Easy Toy Sword

This is a fun, quick, and easy way to make a toy sword for your kid (or for yourself). It's roughly the size and shape of a gladius. I gave one to my toddler for Christmas, and he loves it*. All you need is:

• A piece of wood about one inch thick (a fence board, for example)
• A band saw
• A sander and/or files & sandpaper
• (optional): a chisel/gouge, wood stain, clear finish

I made it at TechShop (www.techshop.ws), which has some nice band saws, a bench sander, and a scrap bin where I found the piece of wood I used.

*no guarantees on the survival of furniture, antique vases, or crystal sculptures if you give one to your toddler.

Step 1: Cut Out the Sword Outline With a Band Saw

Draw the outline of the sword with pencil, then cut it out with a band saw. If you've never cut something with a band-saw, the picture with the numbers shows a good order to make the cuts in. You can't turn really sharp corners with a band saw, but you can make two cuts that meet at a sharp corner.

I drew the sword free-hand on the wood. You could also find an image of a real sword, print it out, blow it up to the correct size, and trace it, but that's leaving "easy" far behind (and is probably overkill for a toy sword).

Step 2: Use a Sander And/or Files to Improve the Sword's Shape

1. Lay the sword flat (the way you cut it on the band-saw) and sand to improve the sword's outline / silhouette. Mine wasn't perfectly symmetrical coming out of the band-saw, so I improved this a little on the sander.
2. Lay the sword at an angle and sand to "sharpen" the blade. Leave a nice sharp edge between the grind and the ricasso (the unsharpened part of the blade). This goes a long way toward making the sword look nice.
3. Use files and rough (like 60-grit) sandpaper to smooth things out, define edges, smooth the handle, etc.

Step 3: Use a Chisel or Knife to Make a "blood Groove" (optional)

This is really optional, but it does make the sword look a little more real.

1. Use something sharp (like a straight-edged chisel or a knife) to score the edge of the groove you want to make.
2. Use a spoon-shaped chisel (or a knife, if you're good) to carve out a groove. Sand to smooth.

Step 4: (Optionally), Stain / Finish the Wood

I used a paper towel to apply two coats of some dark stain, then used a paintbrush to apply three coats of some Deft polyurethane clear-coat varnish. My toddler will probably ding this all up anyway (actually he already has, as you can see from the close-ups), but at least I'll know that it looked schazzy at one time. 

That's it!

Notes:

• For a more durable sword, use a harder wood. Pine is very soft, and dents easily (although it is also easier to shape/sand, so there's a tradeoff between how easy it is to make and how durable it ends up).
• I wouldn't recommend making it much sharper than I did, because A) it'll be more dangerous, and B) it will be less durable.