Introduction: How to Make Wooden Swords

in this instructible im going to show you how to make swords that are good for cosplaying or display i'm not much of a big talker so lets get right into it

Step 1: Materials & Tools

Materials that you will need are as follows:
Twine (preferably the coloured type)
Wood (i use pine)
Acrylic paints of your choosing

Tools you will need:
Plane
Saw (use whatever you feel comfertable with, just remember you need to be able to cut a straight line.)
Scroll saw if you want curves
Paint brushes (do these even count as tools?)
Hot glue gun
Power sander

Step 2: Getting the Basic Shape

before you even start you should have a basic idea what you want the finished piece to look like
i find it helps to visualise it either by drawing or using a 3d modeling program
 (I use Google Sketchup)
Once you know start doing measurements you need 3 measurements
G. How long is the grip
B. How long is the blade
W. How wide is the blade
and now for some algebra
G+B=L
L=length of wood and W= width of the wood and tada now you know how big to cut your blade base

Step 3:

Now That you have your Base cut Draw Your design onto it including where the core (thats where i call the middle flat section) begins this will help you plane the blade in evenly
mark the grip as slimmer than the blade this will create a "stopper"of sorts for when you add the hilt

Step 4: Planeing the Blade


If all has gone well you are now ready to plane in the blade at this point it as a good time to mark the center line where the cutting edge will be angle your plane so it's parralell to these 2 lines and start planeing when you are satisfied with your shape smooth it up with a power sander use rough paper then gradualy use finer and finer paper to make it absolutely smooth
i like to leave any imperfections that look like they could be battle damage

Step 5: The Hilt


there isn't much that i can tll you as hilts can vary vastly but as a general rule put a hole right through that is the same shape as the grip and it should fit snuggly if you can put a long notch adjacent to the lower edge of the hole for the grip which will be explained in the next step

Step 6: Paint It


Before assembeling your sword Be sure to paint it this will save you any hassle of removing excess paint off of parts of your sword

Step 7: Wraping the Grip

and so begins one of the longest steps
Warm up the glue gun you will need it
remember that notch i mentiond before pit an end of the twine in there and keep it in place with a dab of hot glue this will make the next bit somewhat eaisier wrap it around the grip till you are millimeters from the end and dab it with glue to hold it in place repeat the above till you are pleased with the width of the grip seal the notch completely with glue 

Step 8: Cap the Grip

Now this part can be fun or down right annoying basicly what you need is something to cover the end of the grip to prevent it from unraveling over time you can use whatever fits it very tightly (but not so tight that i breaks the glue putting it on) seal it on with a ring of glue see the image for an example

Step 9: Congratulations


You now have a super awesome sword for cosplaying or display enjoy And Thanks for reading