or as an intimidating presence wielded by a fantasy or historical warrior. It also works very well as an attractive display piece.

Tech Specs

The technical specifications of this sword are as follows:

•         Blade Material: Hand forged from 5160 High Carbon Steel
•         Fittings: Mild steel
•         Handle: Red oak wrapped in leather
•         Colour: Black leather hilt, silver-grey metal blade.
•         Total Length: 58” or 147.3cm
•         Blade Length: 43” or 109.2cm
•         Blade Width at Base: 2 ¼” or 5.7cm
•         Weight: 4lbs 3oz. or 1.9kg
•         Point of Balance: 6” or 15.2cm

·         Distal Taper: Base, 5.8mm. Midpoint, 4.2mm. Tip: 3.3mm.