Swordsmithing- Making Your Own Wooden Sword

Throughout history, the sword has had a mysterious aura of romance and sophistication about its slender form, a beautiful, striking weapon, and yet deadly and venomous, an instrument of death. Mankind has always been fascinated with the sword, especially today, when its throne stands abdicated to the stocky gun, but its mystery, its legend remains still, and is perhaps greater and more powerful than it has ever been...

In this article, you shall learn the first step of sword-making, producing an authentic wooden model. Recommended as a beginning step for all aspiring sword-smiths, this allows one to familiarize oneself with the complex procedures and the general composition of a sword, without having to fumble with the danger and expense of producing a true metallic sword. A wooden sword is also an indispensable part of a beginning sword-master's practice repertoire, allowing practice without the danger of a bladed weapon.

A sword is composed of several parts. The blade itself is a separate entity from the rest of sword, and is a long sharpened flat piece of material flowing into a thinner tang at the bottom, about which is wrapped the hilt, the guard, and at the bottom, the pommel.

A diagram

We shall our project start with the blade and tang. First, obtain a piece of wood of around 36 inches long (longsword; adjust for other sizes), 1 inch wide for a knife or 2 inch wide for a sword, and around ¼ to ½ inch thick. A wooden sword can be made of most types hardwood available; maple or oak are good choices. Hickory is also splendid, but can be difficult to work with due to its rigidity and hardness.

Using an electric saw, cut out the outline of the sword from the tip of the blade to the tang.

Then, draw a centerline on the middle of the blade and on the edge. Using a hand scraper, sandpaper, and/or rasps, work the blade such that the both centerline meet on both sides of the blade. A diagonal cross section should be visible after this step. The tang should be filed/rasped smooth. Do not sharpen the tang.

For the guard, use a ~1.5 inches by ~6 inches by ~ ¼ to ½ inch piece of wood. Drill two holes at the point where guard would meet the end of the tang, at the ends of the ~2 inch area in the center of the guard. Afterward, chisel, carve, or saw out the wood between the holes. This should fit snugly onto the end of the tang. Glue or wedging can be used to keep it in place.

The hilt is made from two pieces of wood. Use a length and width appropriate to your sword. Carve a tapering channel at the center of each of the two pieces of wood. They should fit onto the tang perfectly, without empty spaces. This will be glued onto the tang, as well as each other. Use a C-clamp to keep the pieces in place. The hilt can be shaped before of after gluing.

The pommel is the last step in our project. Saw out a small square piece of wood from a scrap piece, and then proceed to chisel or carve it to a shape of your preference. A protrusion is required for it to fit onto the end of the tang. Drill a hole at the end of the tang, then wedge or slot the pommel in. Use glue if necessary.

After basic completion, you have the option to stain it or imbue it with a varnish coating to preserve its surface.