Mohra Demon Sword

[white avenger]

All of the activity in the "Collectibles And Merchandise" section lately has reminded me of something that I'm not certain has been mentioned anywhere on the Boards before, so indulge me if this is common knowledge.

The Mohra demon from the Season 1 episode "I Will Remember You" must have been a "Highlander" fan, because he carried the same sword that Duncan Macleod carried in his series. The Mohra's version had the faux ivory "tsuka," or hilt, stained a darker color (gray or light green) than the original "Highlander" version,

This is the official "Highlander" limited number edition, featuring a hand forged carbon steel blade for anyone who might be interested

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxyfuYa1fNM[/ame]

There are other less expensive versions available for any collectors on more limited budgets.

 

[buffyprops]

I meant to comment here White...
Good eye! That sword goes by so fast that about the only thing I notice is the cheesy looking chisel tip aluminum blade they put in that handle for the fight sequences! The chisel tip alway's jumps out at me as an inaccurate design for a Japanese Blade.
While it was pretty common practice on BOTH Buffy and Angel for them to use "FOUND" weapons, I gotta say, the choice to use THIS sword inparticuler was a REALLY bad one on sheer recognition value alone!
I like this episode but really take exception to the design of the Mohra Demon and the sword they went with for him.
To me the whole design really screams, "We didn't have any good idea's so we went with a green guy with a target on his head(ooops---I meant jewel) and put him in Samurai Armor!" Come on...
Everything else was great about this episode but the Demon was just dumb.
Everyone should know that there are a LOT of copies of the Highlander swords out there but the ones to STAY AWAY FROM are any with the little red jewel in the handle! I had a friend who referred to these as "The RED Jewel of Death".
These red jewel Highlander Swords are the cheapest of the cheap and have blades and handles that will snap under the slightest stress. Now you know!

 

[The Unspoken]

I meant to comment here White...
Good eye! That sword goes by so fast that about the only thing I notice is the cheesy looking chisel tip aluminum blade they put in that handle for the fight sequences! The chisel tip alway's jumps out at me as an inaccurate design for a Japanese Blade.
While it was pretty common practice on BOTH Buffy and Angel for them to use "FOUND" weapons, I gotta say, the choice to use THIS sword inparticuler was a REALLY bad one on sheer recognition value alone!
I like this episode but really take exception to the design of the Mohra Demon and the sword they went with for him.
To me the whole design really screams, "We didn't have any good idea's so we went with a green guy with a target on his head(ooops---I meant jewel) and put him in Samurai Armor!" Come on...
Everything else was great about this episode but the Demon was just dumb.
Everyone should know that there are a LOT of copies of the Highlander swords out there but the ones to STAY AWAY FROM are any with the little red jewel in the handle! I had a friend who referred to these as "The RED Jewel of Death".
These red jewel Highlander Swords are the cheapest of the cheap and have blades and handles that will snap under the slightest stress. Now you know!

Wasn't that demon from another dimension though? Maybe in his dimension Highlander is the one guilty of the rip-off. It's certainly in line with the no-shrimp-dimension-theory. ;D

 

[white avenger]

I meant to comment here White...
Good eye! That sword goes by so fast that about the only thing I notice is the cheesy looking chisel tip aluminum blade they put in that handle for the fight sequences! The chisel tip alway's jumps out at me as an inaccurate design for a Japanese Blade.
While it was pretty common practice on BOTH Buffy and Angel for them to use "FOUND" weapons, I gotta say, the choice to use THIS sword inparticuler was a REALLY bad one on sheer recognition value alone!
I like this episode but really take exception to the design of the Mohra Demon and the sword they went with for him.
To me the whole design really screams, "We didn't have any good idea's so we went with a green guy with a target on his head(ooops---I meant jewel) and put him in Samurai Armor!" Come on...
Everything else was great about this episode but the Demon was just dumb.
Everyone should know that there are a LOT of copies of the Highlander swords out there but the ones to STAY AWAY FROM are any with the little red jewel in the handle! I had a friend who referred to these as "The RED Jewel of Death".
These red jewel Highlander Swords are the cheapest of the cheap and have blades and handles that will snap under the slightest stress. Now you know!

That particular sword design seems to be fairly popular in Hollywood, because I've seen it in several other movies. Chuck Norris even used one in one of his movies. And, yes, the majority of the cheaper versions floating around are way too flimsy to actually do any heavy cutting with. In fact, that could be said about just about every katana on the market today, unless you either find a super bargain or want to spend several hundred dollars, minimum, with the really great ones being many times that amount. But the really good ones, if you do your part, are capable of...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKZs4-joZbo&NR=1[/ame]

...doing that.

 

[buffyprops]

Great point and good to keep in mind!
There is so much CRAP floating around in the way of Samurai Swords it's not even funny...

 

[white avenger]

Great point and good to keep in mind!
There is so much CRAP floating around in the way of Samurai Swords it's not even funny...

Basically, EVERYTHING in the way of katanas and wakazashies that are available below about $500 is more or less junk. One of the problems is that there are way too many people who see Macleod or some other swashbuckler slice cleanly through someone's neck with one effortless stroke, and they get the idea that there's something magic about the sword that allows it to do that. The katana isn't a machete, and it was never made to be used like one. Any cut that you see made with one of these swords, whether it be with a $50 copy or a $300 "official" replica, is at least 75% skill and technique, and only 25% blade. If you use the sword realistically, it will perform within its limitations. But the key word there is "limitations."

Even the true swords made by ancient masters and actually used by the Samurai, broke, bent, got dull, and had to have their "furniture," primarily the wrapping and wooden pegs holding the blade in place, but also the entire handle itself, replaced regularly. They weren't indestructible, or even (blasphemy of blasphemies!) that much better than their European or Middle Eastern counterparts.

The bottom line is, you pretty much always get what you pay for, and if you try to abuse your sword, plan on it failing you. Wall hangers aren't battle ready, but they CAN be sharpened, and they CAN be used, within limits, to cut, and even the top quality battle ready models won't hold up to deliberate abuse.

 

[buffyprops]

I believe there is also a lot of confusion concerning "Masamune", the sword maker that Ramirez mentions in the first Highlander Movie...
Stories of the sharpness of his swords are legendary.
I've seen wood block prints showing Samurai holding their own top-knots and severing their own heads, supposedly with Masamune Swords.

And everyone likes to think they know how the Swords were tested for sharpness in feudal times in Japan...
I once had a very earnest fellow tell me that it was common practice to float a silk scarf down a stream to a waiting sword...if the silk was cut as it floated onto the blade, then it was ready for sale...I about spit out my coffee laughing when I heard that.
In actuality the scene was often far less romantic and far more brutal for testing the sharpness of swords. A Samurai in the market for a new blade could usually test it out before purchase on one of several bodies most sword vendors kept strapped to rocks behind their shop for just such a purpose.