Toledo Salamanca Review

The 1^st fight scene in the cult movie hit Highlander gave birth to the rise of two very memorable sword designs: One being the fabled Dragon katana used by Connor Macleod and the other the Toledo Salamanca used by his opponent Aman Fasil.  The gilt of the gold and diamond studded hilt was not really recognized for its beauty till its close up and it caught the eye of the fan and the discerning collector.

“What the hell ya got?”

“A Toledo Salamanca”

“A what?”

“A sword Frank, a very rare sword.”

“Well is it worth much?”

“Only about a million bucks…”

Unfortunately for me “about a million bucks” is out of my reach as is for most collectors. But there is a ray of light at the end of the tunnel, Paul Macdonald of Macdonald Armouries. After extensive research on this particular sword including in depth pictures and measurements provided by the owner of the original sword Paul was able to recreate this sword for the collector in mind.

The Blade:

The blade is satin finished carbon steel measuring 36’ from the cross with a groove extending up ¾’s of the blade. Lines are smooth and the groove is straight and cleanly done. The blade is slender and mildly sharp as that’s how I asked for it. He offered  to sharpen the sword more but since for me it will mainly be a display piece I opted against it.

Hilt and Pommel:

The brass base metal is plated with gold and studded with white cubic zirconia on the guard and pommel. Also on the pommel are a series of garnets set in a circular pattern. In all, there are 83 stones set in this ornate guard making it one of the most impressive and highly decorated pieces I have ever seen in a functioning sword. All of us have seen the lavish  and gaudy decorative swords out the  market that scream cheesy where this one exudes class and quality.

The grip itself is a imitation ivory resin picked by Paul for both looks and its ability to take real sword like abuse. Too often the resin grips we see on swords are light and flimsy in the hand, however the Salamanca feels good in the hand and very comfortable. Paul offers to types of resins for this sword. One stays ivory white and the other ages to a yellow ivory tint over time. I chose to see how the aging effect looks and I like it. It has taken a light tint so far and I feel it gives the sword a more antique, authentic feeling.

The hilt achieves its greatest effect in good lighting when the zirconia and garnets gleam showing off the true beauty of the sword as a whole.

Performance:

I did not really buy this sword to cut with so that test is going to have to wait for another day or another owner  lol.  After practicing with it however that the construction is solid, no rattling for tell tale signs of problems.

Price:

Sure, some might say that $1000 is expensive for a movie prop replica. But when you think about the time spent making a dream into reality it more than evens out. Most other movie replicas are stainless and couldn’t cut anything let alone handle any kind of real use or abuse without loosening  in a short period of time. In the case of the Salamanca you have nothing to worry about. For the price you get a real sword and a real deal. Often times you have to find the original makers of swords to have them reproduced and you get into the $3000-$5000 price range. 

In Conclusion:

Paul does very nice, exacting work. The sword is light and fast and the best movie prop sword replica I have ever held. You will not find another replica of the Toledo Salamanca anywhere else. And even if someone else tried, they could not make it this exact. In conclusion I am happy with my purchase both aesthetically and in functionality. With only 15 swords being produced I urge you now to contact Paul if you are interested as 5 swords are already spoken for. So not only are these exact replicas of quality craftsmanship they are going to be very rare. Don’t wait too long or your going to miss your chance.