The Sword Spectacular Weekend
A chance to cross swords with the stars of Highlander: The Series

Article and Photographs by Genise Graham

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Weapons to be Won

On the Saturday night of the weekend, Adrian Ko took to the stage with Jason Carter (Marcus, Babylon 5) and Marc Ryan (Nasir, Robin of Sherwood) for SFMO's sword giveaway.

Said SFMO's Editor-in-Chief, "We are very pleased to be able to not only present to Highlander fans for the first time, a sword based on the actual First Season prop of Highlander: The Series as used by Duncan MacLeod, but to also give this beautiful sword away. Not many people in the world have it. Dedicated fans have long noticed the subtle difference between the sword used in Season 1 and the one used in Seasons 2 through 6."

"The Sword of the Dragon was given to us by our friend Donn Nieder of Tuscany Trading Company (www.tuscanytrading.com)."

Adrian further related, "The Musashi Katana is designed by master prop maker Sal D'Aquila who created various props during Highlander's first season." Adrian Ko contributes the following comments on each sword:

Photo: Left Left: The Sal D'Aquila Musashi Katana. Right: The Sword of the Dragon. Adrian describes this sword: "The Musashi dragonheaded katana's grip features a composite kevlar core. So durable is this handle that Sal D'Aquila accidentally rolled his truck over it and it did not break. The blade is a differentially heat-treated blade made by Kris Cutlery; it has a harder edge (60 Rockwell Hardness - or HRC) and softer body (30-40 HRC) - similar to traditional Japanese swords. For those who have fantasized for a usable Duncan katana - this would be it! "The Sword of the Dragon - made by Marto of Toledo, Spain - is in reality a purely decorative piece, made of 420 stainless steel for low maintenance. The handle is imitation ivory (plastic). This really wasn't built for actual use. The Musashi has the potential of being used, as it is very tough and durable. "

Many thanks to our friend Sal D'Aquila (of Point Gallery - www.pointgallery.com) for donating the sword for the SFMO Giveaway!

Photo: Left Sword of Charlemagne. "I saw a particular Immortal on Highlander: The Series wielding this sword. I don't remember if it's that guy who's Darius' student who later fought Duncan on the sulphur mines, but I could have sworn it was on the series! "The Sword of Charlemagne is given to us to give away by our friends at Albion Armourers, again. Thanks guys! This sword is from the early thirteenth century. There is a fuller going down the length of the sword - the purpose of this was to reduce the mass of the blade without sacrificing too much rigidity. They are not really called "blood grooves" which is more a marketing term applied to any groove when you pick up a mail order catalog!"

"This Del Tin sword is based on and bears striking resemblance to the original. The Charlemagne is a popular sword in many of the books on historical European arms. It gives me the sense that an Immortal using this sword might have come from a royal house which ended up deteriorating in influence and dying before him while his lifespan endured beyond the regime of his family - all that would be left of that heritage would be this sword."

Photo: Left "The Sword of St. Maurice, Turin, made by Del Tin (Model 2130). Our friends at Albion Armorers (www.albionarmorers.com) kindly gave this to us to give away in the Opportunity Sword Drawing. "Highlander fans have asked me where a battle-ready version of Methos' sword could be found. I selected this sword because it is the closest in shape to the decorative Marto sword that Peter Wingfield used in the series. It's a knightly sword from the mid-thirteenth century, and this design was based on the original housed at the Royal Armoury in Turin. Steel blade and steel fittings. "

"Here, Albion Armorers customized this for us for the Sword Drawing. It's a walnut grip that adds a slight bit more length and tucks the balance point slightly more in favor of the hilt. It's a very solid-feeling sword. This customization is good because Methos once clasped the hilt with both hands, and thus the customized hilt gives a bit more room for both hands to use. I felt that this would be a great giveaway prize! "I chose the Del Tin brand because it is a good company that makes affordable high-qualty replicas of historical swords, which are based upon actual museum pieces. In fact, Fulvio Del Tin - the owner of Del Tin Armi Antiche - made the blade for William Wallace's sword in the Mel Gibson movie, Braveheart. "These are not light-weight stage combat prop swords but are real swords."

Genise's Note: Adrian is designing a "Sword of Mythos" (Mythos being the Greek word for the word "myth") for Albion Armorers (www.albionarmorers.com). Adrian relates, "I have a design concept of a knightly sword optimized for speed with a decorated crossguard and pommel. The design is based on my inspiration of a particular 5,000 year Immortal. I think people will like it; it will feel ancient and powerful yet full of life like some really old guy people love!"

We will bring you more details as this project comes to fruition. Despite this project being wholly independent of anything to do with Highlander or Methos the character (trademarked names), Adrian has arranged to not accept any monies in designing the sword. "It's a sword I had always wanted. I feel privileged just to be able to design it. I don't have to make any money off of it; just that everyone gets a chance to enjoy something like this where there was no opportunity to do so before!"

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