In the Final Fantasy saga, the warrior Sephiroth mistakenly believed himself to be the last of the god-like Ancients and through that self deceit was drawn to the path of evil and his eventual downfall. Masamune, his six foot long katana, is reproduced with some expertise in this massive 68″ replica.
Perhaps true to the character, the sword is beautiful but not quite what it pretends to be; making a genuine six foot katana would be a daunting task for any smith and this is a respectable attempt. There are varied opinions as to the sword’s origins, although the word “China” stamped at the base of the blade is a tantalizing clue. Many believe the blade is hand forged carbon steel; some aver that it is high carbon stainless, and the mirror polish of the bevel edged blade would attest to that. This legendary blade is so heavy that it is said that two men are required to unsheath it. Beware! lest you cut your fingers by trying (the blade comes sharpened).
There are a few criticisms of this fantasy replica–the handle is wrapped with imitation ray skin, and the blade isn’t a truely edge-tempered blade, only etched to represent that process visually. It is still a tempered carbon steel blade. A really functional katana of this length might not even be possible in the real world, even if it were Damascus steel and better than the movie version. Eh, how accurate are cartoons, anyway?
It’s a big sword. Big.
