Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Designing Your Sword
Select a style of sword that suits you and find a clear image of it in profile. History books and websites are a great source for these images. Print the image out to use as a pattern.
Use a copy machine to enlarge your sword image to the appropriate length. Scale the weapon according to the height of the knight, pirate or freelance swashbuckler who will be carrying it.
Select a piece of cabinet grade 3/8-inch plywood and cut it on a table saw, to be 3 inches longer and wider than your sword size for easy handling.
Creating the Sword
Cut the enlarged image out with scissors. Spray aerosol adhesive to the back of the paper sword image and paste it to your plywood. Cut along the outside of the image with a band saw. Use a drill to start any inside cutouts that do not come all the way to the edge, and cut them with a jigsaw.
Open the collet on your router table with two wrenches, turning the outside nut counterclockwise and the inside nut clockwise. Insert a chamfer bit with a 1/2-inch wide blade and a bearing. Set the depth, so that the bearing rides on the top edge of your plywood.
Start the router and run the sword through the router to bevel, or chamfer the entire outside edge. Sand the sword smooth with 150-grit sandpaper.
Finishing the Sword
Spray the entire sword with flat black spray paint. Hold the can 6 to 8 inches from the surface and move the can in brush like strokes, applying the paint in short bursts. Overlap the strokes for adequate coverage.
Spray over the black with silver. Cover 90 percent of the surface, so that the black shows through a little to create a "metallic" effect. Add a few strokes of black on top, if needed, to give the blade more texture.
Select a flat ribbon or upholsterer's gimp for your hilt grip. Apply white glue to the back of the trim and wrap it snugly around the handle to cushion it and add detail. Use a black permanent marker to add details to the blade and hilt.