By WarAngel. Click on pictures to enlarge them.

Probably the greatest question of all time is if this legendary art-knife maker would custom-create for them the most famous sword of all time - the Sword of Masamune, as given to Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, as inherited by Connor MacLeod in the movie, Highlander.

Origin of the Sword

Jose de Braga's rendition of Connor's famous sword in Highlander 3 is a variation and more refined version of the sword used in the second Highlander film. When Jose was first approached to recreate the sword, three copies from the original mold were provided, made of a strong polymer that, while able to withstand shock and impact for the swordfight scenes, was unfortunately not "camera friendly" in that it was extremely difficult to pick up any detail on film.

As a result, Jose had to recarve the entire handle - not an easy task because the material of the handle could not be carved by conventional tools. The result, however, was that he achieved a beautiful antique look whereupon the details were captured on camera, and the sword handle captured the imagination.

There are some similarities with the sword featured in Highlander 2. The swords of Highlander 2 were carved by another craftsman from - in turn - casts of the original handle of first Highlander film. To date, the sword as it appears on Highlander 3 is by far the most beautiful fans have seen.

Custom "Connoresque" Swords

After having been approached many times to create a "Connoresque" sword, certain clarifications must be made.

Keeping within international copyright laws, any "Connoresque" swords cannot be purely identical to those used in the movies. Thus, keep in mind that some degree of variance must be factored in - which most people will probably never notice as the handles never appear in still shots for more than two seconds on film.

Materials Used

With ivory being far too expensive, Jose de braga suggests fossilised ivory as an alternative. His recommendation, however, is ivory micarta, which achieves an ivory look, is extremely strong, durable, and shock tolerant, and allows the overall art piece to become affordable to the collector.

Jose also creates the furnishings - the tsuaba (or guard), seppa (or washers on either side of the guard), and the fuchi (the ring/cap on the guard end of the handle) are all hand-carved from solid pieces of brass, nickel, silver, iron, etc. based upon the customer's request. He does no casting or welding. The only exception to casting are precious metals such as gold.

About the Blade

In general, Jose de Braga offers just the completed handle rather than a completed sword. However, he can provide blades of ATS-34 stainless steel, or blades made of D2 steel. (Read up on D2 in our Grades of Steel article. D2, if heat treated properly, can make an extremely tough and durable blade, yet retain some degree of stainlessness). While ATS-34 may be good for those who never intend to use the blade and do not want to maintain their blades, D2 is incredibly strong. Jose sends his ground D2 blades to be vacuum heat treated. He finds this heat treatment excellent for people such as himself - whom he humbly describes, "I'm just an artist... I'm a poor grinder making poles of stainless steel!"

Jose uses an acid etch process to simulate a hamon (temper line) on the edge. Various hamon designs can be specified by the customer. "Some who have seen the swords from afar off swear the hamons are real," says de Braga, "but they've probably never seen a real sword in their lives!"

He is also willing to accept the customer's pre-made blades to fit into the sword handle. However, if the customer's desire is to just purchase the handle to personally mount his/her own blade, the hole within the handle is larger than the blade tang, and thus you would have to carve a wooden "inner-handle" that fit the dimensions of the "Connoresque" hilt. A peg hole is available to hold the blade in place.

Price, Payment and Timetable

A fully-mounted sword featuring D2 or ATS-34 can cost upwards of US$6,500 due to the amont of work.

Handles alone can be purchased. An "ivory"-micarta version of the sword handle runs at approximately US$1,500. With the habaki, seppa, tsuba and fushi, the cost is an additional US$800.

A twenty percent deposit is requested for commencement of work, and final payment due prior to delivery.

Jose de Braga has a production schedule, and thus a letter addressed to his attention with your name, address and phone number and specific item you are ordering is necessary to secure your spot. The turnaround time for a Connoresque handle in ivory micarta is approximately one month.

Final Words

The handle will look strikingly similar to the famous movie sword. However, there will be variances that are necessary to comply with international copyright laws. However, the way to look at it is that each will be a hand carved original - and originality and uniqueness are dear to the heart of the true collector.

Click here to return to Jose DeBraga's HSG Sword-Maker Profile and to see other articles!