This sword is an extreme enlargement from a recent Christie's catalog of an auction held in England. The going price was about three thousand English Pounds. The description was said to be the sword used in all three Highlander movies. However, this does not appear to be accurate, because the prop in the first Highlander movie looks like this. Consequently, Jose de Braga carved the katana hilt for the Highlander III film. In the catalog photograph, the camera angle unfortunately resulted in a distorted photograph. I've done my best to compensate for the distortion.

As you can see, the handle itself features the same six Samurai pictoral scenes as the Sword of the Dragon - a creation by swordmaker company Marto of Toledo, Spain. The dragon's tail toils around the end of the hilt, and its scales are prominent, whereas the first film's prop featured a more spike-based texture.

Also, you will notice a peg hole, similar to the one in the first Highlander film. The peg hole suggests that the blade is possibly fashioned after the traditional Japanese manner, where a bamboo peg was typically used to fix the blade within the handle.

News Update

Many fans have wanted to bid for this sword. But did Christie's provide a proper description? Dan Short brings us this following report:

"The sword that went at Christie's went for 2800 pounds, and came with a letter of authentication from Bapty, the prop makers for the first film.

"I bid up to 1500 for it. The first time I looked at it, it was okay, but when I went back for a second look, the blade had been separated from the handle.

"Since the auction, I have learned from fellow prop collectors in this country that it was not the close up sword from the first Highlander film, but a background prop, this makes sense since the Tsuba was fibreglass.

"I have also uncovered information as to its the original owner and found out that the scabbard sold with the sword was not bought with the sword but added later. The owner also has a "hero" version of the sword which has a perfect blade (no dents like the background one) and metal tsuba. This sword was loaned back to Davis-Panzer in order to make the swords for Highlander III, and the Conner replica moulds. i.e. the sword was probably used in Highlander I and II."

(Editor's Note: The Highlander 1 katana seems notably different than the Highlander 2 katana. The Highlander 3 katana - carved by Jose de Braga looks very similar to Highlander 2's and is basically a improvement upon Highlander 2. We've been in touch with Jose de Braga himself to reconcile all the conflicting reports and rumors about these swords!)

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