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  It all began when a company in Spain
made a particular carved faux ivory handle katana many years ago. The
sword was selected for use in the Highlander movie, but it was missing
something. The director had the prop people work on it and they returned
with a dragon head, which the camera could more easily pick up. The
advent of Highlander: The Series drew upon the talents of propmaker Sal
D'Aquila who reviewed a variety of sketches of Duncan's sword and created
a dragon head of his own.Since then, swordmaking company Marto of Spain (and its subsidiary, Martespa) have made The Sword of the Dragon. The Marto swords - among others - were then used on a regular basis on the television series. Since then, however, unscrupulous Taiwanese companies began to pirate the design. One moved some of the designs of the handle around. Another would add a gem. Some chaged the scabbard colors. One thing for sure: all of them looked very cheap up-close, and many of us have mistaken them for the real Marto/Martespa swords!
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Official Sword of Duncan - This sword was never used in the series but remains Davis Panzer Production's "Official" sword for Duncan MacLeod. Made by Martespa, subsidiary of Marto of Spain. Television Series Season 1 Prop - The famous prop of the sword of Duncan from the first season of Highlander: The Series. Made by prop-maker Sal D'Aquila. Limited Edition Dragon-headed "Musashi" Katana - The prop-maker of the sword of Duncan from the first season of Highlander: The Series brings to existence a Duncanesque sword of incredible caliber. Rosewood Tachi - Connor MacLeod's TV Season 1 Sword. Made by Marto of Spain. Methos' Ivanhoe Sword - Adam Pierson uses a decorative rendition of the Sword of Richard the Lionheart made by Marto of Spain. Methos' 'Not To Be' Sword - Series Finale Variant Sword. This is an image I personally rendered. Gothic Bastard Sword - This was the sword of Graham Ashe which later became that of Richie Ryan. Made by Museum Replicas Limited. Real Gothic Bastard Sword - The original Gothic Bastard Sword as held and displayed at the Royal Armories in Leeds. Richie's Don Quixote Rapier - Richie's first sword from Duncan. The Sword of Kronos - in real life, were this a real sword made of steel, its balance would be incredibly poor and heavy. But what a fierce-looking weapon! Ian MacLeod Claymore - Made by Iberi of the Philippines, this is the sword of Duncan MacLeod's adopted father, the Clan Chief of the MacLeods, featured in "Homeland". Sword of Slan "the Cat" Quince - Season 1 Prop Sword wielded by Bull of Night Court. Sorry, couldn't resist! Carter Wellan's Sword - Decorative sword made by Marto of Spain in many variations.
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The mail order houses
were not helping either. Some used deceptive advertising and close-up
photographs to present the swords as the Spanish-made originals Highlander
swords, but were in actuality the cheap imitations. Most websites on the
Internet sell the cheaper fakes and use all kinds of inferences of the
Highlander trademark to "prove" they are swords of the movies and series.
This website will show you how to identify the fakes at a glance and show
you how to properly select the real swords