Mako stole his katana from a sword shop at eight years old. Even after they make it off the street, he keeps the blade, finding comfort in the familiar weight of it against his hip.
Style: Katana
Length: 24"
Material (Blade): Steel
Material (Tsuka): Wood; leather
Details (Tsuka): Mako’s tsuka is straight along one edge and curved on the other. The adornments on the tsuka are all plain steel. Currently, the tsuka-ito is a soft red color, having replaced his original worn brown wrapping. There is one silver and gold menuki on the lower end of each side, a flame and fire lily motif given to him by Lin Beifong.
Saya: Lacquered black wood with black leather sageo
Details: Mako stole his katana from a sword shop at eight years old. The blade is far too large for him at that age, but he eventually learns to wield it well enough to protect himself and Bolin. Even after they make it off the street, he keeps the blade, finding comfort in the familiar weight of it against his hip. He’s not exactly sure why he’s never considered replacing it; the thought just feels wrong.
The katana is a decidedly simple one, not uncommon among firebenders. The blade is made of plain steel, and received a nick in his teens that he never got fixed. His original saya is a dark, unadorned wood that’s received its fair share of scratches and has a crack along its center. Repairs were a luxury he couldn’t afford for most of his life, and even when they begin probending he keeps the habit of making sure Bolin’s blade is in good condition at the cost of his own.
When Mako and Bolin join Team Avatar, and when Mako eventually joins the RCPD, his new family begins to take notice of his sword’s disrepair. Mako isn’t exactly sure what to make of it when Asami Sato surreptitiously replaces his saya with a newer, higher quality one, or when Pema hands him a new tsuka-ito because she "accidentally bought the wrong length" for her own sword. Suyin Beifong off-handedly offers to fix the nick in the blade one day, but he’s fairly certain she assumes it’s a recent injury, but when he gets it back, the wobble that’s been in the tsuba for as long as he can remember is gone as well. Lin Beifong gifts him a pair of hand-made, gold and silver menuki for the tsuka on his first anniversary of joining the Force. Despite the changes to the item that’s been his security for most of his life, he can’t help but feel touched whenever he looks at his sword.
Truly love the versatility of 'it's not rocket science'. If you're not a rocket scientist it's a comforting adage that you'll figure it out and it's not hard, and if you ARE a rocket scientist it's a comforting adage that you're not the only one finding it difficult.
