Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25360536-20140920031731/@comment-26091912-20150606072356

Coolishy777 wrote: @Salubri:

You're right, I apologize. I was intending to show that Ichigo did not have a "physical" (meaning the actual sword and process of making it) zanpakuto forged from an asauchi. I went about that in an incorrect manner and didn't explain it the way I should have.

That being said. Just because he has a zanpakuto spirit within him doesn't mean he would be able to wield it, as every shinigami has one but cannot use it as a weapon.

But the fact is, Ichigo was able to wield it prior to having his bankai broken. It wasn't a Quincy reishi weapon, they can only be generated with the Quincy cross; something Ichigo has never had in his possession. Even though he's a Shinigami/Quincy hybrid, he's predominately used Shinigami powers and seldom used any Quincy technique except Blut Vene (even then only subconsciously).

All Shinigami shape their zanpakuto internally, using their own spirit energy. Quincy do the exact opposite, they shape their weapons externally, using the reishi in the atmosphere. This is attested to by Uryu in the Soul Society arc, when Ichigo touches his bow and makes it larger.