How to make a nice wooden sword

Step 6: Step 6: Have fun

Take the time to go over the finished sword and sand any sharp edges.

Feel free to finish the wood anyway you want. I mostly don't finish the swords unless I wax them.

You can also shape the hilt to be more comfortable to hold (whittle, sand, etc.) and also cover them. I've used leather (one piece cut and sewn to fit and even strips) and even Gorilla duct tape. An old belt will work.

JUST ADDED - I just tried a new way to wrap the handles. I used a piece of old heavy wool blanket and wrapped it around the handles with black cotton hockey tape (any sporting goods store that sells hockey equipment will sell you some. I bought three rolls for $6.99 from Dicks Srorting Goods and used one roll to wrap twelve sword handles, with some tape still on the roll.

As you can see I also make longer swords. All four of my kids enjoy using them (And their friends!) from my 13 year old down to the 3 year old, although her "two-handed" sword is much smaller.

If you have a lot of young relatives, consider making a batch of these for Christmas. These also make nice "craft fair" items for the holidays. The process lends itself very well to making multiples at the same time. You can take a few minutes for each sword and personalize the pommel and crossguard.

Enjoy!

Comments

[gingersftw]

dude these are frickin awesome!!!!!! any chance i could buy a couple from u?

[cranberys]

um make any buster swords?

[BobbyMike]

Actually no.

[kaji95]

Hello! Very beautiful job on these.
I have been doing stage combat for 2 years now and I know a functional practice sword and dagger when I see one. We use stage steel blades for actual combat and for new members we used wooden and polypropaline blades. These are really nicely crafted blades you have here.
If you ever were up for donating a few of them let me know, I'd be glad to have them in my troupe.

Kind Regards,
Jake

[e-mail]

[WurdBendur]

If you're going to treat your swords, I recommend some kind of oil, such as tung oil or linseed oil. They protect the wood without sealing it, which gives you a better grip. I wouldn't use any kind of sealing finish.

[BobbyMike]

Thank you, That's a good point. For outdoor tools I usually use linseed oil mixed with a little paraffin (or liquid wax), although linseed oil by itself works. This is just my preference though - tung oil does works well too.

[lucazoid]

nice nice taco's

[alexer]

Really nice swords, but i´m sorry this was not what I was looking for when i saw this. I was looking for tips how to make a wooden katana. But it´s still some really nice swords

[BobbyMike]

Check out this instructable http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Japanese-Bokken/
it may be more in line with what you're looking for (Don't thank me for the link, it's the same one Jake Tobak suggested earlier in this thread).
Have fun!

[Jesus10555]

heres a tip for finishing: A while back A friend and I made wooden swords, the only thing I had available was an old fashioned planer :( but anyways when you plane the wood, and its smooth it has a really really nice finish, that is like a gloss(dont overestimate what I mean when I say gloss) and its a comfortable feel.