Wooden Master Sword (Legend of Zelda)

BACKGROUND AND TOOLS

I salvaged the wood from my old bunk bed (possibly pine). The master sword from Twilight Princess was the main inspiration for the model. The project was split into three pieces – the blade, the wings, and the handle.

I used a jigsaw to cut out the shapes, gorilla wood glue to join the pieces, a file, and sanding paper to smoothen edges. For the handle, I used a drill, a dremel tool, and a chisel (disguised as a flathead screwdriver). I used a wood burning tool to create the design on the blade.

STEPS

(please refer to the video for visual aids)

First, I traced out the blade shape on a piece of wood, with an extended section at the bottom which will be inserted into the handle. Remember to allow space for the wings to be glued on later. I cut out the shape using a jigsaw.

Next, I cut out the piece for the handle. I used a square/rectangular cross section length of wood, but a circular section would be preferred. I cut out a hole in the centre of the cross section for the blade to be inserted into. Initially, I used a drill to create a large circular hole in the handle, which I turned into a square using a dremel router attachment. I then used a screwdriver chisel to exend the depth of the hole.

After that, I sketched the design for the wings of the sword onto a piece of paper, and traced it out onto a piece of wood. I cut it out using a jigsaw and split it into two pieces for the left and right side of the blade. Remember to make use of relief cuts here.

I then filed down the edge of the blade, and the wings to make them smoother. I also used a sanding drum attachment on my router tool and a file to turn the rectangular handle into a cylindrical shape.

Next, I glue on the wings using gorilla wood glue, elastic bands and some support blocks. I left these to dry for a couple of hours before removing the supports. I cleaned up the residue glue using sandpaper.

To create the design on the blade, I sketched it out using pencil, then used a wood burning tool to go over it.

I then draped the handle using some old bag straps and glued it to the blade. I also hammered it in to ensure a tight fit. Finally, to give the wings some more texture, coated it with a layer of stain.