Gandalf Vs. The Witch King

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Originally Posted by Mansun

I believe somebody did raise an earlier post a few months ago saying that in a letter Tolkein describes how the WK is left shaken by the fact that he was very nearly pierced by Frodo's sword at Weather Top which would have been as deadly to the WK as the WK's knife on Frodo.

Note that, in the books and in the movie, Frodo does not acquire Sting from Bilbo until he reaches Rivendell, which follows the events on Weathertop. I could see how, in the books, the Witch-King is somewhat stung by Frodo's blade as that blade, like Merry's, comes from the Barrow, and so it at least could be a WK-bane.

Whether the Sword of Elendil is the mightiest blade of all is debatable, but it must be one of them due to its ability to pierce Sauron at the height of his power.

Do we really know how Narsil was used in the battle with Sauron? This sword was broken in the battle, and afterwards the broken shards are used to cut the Ring from Sauron's hand. Narsil surely is one of the top swords, but Sauron may have been brought down by Aiglos.

In the movie, Galadriel gives Merry & Pippin elven blades as gifts before they depart from Lorien, so they may still have been of use to the same effect against the WK as in the book.

I know that it's quibbling, but when does Merry get his elvish blade back after his stay in Orthanc? Note that the sword that he wants to use in the service of Theoden King requires sharpening, not something you'd expect for such a fair blade.