Weapons don't have to be ridiculously oversized to qualify, though. You could just give yourself a "Sword of Eta Carinae", which grants ... oh, say +4 to Weapons (some of the skills of the mythic swordmaster who created the blade were imparted to it and therefore to its wielder: -4 refresh) and +10 stress on a hit (the magic its enchanted with causes the blade's edge to spacially coexist with the heart of the blue hypergiant star Eta Carinae: -5 refresh) on top of its baseline abilities.
True, and I've considered simply boosting weapon damage across the board. Don't really like the escalation of power. :/
Of a Wizard, spending equal refresh? Certainly. Of an Evoker? After they hit cap on foci and diminishing returns on specialization? Eventually, and I'm still not killing myself doing it.
It's possible by adding pure stress but Might doesn't add to attack as shown in that weapon.
Ahh, and there we go, it's not so much a mechanical issue with the Wizard, it's more of an issue that the Wizard/Evoker themes safely justify a level of mechanical focus that is difficult to match inside the other themes you accept.
It's not that simple. First, military history is a hobby of mine. "Ten pound swords" make me either laugh or get sarcastic - depending on whether they appear in fiction or are attributed to reality. Second, I'm trying to play "Dresden Files". Sure I'll change some things, intentionally or not. But 12' swords? In the city? Or even in a car?
@JayTee: InFerrumVeritas' "Combat Specialization" stunt is pretty close to a direct translation of Refinement to mundane combat. My guess is it will work...but it is an escalation. Now everyone needs either Refinement or Combat Spec.
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Refinements aren't really what makes evokers overpowered in my opinion. Granted, it does contribute. But the real issue is skills. Casters are the only group who can add two skills to the effective damage equation. And skills are (relatively) easy to raise.
A house rule such as GryMor seemed to have in the Daiklave might be better than duplicating refinements. Add Might to melee and Alertness to ranged perhaps? Don't know...but at least a second skill would put them back on equivalent footing.
My preference is to encourage casters use stress on things other than attacks. Defensive magic, reactive blocks, counterspells, etc. It's not a "nerf" but does use stress up on things other than 10 shift attacks. It also helps that the players aren't trying to break the game.