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I can't see why he wouldn't use it George describes Ned as pretty average as a swordsman and Ned is smart enough to know his limitations so why wouldn't he use a sword which is basically adding +5 to his swordsman ability. Not using it on horseback like when Jaime ambushed him makes sense as he wasn't expecting a fight and the sword is large and for a man Ned's size probably a pain to carry around whilst horsed but on foot I could see it and when ToJ happens I can also see him wearing it. It's likely Rickard took it with him to Kings Landing, Ned did afterall when he could easily have left it at Winterfell as he shouldn't have needed it in the capital as such Ned would have reclaimed it after the sack but after gaining his fathers sword I can't see Ned leaving it with anyone for safe keeping when he goes off to Storms End and then ToJ he had to have it on him as the people he trusted the most went with him.


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Tower of Joy...yes! We must find this out. It could be extremely important if Ice defeated Dawn. :fencing:

It wasn't just Ned and Ice that defeated Dayne and Dawn. It was Ned/Ice and Howland/poison tipped three prong spear and net that defeated Arthur/Dawn

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it's size is and advantage especially when you factor in that it's valaryian steel so it would be lighter than a regular sword of its size and fighting with a two hands gives you more control over the sword and allows you to put more power into your strikes which you want when fighting someone in armor

That is where personal preference comes in. Maybe he preferred a shield. Maybe, as second son, he never trained to use Ice, or not enough to feel comfortable with it in battle. Maybe he treasured it to much to risk in battle (granted very unlikely). My point being, just because it was VS and therefor much lighter then a standard great sword, that is no guarantee he used it a lot. All that being said, he was a practical man and very skilled at warfare, he would know the advantages of wielding a VS great sword and would more then likely use it.

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It wasn't just Ned and Ice that defeated Dayne and Dawn. It was Ned/Ice and Howland/poison tipped three prong spear and net that defeated Arthur/Dawn

Are you funning me? I doubt anybody takes a three-pronged spear into battle. What I'm going for here is the possibility that one or the other sword is Lightbringer. In a battle between Ice and Dawn, absent any Reeds, which sword would win?

Metopheles, I know about the reason for the spiral staircases in castles being designed the way they were. Home court advantage and all that. I suppose I was thinking more in terms of defending than attacking though, which was not your fault. I plead cold medicine for getting mixed up. Antihistamines may help with symptoms but they are not friends to my thought power. :stillsick:

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Metopheles, I know about the reason for the spiral staircases in castles being designed the way they were. Home court advantage and all that. I suppose I was thinking more in terms of defending than attacking though, which was not your fault. I plead cold medicine for getting mixed up. Antihistamines may help with symptoms but they are not friends to my thought power. :stillsick:

Whaaaat? I thought Antihistamines, like pot, alcohol, and LSD brought enlightenment to its user? I mean how else would we know that grass is green, like really green man. :drool:

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That is where personal preference comes in. Maybe he preferred a shield. Maybe, as second son, he never trained to use Ice, or not enough to feel comfortable with it in battle. Maybe he treasured it to much to risk in battle (granted very unlikely). My point being, just because it was VS and therefor much lighter then a standard great sword, that is no guarantee he used it a lot. All that being said, he was a practical man and very skilled at warfare, he would know the advantages of wielding a VS great sword and would more then likely use it.

I agree that it is defiantly something you need to be comfortable with but winter had a master at arms who probably thought him how to fight with a two handed sword also I agree he was a very practical guy and would probably only use it when it was advantages to do so like storm pyke on foot I doubt he used it much during the rebellion unless he was on foot. I picture him riding into battle with ice on his back to use if he was knocked off his horse or something like that

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Ahm, not what I meant ;) Spiral staircases in castles were build winding upwards in a fixed direction ( don't know how to explain that) so that the castle guy can swing his arm, going downwards, while the atttacker, going upwards is blocked by the pillar to his right.

Valyrian Steel or not, I doubt that makes it only 20% the weight. Why can't it just be ceremonial? Would that diminish its awesomeness ?

Most of the swords we see today from great kings and such were ceremonial. They actually used others in battle.

And I think the Mountain is meant to be the sole specimen who can use that kind of sword in battle.

It's just an executional weapon. Other Greatswords may have been used in battles, but smaller ones, Id say.

Almost right, Gregor is the only when that could use in in battle one handed

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  • 2 months later...

No way to definitively answer, but many people are talking about how hard it would be to wield. May I politely remind everyone that it was Valyrian Steel. I think Ned could wield it without difficulty.

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The Crannogmen fight with three pronged frog spears, arrows and nets. The arrows and the spears are often poisoned

Yes but those are weapons best used in the crannogs, where they can essentially disappear into the mist and swamp and then surprise attack. The arrows would be good from a distance but once you get to hand to hand, the frog spear won't do you any good once your arm has been chopped off by a sword. Unless these are Valyrian steel frog spears, they wouldn't get as far as stabbing their opponents with them in one-on-one combat out in the open. Two-on-one could work though. Have the swordsman distract they guy and then spear him while he's not looking. Not very chivalrous but undoubtedly effective.

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Yes but those are weapons best used in the crannogs, where they can essentially disappear into the mist and swamp and then surprise attack. The arrows would be good from a distance but once you get to hand to hand, the frog spear won't do you any good once your arm has been chopped off by a sword. Unless these are Valyrian steel frog spears, they wouldn't get as far as stabbing their opponents with them in one-on-one combat out in the open. Two-on-one could work though. Have the swordsman distract they guy and then spear him while he's not looking. Not very chivalrous but undoubtedly effective.

If you can find the text where it states that Howland fought with a sword then post it. Otherwise, it is safe to assume that Lord Reed fought with the traditional weapons of his people, like the ones his daughter uses. And yes, there is nothing that says it was Howland going toe to toe with the Sword of the Morning. That is why the I brought up the poisoned trident and arrows. Senor Dayne was the greatest Knight in the Realm. A little staby staby while Arthur was about to kill a wounded Ned makes a ton of sense. Howland is not a Knight. He is a Lord. Honor for him is a bit different from a seven worshiping Knight

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If you can find the text where it states that Howland fought with a sword then post it. Otherwise, it is safe to assume that Lord Reed fought with the traditional weapons of his people, like the ones his daughter uses. And yes, there is nothing that says it was Howland going toe to toe with the Sword of the Morning. That is why the I brought up the poisoned trident and arrows. Senor Dayne was the greatest Knight in the Realm. A little staby staby while Arthur was about to kill a wounded Ned makes a ton of sense. Howland is not a Knight. He is a Lord. Honor for him is a bit different from a seven worshiping Knight

I think GRRM has done a rather good job of showing that most of the knights are not exactly honorable. I think those 3 Kingsguard Knights are very much the exception to that and they, along with Barristan and others, are, or were, very honorable.

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OK, I really like the Ice threads. I would like to point out that I personally own a damascus replica of Ice (a few others as well). And while it is a bit cumbersome (and not my personal fav.) i have absolutely no problem wielding it in spars/ demonstrations. It's only like 10lbs, and 54" give or take. It is doubly effective in actual combat scenarios, the strength of the swing is monstrous, and the reach is amazing. It would be worth wielding in battle, no doubt.



Also, let's think about the rallying effect of the biggest VS sword in Westeros leading your army/swinging defiantly against the foe. Most smallfolk will see that and get jacked on it. I mean, it's a huge symbol, as another poster pointed out, and it would be just as effective IN BATTLE as out in that regard, possibly more. Being a flag to let all guard/sworn shields know where the Lord is.


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Got it as a gift, a few years ago. From my wife, I didn't ask where she got it, but the asoiaf site has them for sale. google it and I am sure it's right there. Kinda expensive though, like 800 usd.



Here http://www.valyriansteel.com/shop/swords/ice-sword-of-eddard-stark/prod_11.html i was wrong 700usd



Woops looks like it's sold out, but the non damascus one is only 300usd and it's pretty nice too.



Edited BC i didn't know it was sold out


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I was curious. There a few blade makers that claim to make Damascus steel. they get the look right by folding different grades of steel together to get the ripple pattern but that is where the similarity ends. There are no carbon nanotubes in any "Modern" Damascus. they are still pretty though


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It was the ancestral weapon of the house and he trained with it every day. He could wield it without a problem or he would have died after his first battle

Actually, considering he was fostered in the Eyrie and the sword was never meant to be his but his brother's, Ned probably didn't train with it at all until after the rebellion. He'd have been too far small to wield it otherwise

As for the topic

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120511213934/gameofthrones/images/5/5c/Eddard_1x01.jpg

Ice is far wider than ANY GREATSWORD EVER USED IN COMBAT, EVER

Wrap your hand around your palm and you'll see just how huge this fucker was. You can't halfsword it effectively due to its width. It's not the length or weight, it's the width. Also it is clearly a two-handed sword due to its length, the weight of it doesn't change that at all.

/topic

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