Help me ID this fancy dagger prop (from a fantasy series?)

January 5, 2020 12:24 PM

A friend of mine who owns rental apartments found this dagger/knife left behind after a tenant moved out. It has dull edges and the point isn't very sharp, and it was on top of a wooden board shaped like it (but no mounting hardware), so it seems likely that it's a reproduction of a prop from some fantasy movie or TV series. Any idea which one?
posted by brianogilvie to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

Best answer: Probably not actually...if you go to a knife/gun/pothead shop there's inevitably a whole case of these kinds of knife, all different, all tacky. I think they charge by the prong. If you're looking for resale value it's gonna be...not a lot of money.
If it's from a tv show or movie, it absolutely will have a (c) paramount pictures or whatever studio ON it somewhere.
posted by sexyrobot at 12:38 PM on January 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

It looks like generic fantasy dagger. Pawn shops everywhere are littered with them.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 12:40 PM on January 5, 2020

Best answer: It appears to be called the "Draco fantasy dagger". I don't think it's from anything. Seems to go for $10-15 on eBay.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 12:45 PM on January 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

I had no idea there was a market for this sort of thing but a little searching and I found hundreds. Prices when new in the $13-$15 range.

More of them are associated with fantasy games than they are movies or TV series.
posted by tmdonahue at 12:55 PM on January 5, 2020

I've seen various types of these for sale at Renaissance festivals. Rather pricey I seem to recall.
posted by vegartanipla at 4:16 PM on January 5, 2020

The ripply metal is called Valyrian Steel in Game of Thrones, but I'm sure it has lots of other appearances in lots of other Fantasy Lands.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:17 PM on January 5, 2020

Best answer: The ripply metal is called Valyrian Steel in Game of Thrones

In this world it’s called Damascus steel. Although the effect will have been faked in this knife.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 11:34 PM on January 5, 2020 [8 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! If it's possible, this one looks like a cheap knockoff of the Draco fantasy dagger that EndsOfInvention found. It's stamped "CHINA" on the back, which made me think that if it was based on some show, it was a knockoff and thus wouldn't have any trademark info.

We have no interest in making any money off this ridiculous object, but if it was connected to some film or TV series, we might have tried to pass it on to a fan instead of just getting rid of it.

Kudos to sexyrobot for "I think they charge by the prong"!
posted by brianogilvie at 2:39 PM on January 6, 2020