Duncan MacLeod's Katana: Critique of a Highlander Character's Sword

Duncan MacLeod's katana, like Connor's, is a sword with a lot of meaning behind it. Honor, nobility and all the associated virtues are things that Duncan himself is known for. Naturally, I felt some of these things when I picked it up and drew the sword for the first time. The sword itself is beautiful - it has a blade about three feet long with a gentle curve to it. The hilt, like Duncan's actual katana, has the trademark white dragon's head design, about three hand widths wide. I practice kenjutsu with a bokken, so I have a good idea of what a katana is capable of, and how much it can take.

The blade is good for practicing kata, because it's almost perfectly balanced. I barely felt its weight - if I had been blindfolded, I would have likely forgotten that I was holding a sword, except for the feeling of the hilt in my hands. The blade, from what I could tell, was unfortunately made of stainless steel. Stainless steel is shiny, and looks pretty, but it's not the best material for a functioning sword. Now, it's not as though I'm intending to go out and use Duncan MacLeod's katana, Heaven forbid, but sometimes you just want something authentic.

After experimenting, I found that the katana, like most 'wallhanger' swords, is not really meant to be a functional weapon. Just to test the katana's strength, I used it against a straw test dummy. Although my form was perfect, the blade still developed a very slight warp. To those who own katanas, to check your blade for warps, hold the sword at eye level and point it straight out, edge up. You should see a straight line - if there are any twists or curves, be careful. The katana relies upon the perfection of its edge to make drawing it from the sheath easier and safer. An extreme case of what could happen otherwise is when someone at a demonstration was practicing iaijutsu (the art of drawing and cutting) and his sword caught on the sheath, slipped and severed his thumb.

That's due to my own error - I had learned that stainless steel isn't meant to stand up to the force exerted on it by a katana swing - at least, not in that shape. If you want something authentic, you need carbon steel. Carbon steel hasn't the same luster to it; it's darker, and the edge is of a lighter hue. The tradeoff is that carbon steel is stronger because it's softer. Stainless steel is pure steel, whereas carbon steel katanas are made of a steel exterior (for the edge) and a carbon-steel interior (to give the sword resilience).

Another complaint I have is that the handguard seemed to loosen from its surroundings over time. It's made of brass, but doesn't seem to be treated very well. The handguard has a slight green tint to it, which is what happens when bronze is oxidised. The guard , because it's loosened at least on my sword, tends to jiggle and make contact with the concealed part of the blade. There's no damage of the sword breaking from this or anything, but I do find it annoying.
Overall, I think the Duncan MacLeod katana replica is a nice decoration, and you can practice sword form with it, but it shouldn't be used for any serious cutting practice.