Done if by Hand or Hew if by Sword?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by PrinceOfTheHalflings

As far as Ohtar is concerned: he was simply doing his duty. If he hadn't taken the shards then no future heir of Elendil would be able to bear the sword, so it's commonsense that he wouldn't be punished by fate (or a curse). In any case, Isildur entrusted the shards to Ohtar - so Ohtar had the authority to carry the shards. He was a kind of steward, if you like.

I'm in agreement with POTH on this one. Ohtar was given an explicit command by Isildur to take the shards and flee. If there had been some sort of curse on Narsil (which I don't believe was the case), that command by a legitimate Heir of Elendil should have exempted Ohtar from its effects.
The Simarils recognised when they were touched by one who had no right to them. And the Palantíri were most easily used by the Heirs of Elendil or others with inheirited authority. Why should a cursed sword necessarily work differently?

Originally Posted by PrinceOfTheHalflings

One thing I wonder is: Did any other of the other heirs of Elendil ever carry the shards? Or was Aragorn especially favoured?

I don't think it's clearly stated one way or the other. It was said by Elrond during the Council that Ohtar "brought them to Valandil, the Heir of Isildur", but later in Appendix A it states:

Arahael [Aranarth's] son was fostered in Rivendell,...and there also were kept the heirlooms of their house: the ring of Barahir, the shards of Narsil, the Star of Elendil, and the sceptre of Annúminas.

Logic would say the Heirs ought to have left the shards in Rivendell while they were about in the wild, but plainly Aragorn didn't do so.