The Sword:
The original sword Dar used was actually stolen off the set at the end of production. Below is a picture of the original blade. Further down you can see a reproduction blade and the beautiful scabbard that has the circular crest of Dar's childhood village.

The the reproduction scabbard and blade, pictured below, can be seen with more detail and angles, and purchased through, FilmSwords.com: A site that is full of many other amazing fantasy weapon and gear reproductions. These Beastmaster reproductions were actually made by the film's original master swordsmith, Vic Anselmo, who came out of retirement to make them for the 20th anniversary of the film.

The Vic Anselmo, the master sword and knife-maker, and the making of the original sword:

Vic Anselmo made each of the components of the sword by hand. Unlike most swordmakers who carve a wax, clay or wood original and have them cast in metal, Vic chose to carve the guard, pommel and grip spacer from solid blocks of brass.

The hole in the pommel was added at the request of the studio. The script originally called for Marc Singer to swing the sword around from a chain or lanyard secured to this hole.

Vic felt very strongly that the sword should be fully functional and not just a film prop. The blade was perfectly balanced and, when sharpened, cut with ease.

The grip was fashioned from three pieces of a brownish canvas micarta stacked such that the "ends" of the grain faced out on the sides of the grip, giving it a very unique texture and look.

Using sanding drums and grinding wheels, Vic shaped the blade from D2 tool steel. The blade design, a Vic Anselmo original concept, combines elements from Arabic scimitars, Japanese katana and Chinese swords.

Most everything on this page came from FilmSwords.com. The black and white photos were used by them with the permission of the photogropher, Dan Fitzgerald. I did not get permission. I feel fairly skeezy about this.

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