Recommendation? Vintage Marto Toledo ivory rooster Katana

L

lunarop

Joined
Apr 3, 2022
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13
I don't see a way to upload photos from my drive so this will be harder than I thought.

I purchased a katana which I learned is a design matching the Marto Toledo ivory dragon head katana from the movie highlander. Mine appears to be different from the others as it does not have the traditional dragon head on the handle and the engraving on the blade is a serpentine/rooster design as opposed to the standard dragon.

Someone had mentioned it was the original sword from the movie. I forwarded it to prop store who said the design doesn't match that of the movie and is likely an original vintage marto toledo model - therefore not a prop and they won't take it. I inquired on a highlander forum and someone mentioned it is Marto Model 635 which ran between 1960-1980s and is very hard to find info on as it is pre-internet. I have found a few places in which the posters seem very eager to get it and offer quite a lot of money. They don't say exactly what it is though. I think maybe what they mean is that it is the original sword the one from the movie was based on.

The sheath is damaged now but I have seen a photo in its original case, and tbh it does not look low budget. The sheath is different from other models I have seen. Its interior is metal of some kind and it is wrapped in a kind of crimson candy can like sheath - you can almost feel like you can pick it apart, like scraping down the leather. The blade is sharp and very reflective. It has a serpentine rooster-like engraving on it. It is a very well-made, sturdy sword. Though it seems to resemble other models I have been told those ones can be quite frail. This has been strong enough to survive some drops and feels well made when holding it or using it. The end of the sword where the dragon head would have been has a copper/bronze cap instead. There are no logo markings or anything indicating a brand. This is what either makes me suspect it was a prop of some kind or an earlier authentic model. I recall hearing the sword from Highlander was based on an original Marto model so possibly it was around before then. I have also found a photo from the movie "you only die twice" which has a sheathed katana in it which strongly resembles the photo I saw of the sword in its original form. All in all it does simply look like a higher quality sword compared to others of its nature I've seen I don't know much about them but I am guessing there is a wide variation in sword quality with similar makes.

Here is a thread someone requests the same sword. He posts a photo later in the page.

The Original Ivory Katana Marto

Does anyone know of a place selling old marto swords? I am looking for one to complete my collection. Yes I know its not functional lol, its more for nostalgic reasons. I am looking for the original ivory katana(no dragon head on it) that came with a red saya. I hope someone can point me in the...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
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chmlzfup60p81.jpg
 
Thuis is not my photo but is the same sword posted by the other user I referenced ... when it had seen better days
masamuneoriginal.jpg
 
I can't comment on whether its an original prop from the movie or show, although that's where any value would come from. Its a decorative sword at best if its made by marto. I don't recall ever seeing anything like that in any of the movies although there were plenty of items on eBay that looked like that back in the day when highlander was at its peak.
 
Triton said:
I can't comment on whether its an original prop from the movie or show, although that's where any value would come from. Its a decorative sword at best if its made by marto. I don't recall ever seeing anything like that in any of the movies although there were plenty of items on eBay that looked like that back in the day when highlander was at its peak.
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This is why I'm leaning toward the idea that it is a pre-highlander sword; the date matches 1960-to late 80s. It doesn't make sense to me to release a sword that kinda looks like the highlander one but without the essential elements. So when they say "original" they probably mean one of the models the sword was based on. Apparently, the highlander Katana was modeled on a pre-existing Marto Toledo model. I also feel the sheath and overall design are too good compared to some of the others I've seen.
 
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I don't recall seeing such a sword in You Only Live Twice (1967). It looks fake as hell (oriental fantasy) to anyone familar with Japanese swords.
I know it was used the Highlander series, which I never watched,
 
Well I blew 2 hours watching You only Live twice (1967) again.
That Marto Dragon Head sword absolutely is not used in this movie. Seems someone trying to sell one on an auction site decided
to get creative and was talking out his rear end. The only Katana that appears significantly is the one used by Peter Mavia (Dwayne Johnson's maternal Grandfather).
Other katanas are used in the Ninja School but they are all traditional. The internet is full of so much nonsense.
ShhGy4.jpg
 
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KenHash said:
I don't recall seeing such a sword in You Only Live Twice (1967). It looks fake as hell (oriental fantasy) to anyone familar with Japanese swords.
I know it was used the Highlander series, which I never watched,
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I don't know if the series is available online, but if it is you ought to give it a try, much better than the movies and very entertaining.... Or at least I thought so in college. It may not have aged well. 🤔
 
Triton said:
I don't know if the series is available online, but if it is you ought to give it a try, much better than the movies and very entertaining.... Or at least I thought so in college. It may not have aged well. 🤔
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I only watched the first two movies I think. I remember seeing Christoper Lambert and Sean Connery. I'm still catching up on several old TV series so
I might eventually get there, although "fantasy" hasn't been my cup of tea for a couple decades now.
 
KenHash said:
Well I blew 2 hours watching You only Live twice (1967) again.
That Marto Dragon Head sword absolutely is not used in this movie. Seems someone trying to sell one on an auction site decided
to get creative and was talking out his rear end. The only Katana that appears significantly is the one used by Peter Mavia (Dwayne Johnson's maternal Grandfather).
Other katanas are used in the Ninja School but they are all traditional. The internet is full of so much nonsense.
ShhGy4.jpg
Click to expand...
The link provided above clearly states it wasn’t used in the film. It was bought for use but never used. No one made anything up oe me was trying to scam anyone.
 
Tattoo chef said:
The link provided above clearly states it wasn’t used in the film. It was bought for use but never used. No one made anything up oe me was trying to scam anyone.
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1. Nobody is talking about you.

2. Everyone is repeating this story from Highlander Fans that this sword was originally a prop for the 1967 You Only Live Twice. Yet, there is no such reference or photo anywhere on sites pertaining to that movie, props, or on Marto's site. Short of seeing some evidence I suspect this may be internet heresay. Would be happy to see it if exists.
 
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KenHash said:
Well I blew 2 hours watching You only Live twice (1967) again.
That Marto Dragon Head sword absolutely is not used in this movie. Seems someone trying to sell one on an auction site decided
to get creative and was talking out his rear end. The only Katana that appears significantly is the one used by Peter Mavia (Dwayne Johnson's maternal Grandfather).
Other katanas are used in the Ninja School but they are all traditional. The internet is full of so much nonsense.
ShhGy4.jpg
Click to expand...
WHAT!!
If it's on the internet it has to be true.
 
KenHash said:
Well I blew 2 hours watching You only Live twice (1967) again.
That Marto Dragon Head sword absolutely is not used in this movie. Seems someone trying to sell one on an auction site decided
to get creative and was talking out his rear end. The only Katana that appears significantly is the one used by Peter Mavia (Dwayne Johnson's maternal Grandfather).
Other katanas are used in the Ninja School but they are all traditional. The internet is full of so much nonsense.
ShhGy4.jpg
Click to expand...
it was never used in the movies. That's the point. It was intended to be used in the Bond movie as a prop but was left out. It was then put into storage and intended to be used in the Highlander movie but the backstory is that Connery didn't think it was flamboyant enough for Ramirez, so the base design of the sword was used to develop the Ramirez dragonhead Katana we have today. The backstory was confirmed by prop store but they said they can't comment on exactly the one in the Op is. Adding confusion is that there is an almost identical sword with a similar backstory that went on sale on prop store for 5000. The one that went on auction looks brand new and my one looks like it's been forgotten in storage for 80 years. In any case we seem to have narrowed the date down to before 1986 to 1960, which is in line with the movies, but I feel like everyone I'm talking to about it are trying to low ball me.

I have had some strange offers including people saying its just a silly trinket that will fall apart if dropped, offering max 500. Inherently the one that sold for 5000 had a start bid of exactly 500. I can say it has been dropped while moving house and it is sturdy as hell. I've owned shoddy swords and can say this is pretty well made. It really doesn't strike me as some throwaway sword. It's definitely not an authentic or truly antique Katana but someone made it with intention so it has a backstory which I think is being negated by people throwing lower bids at me.
 
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Tattoo chef said:
I know this post is from last year, but if you’re ever interested in selling this, let me know.
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I am ... but like I said above I feel like a lot of misinformation is being presented to me so I'm hesitant to jump on anything.

It's been pointed out to me straight off the bat by Highlander fans that the make/model/build look exactly like the one mentioned, and it is a rare sword by any stretch. Even if it is not the one intended for use in the movies they seem to be non-existent these days.

A second story someone told me was that during the opening of Highlander 1 the sword fell on the ground and the dragon head snapped off during filming. They said it was put into storage but not used again for filming. IDK if these can be true but all I'm hearing from the fan base is this story and the one about James Bond.

One interested buyer keeps telling me it is a worthless Marto Katana from the 1960s, but his level of interest and the context doesn't match what he is saying. Even in his own words he says it is extremely rare and therefore worthless ... which doesn't add up to me.
 
lunarop said:
it was never used in the movies. That's the point. It was intended to be used in the Bond movie as a prop but was left out. It was then put into storage and intended to be used in the Highlander movie but the backstory is that Connery didn't think it was flamboyant enough for Ramirez, so the base design of the sword was used to develop the Ramirez dragonhead Katana we have today. The backstory was confirmed by prop store but they said they can't comment on exactly the one in the Op is. Adding confusion is that there is an almost identical sword with a similar backstory that went on sale on prop store for 5000. The one that went on auction looks brand new and my one looks like it's been forgotten in storage for 80 years. In any case we seem to have narrowed the date down to before 1986 to 1960, which is in line with the movies, but I feel like everyone I'm talking to about it are trying to low ball me.

I have had some strange offers including people saying its just a silly trinket that will fall apart if dropped, offering max 500. Inherently the one that sold for 5000 had a start bid of exactly 500. I can say it has been dropped while moving house and it is sturdy as hell. I've owned shoddy swords and can say this is pretty well made. It really doesn't strike me as some throwaway sword. It's definitely not an authentic or truly antique Katana but someone made it with intention so it has a backstory which I think is being negated by people throwing lower bids at me.
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Yes, I recognize that the sword was never used in the Bond movie. Can you post a link that supports the claim that "a Marto sword was intended to be used in the Bond Movie"? I looked at all the "YOLT and prop sites without success.. Thanks.
 
lunarop said:
I am ... but like I said above I feel like a lot of misinformation is being presented to me so I'm hesitant to jump on anything.

It's been pointed out to me straight off the bat by Highlander fans that the make/model/build look exactly like the one mentioned, and it is a rare sword by any stretch. Even if it is not the one intended for use in the movies they seem to be non-existent these days.

A second story someone told me was that during the opening of Highlander 1 the sword fell on the ground and the dragon head snapped off during filming. They said it was put into storage but not used again for filming. IDK if these can be true but all I'm hearing from the fan base is this story and the one about James Bond.

One interested buyer keeps telling me it is a worthless Marto Katana from the 1960s, but his level of interest and the context doesn't match what he is saying. Even in his own words he says it is extremely rare and therefore worthless ... which doesn't add up to me.
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I can't comment on this particular item, but it is true that there is virtually no market for truly rare items. The market is driven when there is a group of limited things that can increase in price as they are swapped around by members of a particular community. Exhibit a might be Scagel knives or perhaps Loveless items. I personally don't think that a decorative sword with no real provenance that can not demonstrably be shown to be a movie prop or have been owned by someone famous would be all that valuable. I have notably been wrong before. Best of luck in your research.
 
I recall quite fo bit of information about the swords used in the Highlander movies because of the latter movie having real bladesmiths involved. I remember the article in a knife magazine saying the original Highlander dragon head sword was carved by a prop guy and actually looked pretty bad close up and was remade for the third movie. There was no mention of it being based on anything other than a description from the director or art department. I remember swords like that being advertised in the 80's in knife publications from Marto , they were actually very slow in getting the Dragon head model out to market after the movie, like years later. I imagine there was some licensing issues with the companies involved. The Marto swords available in the 80's were in the 5-6 hundred dollar range if I recall correctly but I never heard of what quality there were made.
 
thebrain said:
I recall quite fo bit of information about the swords used in the Highlander movies because of the latter movie having real bladesmiths involved. I remember the article in a knife magazine saying the original Highlander dragon head sword was carved by a prop guy and actually looked pretty bad close up and was remade for the third movie. There was no mention of it being based on anything other than a description from the director or art department. I remember swords like that being advertised in the 80's in knife publications from Marto , they were actually very slow in getting the Dragon head model out to market after the movie, like years later. I imagine there was some licensing issues with the companies involved. The Marto swords available in the 80's were in the 5-6 hundred dollar range if I recall correctly but I never heard of what quality there were made.
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The sword in this thread by OP was the basis for all the highlander dragon head swords. It was a Marto ivory katana, from the 60s but I’m not sure what year they stopped producing them. It was to be the sword used in the first movie, but production felt it needed more pop, so the production prop department added a Chinese dragon head with tail wrapped around it, out of bondo as the story goes.
It was pretty crude. Similar but improved versions were cast for 2nd and 3rd films, with Jose De’ Braga doing the third. For the series, the same base handle was used again, but a new dragon head was designed. It was designed by Stephen Geagan (sp?) and made by Sal D Aquila. It was used for two seasons until Marto then wanted in on the action and made their own version of the series sword, similar but different, and that was used till end of series and movie Endgame.
 
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