Introduction: Ordon Sword From Zelda Twilight Princess
More by the author:
About: An industrial design student keen to make whatever!
The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess is one of my favourite games, so I was quite excited to make this sword :D
I wanted to make a really ancient-looking, beat up sword to give it more realism and character - I think it turned out good for my first attempt at 'breaking down' something.
Now i'll show all you awesome Zelda fans how you can make your own Ordon Sword!
The zelda series is a trademark of Nintendo.
I wanted to make a really ancient-looking, beat up sword to give it more realism and character - I think it turned out good for my first attempt at 'breaking down' something.
Now i'll show all you awesome Zelda fans how you can make your own Ordon Sword!
The zelda series is a trademark of Nintendo.
Step 1: Materials & Measurements
What you need:
MATERIALS
• 11 mm Pine wood
• 5 mm Pine wood
• Masking tape
• Wood glue (PVA)
• Wood filler putty
• Dark brown fabric or leather
• Silver, black and orange(optional) paint.
• Paper towel
• Reference pictures
TOOLS
• Jigsaw
• Utility knife ORa planer if you have one or anything that gives you a flat edge on an angle.
• U shaped wood carving tool (same tool used for cutting lino for printing) - I got mine on eBay for about $8 AU pack of 10
MATERIALS
• 11 mm Pine wood
• 5 mm Pine wood
• Masking tape
• Wood glue (PVA)
• Wood filler putty
• Dark brown fabric or leather
• Silver, black and orange(optional) paint.
• Paper towel
• Reference pictures
TOOLS
• Jigsaw
• Utility knife ORa planer if you have one or anything that gives you a flat edge on an angle.
• U shaped wood carving tool (same tool used for cutting lino for printing) - I got mine on eBay for about $8 AU pack of 10
Step 2: Cutting the Edge of the Blade
Rule two lines along the whole blade 1 cm from the edge.
Then on the side of the blade (thinnest part), rule a line straight down the centre.
You now have your two reference points to cut the edge of the blade.
Using the utility knife, plainer or anything that can cut a flat edge, cut the sides until you have a flat angle between the two lines and this will create half a blade edge. Do it on both faces to give a nice sharp blade edge. Refer to the notes on the images.
**GET PICTURE OF MASTER SWORD FOR BLADE EDGE EXAMPLE**
Then on the side of the blade (thinnest part), rule a line straight down the centre.
You now have your two reference points to cut the edge of the blade.
Using the utility knife, plainer or anything that can cut a flat edge, cut the sides until you have a flat angle between the two lines and this will create half a blade edge. Do it on both faces to give a nice sharp blade edge. Refer to the notes on the images.
**GET PICTURE OF MASTER SWORD FOR BLADE EDGE EXAMPLE**
Step 3: Guard
Sorry forgot to take pictures before I put everything together.
SIDES
To make the guard, you firstly need to cut out the sides (the things highlighted in blue) out of 11 mm pine - same thickness as the sword.
The edges (dotted lines) need to sit flush with the base of the sword.
Though the length of mine was 7.5cm, looking back, it looks a bit too long so you might want to cut them a bit shorter.
FRONT PLATES (second image)
Then out of the 5 mm pine cut 2 wide hexagons (highlighted in red). Make sure the rectangle part of the hexagons are the width of the blade (6cm).
The height of these are the same as the sides which are 4cm.
You then need to cut the edge of the triangle parts on an angle 0.5 cm from the edge.
BLENDING ALL TOGETHER
Once you have glued on the sides and the front plates (one on each side), use the wood filler to blend the front plates and the sides.
When it's dry, sand the wood filler so that there is smooth transition from the front plates to the sides on a slope.
SIDES
To make the guard, you firstly need to cut out the sides (the things highlighted in blue) out of 11 mm pine - same thickness as the sword.
The edges (dotted lines) need to sit flush with the base of the sword.
Though the length of mine was 7.5cm, looking back, it looks a bit too long so you might want to cut them a bit shorter.
FRONT PLATES (second image)
Then out of the 5 mm pine cut 2 wide hexagons (highlighted in red). Make sure the rectangle part of the hexagons are the width of the blade (6cm).
The height of these are the same as the sides which are 4cm.
You then need to cut the edge of the triangle parts on an angle 0.5 cm from the edge.
BLENDING ALL TOGETHER
Once you have glued on the sides and the front plates (one on each side), use the wood filler to blend the front plates and the sides.
When it's dry, sand the wood filler so that there is smooth transition from the front plates to the sides on a slope.
Step 4: Grip of the Sword
You need to glue TWO 5 mm pieces to the base of the blade handle, one on each side.
Then sand the edges to create a nice rounded grip.
NOTE: This grip in the images is much thicker than the final sword photo. I trimmed the edges later because it was too wide.
Then sand the edges to create a nice rounded grip.
NOTE: This grip in the images is much thicker than the final sword photo. I trimmed the edges later because it was too wide.
Step 5: Making the Pommel
The pommel is the thing that goes on the end of the grip.
Draw the shape I've highlighted in red in the photo. To make it symmetrical, I drew HALF the shape onto the wood, cut it out then traced that piece to cut the other half. That's why there is a join in the centre. You need to cut this shape from the 10mm pine and TWO from the 5mm pine and stick them together just like with the grip.
Draw a circle in the centre. I did mine where the x and y axis meet.
Using a carving tool that fits the circle, cut it out.
To smoothen the roughly cut circle, I used a rotary tool but you can use a pencil end wrapped in sandpaper if you don't have one.
You could use a drill if you wanted, but try not to go too deep.
Mark 1cm from the edge all around the the pommel except the top, and cut on an angle to meet the centre of the side of the pommel, the same process as the blade edge. This will give the pommel a sharp edge.
Draw the shape I've highlighted in red in the photo. To make it symmetrical, I drew HALF the shape onto the wood, cut it out then traced that piece to cut the other half. That's why there is a join in the centre. You need to cut this shape from the 10mm pine and TWO from the 5mm pine and stick them together just like with the grip.
Draw a circle in the centre. I did mine where the x and y axis meet.
Using a carving tool that fits the circle, cut it out.
To smoothen the roughly cut circle, I used a rotary tool but you can use a pencil end wrapped in sandpaper if you don't have one.
You could use a drill if you wanted, but try not to go too deep.
Mark 1cm from the edge all around the the pommel except the top, and cut on an angle to meet the centre of the side of the pommel, the same process as the blade edge. This will give the pommel a sharp edge.
Step 6: Cutting the Fuller
The centre line that run down the blade is called the fuller.
It would have been nice to cut this with a drill press because it would mean the outcome would be nice and straight. I didn't have one, so instead I cut the fuller using the U shaped wood carving tool, which is outlined with the dotted lines in the photo.
Find the centre of the blade and rule the fuller as 1cm wide.
Place tape on the outside of the lines so you don't accidentally cut into the rest of the blade surface.
Do this for both sides.
Sand it by wrapping sand paper around a pencil and sliding it up and down the fuller.
It would have been nice to cut this with a drill press because it would mean the outcome would be nice and straight. I didn't have one, so instead I cut the fuller using the U shaped wood carving tool, which is outlined with the dotted lines in the photo.
Find the centre of the blade and rule the fuller as 1cm wide.
Place tape on the outside of the lines so you don't accidentally cut into the rest of the blade surface.
Do this for both sides.
Sand it by wrapping sand paper around a pencil and sliding it up and down the fuller.
Step 7: Painting
Before painting, you should give everything (especially the blade) a light sand and wipe with a damp cloth to ensure the paint will stick and there is no dust.
I did a base coat of white first but I recommend doing black instead because I found it hard to tell if the silver spray had covered everything because there was very little contrast between the two colours. Don't worry about painting the grip.
Paint the blade with silver paint.
I painted the guard and pommel with a brush so that when it came to the breakdown step (the ageing process), the black paint had somewhere to sit because of the small grooves caused by the brush. For the colour for the guard and pommel, I mixed silver and black paint to give it a metallic-charcoal look. Don't make the mix too dark because it will become even darker when you add the black for the breakdown. Before the breakdown, the sword had a pretty cool colour effect because in the sun, the blade and guard looked exactly the same colour because the silver was so reflective. Without direct sunlight, there was a clear difference in the whitish silver blade and the greyish silver guard.
There are two rings that go around the handle, one below the guard and one above the pommel. This is made from a strip of cardboard with a 1cm width. Stick it down with PVA glue. I wrapped it in masking tape because I forgot to stick the rings on when I did the base coat of white - The tape saves me painting it white again.
I did a base coat of white first but I recommend doing black instead because I found it hard to tell if the silver spray had covered everything because there was very little contrast between the two colours. Don't worry about painting the grip.
Paint the blade with silver paint.
I painted the guard and pommel with a brush so that when it came to the breakdown step (the ageing process), the black paint had somewhere to sit because of the small grooves caused by the brush. For the colour for the guard and pommel, I mixed silver and black paint to give it a metallic-charcoal look. Don't make the mix too dark because it will become even darker when you add the black for the breakdown. Before the breakdown, the sword had a pretty cool colour effect because in the sun, the blade and guard looked exactly the same colour because the silver was so reflective. Without direct sunlight, there was a clear difference in the whitish silver blade and the greyish silver guard.
There are two rings that go around the handle, one below the guard and one above the pommel. This is made from a strip of cardboard with a 1cm width. Stick it down with PVA glue. I wrapped it in masking tape because I forgot to stick the rings on when I did the base coat of white - The tape saves me painting it white again.
Step 8: Breakdown
The sword in the reference pictures looks pretty beat-up and rusty so I tried to recreate that effect.
Because you are using a dry brush, this process is really fast because the paint dries almost instantly so you should paint sections at a time and keep a damp paper towel next to you to wipe up any errors.
Black paint is really good when it comes to making thinks look ancient and realistic.
Burnt orange gives the rusty effect.
Refer to the picture for extra directions.
Once you're happy with your aged effect, add the leather grip around the sword handle and you're done. Yay!
Now off you go to rescue princess Zelda!
Got any questions? Feel free to ask them in the comments below :)
Because you are using a dry brush, this process is really fast because the paint dries almost instantly so you should paint sections at a time and keep a damp paper towel next to you to wipe up any errors.
Black paint is really good when it comes to making thinks look ancient and realistic.
Burnt orange gives the rusty effect.
Refer to the picture for extra directions.
Once you're happy with your aged effect, add the leather grip around the sword handle and you're done. Yay!
Now off you go to rescue princess Zelda!
Got any questions? Feel free to ask them in the comments below :)
Participated in the
Halloween Props Contest
Participated in the
Workshop Contest
