# What's your favorite sword?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sword/76450>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 15, 2001, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sword/76450 "2001-08-15T21:49:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sword/76450/41 "2001-08-18T01:29:25Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by JosephFinn \*  
> \*\*
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > \*Originally posted by Dave Stewart \*  
> > \*\*I have a katana, which my grandfather picked up as a war trophy in fairly gruesome circumstances when fighting in Malaya in WW2.  
> > \*\*
> 
> Bring it to your local Japanese consulate (assuming you’re in a larger city, you should have one near you). The family of the deceased soldier would be quite happy to have one of their family swords back. Does it have any distinctive markings (iconographs, Japanese characters, sashes, etc)? Over the last decade or so, many swords have been returned to their proper owners this way.
> 
> After all, a sword like that is often not just a weapon, but a religious object. \*\*

While that would be the proper thing to do, I’d have one hell of a time turning something like that over to the family. I like to think of my self as a honest person, but give back an object that may have become as much a part of dave’s family as the one it came from…tough call.

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**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sword/76450/42 "2001-08-18T04:29:35Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by JosephFinn \*  
> \*\*
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > \*Originally posted by Dave Stewart \*  
> > \*\*I have a katana, which my grandfather picked up as a war trophy in fairly gruesome circumstances when fighting in Malaya in WW2.  
> > \*\*
> 
> Bring it to your local Japanese consulate (assuming you’re in a larger city, you should have one near you). The family of the deceased soldier would be quite happy to have one of their family swords back. Does it have any distinctive markings (iconographs, Japanese characters, sashes, etc)? Over the last decade or so, many swords have been returned to their proper owners this way.
> 
> After all, a sword like that is often not just a weapon, but a religious object. \*\*

Why should he return it? It’s his. He won it in battle.

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