The Masamune Memoirs
A diary of the remaking of the Highlander swords
By Howy and Amy of Albion

HIGHLANDER PROJECT DISCONTINUED - Existing Orders will be filled but no further reservations will be taken

4-13-02
Howy makes arrangements to get a mold from an original H2 prop sword, from Thomas Mulack, our collector friend in Germany.

5-15-02
Received the mold and took a plaster casting.  The grip is in excellent condition and very good detail. This is definitely worth pursuing.

6-20-02
We send an initial proposal to Davis-Panzer Merchandising Corporation.  The fax was misplaced, but we were not aware of that until much later. 

 9-30-02
Renee of Albion called to check on the status of the faxed information.  She was asked to fax it again. 

 10-1-02
Howy dug the paperwork out and Renee re-faxed it.  Peter Davis called Howy that evening, but Howy was unavailable at the time.  A message was taken and Howy planned to call him the next morning.

 10-02-02
Peter Davis called first thing in the morning and we had a great conversation (cool guy!) He remembers Jody (Samson) well, from when Mr. Davis visited his shop in Burbank while Jody was making the prototype for the Highlander Colichemarde a number of years ago (see http://www.highlandercatalog.com for pictures of the sword). Mr. Davis indicated that he would draft a license agreement and send it within a few days.

10-03-02
Film Swords investors are told of the new deal, and are very excited.  Can’t stop talking about it.

 10-04-02
Received the license agreement for the first two swords and all is in order. Signed copies will go back on Monday, along with a wire transfer of the advance on royalties.  Howy begins work on the logo for the project and the web text.

 10-05-02
Howy contacted Jose DeBraga, maker of the originals for Highlander III.

 10-06-02
Jose responded with enthusiasm, now we have to work out details.

10-07-02
Details have been worked out with Jose and he will start carving originals for the Highlander III version as soon as he can work it into his current production schedule.  Funds have been wired to Davis-Panzer for the advance royalties.  Research has begun for webpage text.  A history of the swords is being compiled.

 Met with our team of craftspeople. Leif is proceeding with the restoration of the wax from the HII mold.

Jason and Randal are working on drawings of the Masamune blade. Pete has made arrangements with the foundry to cast the HII guard and has sent the original tsuba off for molding.

Long discussion about the Kurgan sword and the design challenges it represents. When examining the briefcase in the film used for the “take-down” version of the Kurgan sword, Rob McCall, our resident master leatherworker and repoussee artist, recognized the brand of the briefcase immediately – a 1980’s Hartmann Classic Business Attaché. Rob knows how to replicate one of these, as he was involved back in the 1980’s in making prototypes for Hartmann and may, in fact, have made the original for this very case. Thomas Mulack, a friend in Germany and a serious film prop collector, has pointed us to several resources for more data on the Kurgan.

 10-08-02
Work on the webpage begins.

Met with Randal, Jason and Pete on the design of the blade for the Masamune. We settled on 1095 steel for flexibility, durability and the nice hamon that will show when clay-coated. We also decided, for safety reasons, that we will use two meguki (pins) on each sword hilt – one where indicated on the film original (near the end of the tang), and another inconspicuously placed closer to the tsuba as on a traditional sword.

 10-09-02
Met with the design team:
Jason is contacting the owner (in the UK) of an original Kurgan sword, to see if we can borrow the sword for a short time. He will also be following up on Planet Hollywood. Jason has also drafted an article on the variations in the katana hilt design from film to film.

Rob has a model of the briefcase frame and original 1980’s Hartmann hardware and needs final dimensions to proceed with the case prototype.

Pete got a sample of the proposed resin for the tsuka for all three versions of the hilt.  It is a scrimshaw ivory piece that is the right coloration for the HII hilt, complete with brown detail wash.  Randal and Howy put it through a grueling torture test, and Randal declared it more than suitable for both appearance and durability – we will be test cutting with the first assembled prototypes to make sure that they are durable. 

 Spoke with master bladesmith, author, and long-time friend Jim Hrisoulas. Jim made several of the original steel and aluminum blades and some complete swords for the first film, including the famous “Toledo Salamanca.”  The rapier name in the Highlander I film, btw, was a Jim-related pun -- Jim’s shop is called “Salamander Armoury”, and “Salamanca” is the Spanish transliteration of “Salamander.” Currently serving in the US Army Reserves doing security work as a result of 9/11, Jim will be home in a week and promised to send Howy any drawings and specs he may have.

 We announced the project on the Albion and Film Swords main pages.

10-14-02
Draft web page completed and sent to Davis-Panzer for review.
Received a mail from Jose de Braga, including several pictures of his work. Posted them in the article about the movie variations of the sword.

10-15-02
Received a tentative schedule from Jose, along with some excellent news:

"Just completed scanning a pretty rare picture of one of the 3 Dark Magic made for the movie. Actually you are the first one to see this ..... As far as I know..... It as never used anywhere. [see "Masamune through the Movies" article for this picture.]
" I should receive the wax to carve the Masamune today. I 'm engraving a guard for a customer that will be completed tomorrow. Next project in line is a fountain pen on which I have to carve a tiger . This last project should be completed on 21 of this month . The Masamune project will start here on 22 . Wax will be cut to rough shape and set aside,this should take a couples days. Next project in line is an other fountain pen to be carved ,this one a bit more elaborated. This last project should be completed around the 5 November . The Masamune will be picked up again this time hopefully for a full week. If everything runs smoothly I should be near or even have the Masamune project completed around the 12 November -- if not it may be delayed until second week of December at worst.
" I finally got hold of my contact .He said that both hero swords ( The Masamune and the Black Magic ) is in the hands of the producer Claude Leger . he will try to convince him to send me the swords for a photo session :) Let's hope ...... Friendly :-) Jose"

10-16-02
Peter Davis approved the website and we went live at 4:00 pm.
Thomas Mulack called with some additional leads on original props.

10-25-02
The first Highlander Masamune blades have been roughed in 1095 and Jason will be grinding them next week, prior to heat treating by Randal.



11-01-02
We met with Brad Brunker, our 3-D CADD illustrator this week (Monday) to begin work on modeling the Kurgan sword variations. Brad said that after the 3-D drawing is complete, he can plug in the properties of the materials involved and give very close weights, balance points and other information that we can tweak before final modeling is done. We plan to model all of the Kurgan out in 3-D and then use FDM to generate key parts for casting. FDM is a fascinating process where an original is "printed out" from a machine similar to an ink-jet printer, but using plastic instead, creating a 3-D full scale durable model for test fitting and casting.

Leif also finished his restoration work on the Highlander II Masamune katana grip. Below are "before" and "after" close-up shots of the dragon head.


Before


After

11-07-02
We received the first castings of the H1 and II guards, and they look great!


The rough casting, unpolished

11-22-02
We received an update from Jose De Braga on his work on the Highlander III Masamune Katana grip:

"Hello......!
I recently received from my friend an original cast specially made for stunt fights in Highlander 3. It is not one of the three I have reworked but I'm sure it will bring some light into the story because that's what they sent me to start with.


Highlander II stunt prop handle


Highlander II stunt prop handle, obverse

This particular handle was cast around a steel frame to really absorb heavy impacts as well as providing a very secure fastening to the blade.
From the picture attached you can see part of the steel frame showing in the area of the mekugi and the top of it's blade mouth. It was also varnished to probably match the ones I have reworked but the varnish has oxidized through time and is now more yellow.
Anyway when I received it I remembered lot of little details that will help to recreate an original HL3.


the little lady ( Elisabeth ) from the OroPlata cie. delivering stuff and the wax for this project.



The wax that is going to be used for this .


Transferring the patterns of each element on the wax.


Cutting The handle.


Cutting the tsuba.


The 3 square and roughly shaped elements ready to be carved.

As I said in a prior e-mail the project will be started and then set aside to complete the already scheduled orders. As we talk it is in the state as seen in the last picture.


I now have to complete a fountain pen very similar to the attached picture. I'm almost half way through it and then I will restart on the masamune project probably around the 28 of this month. :)
Jose"

12-02-02
Barry Howe, our 3-D CADD designer, put together new 3-D illustrations of the Kurgan sword and a 3-D motion rendering that you can see here (requires Exlorer 5.0 or higher.)

12-20-02
Jose De Braga was kind enough to send us these updates and photos:

"Hello.......!
Here's a series of pictures showing the latest progress on the "Masamune/"
Just noticed by looking at the pictures that the tsuba need some very small modifications here and there but nothing dramatic. It will be done before shipping.
The "handle" as I'm writing "is in the state shown in the last picture.
I did not received the picture of the fountain pen I did prior to the restart of the project which, by the way, took much more time than I initially suspected, but as soon as I get it I'll send a copy up to you :)
Considering the work still to be done on the handle, the optimistic statement that this project will be end cycled by the end the month is appropriate.
To you and all the team my best Season Greetings and a wonderful and prosperous New Year !
:) Jose"


Jose scribing lines on the tsuba wax blank


Carving the wax tsuba


Polishing the wax


The almost finalized tsuba


The fuchi rough carved and fitted


Texturing the fuchi


The finalized fuchi


Rough shaping the tsuka


The tsuka with basic features roughed

Other updates:
Howy has finished recreating the artwork from the Kurgan briefcase. Roger Ellis has prototyped two of the Masamune Katana stands (two and three sword variations).

Our friend Thomas Mulack has found original Masamune and Kurgan props from Highlander I in another private collection, and will be getting us detailed information, pictures and a mold of the HI hilt soon!



Howy has also completed his research on the "Toledo Salamanca Broadsword" from Highlander I, and we now have an original Toledo hilt for remolding and restoration. The original blade was designed by our long-time friend, master bladesmith and author Jim Hrisoulas (who is kindly consulting with us on this project). The original hilt (with modifications made by Jim) was from a Toledo-made replica (unfortunately no longer made by the original manufacturer) of an historic sword -- a rapier believed to have been the property of King Felipe (Philip) II of Spain. Ironically, in the original HI script (later changed in filming) and in the HII script, Ramirez says that he was "Chief Metallurgist to King Philip II of Spain..." If you are interested in us acquiring licenses and developing exact fully-functional re-creations of this sword, Dark Magic or the MacLeod Claymore for sale, let Mike know at quest@albionarmorers.com.

1-13-03
Randal and Jason worked on achieving the hamon we are looking for on the Masamune Katana -- the undulating notare wave pattern common in blades of the Masamune school. Here are some pictures of the blade being heated with the clay-coating



and the resulting hamon.

01-17-03
Legendary artist Jose de Braga sent us an update on his progress on the Highlander III Masamune Katana hilt waxes:

"Sorry to hear about Amy's having physical problems :[ Glad to know she's recovering well :]
I do have pictures to send you .....See attachments :)

:) Jose"

The first pic.is the final rendition of the tsuba


The next is me rough carving the scenes


The last is the tsuka ready for the final delicate detail work and polish.


We also received the first resin castings for the Highlander II Masamune Katana. Here is one casting mounted on a prototype blade, ready for torture-testing.






The castings came out perfectly -- exact in every detail to the original HII prop it was molded from.

3-07-02
The first resin castings are in for the Jose de Braga Highlander III Masamune Katana. The castings came out beautifully and show every detail of Jose's masterful carving. Now, we are waiting for the tsuba and fuchi to be cast in bronze.

A comparison shot of HII (top), HIII (center), and the Marto tsukas.


The Kurgan Guard and Pommel have been expertly machined for us by Schmit Prototypes, from Barry Howe's 3-D CADD drawings.

8-28-03

It's been a long time! We have been working hard, but have not had much at a stage to debut. Marto completed their version of the Kurgan sword based on our design. We are moving ahead with our own more exact version and hope to have more to report soon!

The most exciting news -- Jose de Braga has almost completed the recarving of the grip waxes from Highlander I and II.


Highlander I Masamune Grip


Highlander II Masamune Grip

This is what Jose reported today:

Hello!

Well...

HL 1 has been a nightmare " something I should have foreseen in my initial evaluation " My fault.....! So don't worry , I won't be hard on you ...
Enhancing details no problem... Recarving something that has never been , based on poor detailed pictures telling each one different stories...
That is quite a challenge ! Especially with this blue type of wax which is soft gluey and sticky ( It's a real patience tester )

To tell you the truth there is " as you may have noticed " lot more details in HL1 than on any of the other two. I have already spent more time on HL 1 than I have spent on my own HL 3 version. HL 1 will be completed tonight ( there is still some textures and lines refinement to do and that will be it)

As for the HL 2 , I still have 3 to 4 days before it qualify to my criteria of being ready to be shipped. So you can expect to have both handles on your desk some time by the end of next week.

Friendly :) Jose

As these initial photos show, Jose did a masterful job of the restoration -- each will now rival the incredible job he did on Highlander III !

More photos to follow!

9-4-03
We received the wax for the Highlander I Masamune Katana grip today from artist Jose de Braga -- only one word fits -- masterful!


HI right side


HI left side


HI dragon head detail


HI carving detail


a comparison of HIII (top) and the HI (bottom) grips, both by Jose de Braga


9-6-03
Leif has completed the pouring and clean-up of the investment waxes for a prototype run of the Highlander III Masamune Katana hilt fittings (with the kind assistance of Rick Barrett) and those will be going off the the foundry for casting next week. Here is a preview shot of the grip, tsuba and fuchi waxes mounted on an unfinished blade.



The grip wax for the Highlander I Masamune Katana was sent off yesterday for molding and casting.

Jason and Steve Fisher have completed the redesign of the Masamune Katana blade, and Jason heat-treated and clay-coat tempered the first blade yesterday.

Jason and Steve modified the tang design to induce a slight curve into it, and the tang matched the curvature induced in the blade by the traditional tempering beautifully. When Jason is done grinding the first blade, we'll post photos.

12-04-03
We got the first castings back of the HI grip and the fuchi and tsuba for HIII -- Jose's carving for HI is magnificent!


HI and HIII grips for comparison


HI grip


HI and HIII dragon heads


Detail of bronze fuchi on HIII grip

12/12/03
Here are some photos of soft assembled HI and HIII swords, along with the first hand-fitted saya core (not yet laquered and fitted) made by Mike Vergadamo in California:







10-12-05
The first Highlander III Katana prototype has been assembled and we will be going into production on these soon. Here are a couple of photos of the sword and saya.



More news to follow soon!

For more information about the Highlander films and television series, as well as other replicas of the swords and other Highlander merchandise, we invite you to visit the Highlander-Official.com Website.

 

Highlander is a worldwide copyright and trademark of Davis-Panzer Productions, Inc and Gétévé, all rights reserved.
Images, Script Text and Sword Designs © 2002 Davis-Panzer Merchandising Corp., all rights reserved
Film Swords LLC is the sole worldwide licensee for this product