How to make a lightweight sword - no wood involved

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  • Fab tutorial! Kamui has one like it in German, but its hard to replicate because her materials are from Germany.

    One of the things I'm struggling with is a good carving knife. Where did you get your craft knife?

    Thanks!

  • I am making Sakura Haruno's dress and I have most of it done but I am stumped on how to put in the zipper. I know how to put in a zipper just fine, but how should I go about putting it in on an angle? HELP PLZ

  • This is definitely a solid alternative to some of the other established methods, the only thing I will say is that you should be pretty confident in your carving skills if you plan to put in very much detail to your props.

    Great Stuff, and I assume other brands of expanding foam, does not sand down very well. This is where rigid extruded foam absolutely has an advantage.

    For organic shapes this might not be a problem, for things with fine lines however it can make your job difficult.

  • When you said "dip the paper meche" do you mean into the wallpaper glue?

  • I plan on making an engraving on the sword I am making, should I do it before or after the final papermache steps or after?

  • If you want Prop tutorial you can check out my Youtube Channel: [url]https://www.facebook.com/szklarskis3Swords/app_212104595551052[/url]

  • I typically use plaster for any masks/armor. Weaponry I'll be making with plaster and reinforcing it somehow, since what I plan to make is intricate and requires detail and smoothness, keeping in mind in case it's dropped. Plaster makes it easier for smoothing and carving details. Given, it's kind of a pain and a slower process; highly recommended for extreme detail and the finish it gives. I recommend using primers/spray sealants on any base layer of plaster strips (this will prevent the base layer from soaking up moisture from the layers of plaster of paris so you can continue to build on top of the base). Seal once all detail has been carved, then spray/hand paint. :)

  • I work at a Large Format Print Shop, so for me it's easy to get great materials to use for these kinds of projects. We have, foamcore, cardboard, sintra, styrene, gatorboard and all sorts of colored vinyl to use for decal work. I am very new to cosplay but my first attempt at making a sword went very well and it's really sturdy. I've dropped it a few times and other than the paint getting messed up, the sword itself was completely fine. I used 1mil Sintra and cut it into the shape that I need. Here's the template that I made for the sword,
    [URL="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk198/iammitchconner/Sword-Template.jpg"]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk198/iammitchconner/Sword-Template.jpg[/URL]
    The Black lines are the cut lines and the red lines are score lines. So after I cut and scored the shape, I bent the sides down so that the tip closed off and made a point, I then taped the tip together and glued it using Epoxy Resin, it dries pretty quickly, I did the same with the other piece as well. Next I taped the two pieces together but only the top half at first, I left the bottom open so that I could glue it together. After that dried, I did the same to the top, let it dry for a day and now you have a decent looking sword but not complete. I made mine for my 10 year old nephew so I didn't want it to be really sharp, so what I did was used Epoxy Resin in a nice 1/8" thick bead all the way down the edges, let it dry for 2 days, then I sanded it into nice round edges, it still looks like it's sharp but its totally smooth. Next step was filling it with Expanding Foam, letting it dry and after that it's all about how you paint it, which I'm still learning by trial and error LOL. I should have the paint done by the end of the day so I'll try to post a picture if I can. I hope this helps.

  • [QUOTE=YourPetAsian;4947952]In the supplies list you say that it should be a smooth sheet but I was wondering if corrugated cardboard would work? Or two if one won't work? And also, for the expanding foam, is it the type that is used in home construction/repairs (Pipes etc.)?[/QUOTE]

    Both of your questions answer themselves actually. Both are yes.

    Here's why:
    1. Cardboard is ALWAYS corrugated. That's kinda the point. If it wasn't, it would not be cardboard. You can not hae cardboard that doe now have corrugation. If it doesn't have it, it's not cardboard. So there's no "this and that kind of cardboard"..

    2. All expanding foam is also the same. There's no "this kind or that kind". If it comes in a spray can, and is expanding foam, it's the same thing. There's no "crafting" kind. There's only home repair kind. We just use it in crafting.

  • HEY! great post. do you think you can help me with, how i can make a bow with this? i just need help with the base etc. do i need a long piece of wood to keep it strong? and do i need cardboard or foam board?

    [url]http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/079/d/a/1619348_557621461000890_1s987243141_n_by_avnxt-d7awiy7.jpg[/url]

  • [QUOTE=kimhaneuls2;4956711]HEY! great post. do you think you can help me with, how i can make a bow with this? i just need help with the base etc. do i need a long piece of wood to keep it strong? and do i need cardboard or foam board?

    [url]http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/079/d/a/1619348_557621461000890_1s987243141_n_by_avnxt-d7awiy7.jpg[/url][/QUOTE]

    For this I would use the spray expanding foam I explained a little bit about above your post.
    What you'd do is get a PVC pipe, heat foam it to be the shape you want the base to look like, then you can get some cardboard to make the basic shape on the front and back, then spray the foam onto it and once it's cured carve it down. Look up general expanding foam prop tutorials, most of them will be similar to what I'm saying.
    After you carve it down to the right shape, paper mache or paperclay over it and sand that smooth, then use air dry clay like the paperclay or appoxie sculpt (I think that's how it's spelled), to make the details.