Wooden Katana

I have always liked how katanas looked in movies and comics. Therefore, I decided to make one. I don't have a lot of tools, so it was a challenge to create a good product with the things that I have. The final product is a wooden katana made for decoration, it won't have a cutting edge in order for it to be safe to manipulate and carry.

Supplies

For this project I used:

1 Plank of plywood (1cm x 1m x 2m)

1 Wood plank (optional) (1cm x 25cm x 15 cm)

Paint

Wood healer

Jigsaw

Router

Wood engraver

Sander

Step 1: Blade

First I made the blade. I found different measures online, that is based on your height. My katana is 30" for the blade and 11" in the handle. It has a thickness of 1 1/2 ". I made it curved and a little tip at the end.

Step 2: Fuchi (collar)

For the collar I made a circle, cut it and then I pasted a circle on top to sand it evenly. After that, I took the blade and reduced the thickness by half an inch on both sides. I cut the collar to fit in the blade.

Step 3: Fitting All Together

After I made the reduction of the thickness I fitted the collar in the blade. In some parts, I sanded the handle so it could pass.

Step 4: Making the Handle

To make the handle I made 2 rectangles that would stack in the blade like a sandwich. I made them 1/2" thicker on both sides and 1 inch larger. After that, I reduced the depth of the wood by 1/2".

Step 5: Handle

After that, I glued both parts of the handle.

Step 6: Sanding

I started sanding the handle into an oval. I made it in a way that it's comfortable to the hand.

Step 7: Engraving

I engraved 18 triangles on the blade, the dimensions are in the image. After that, I engraved 9 rhombuses (1/2" wide) on both sides of the handle.

Step 8: Healing the Wood

When working I made few mistakes, therefore I applied a wood healer so the gaps that the plywood would not appear.

Step 9: Painting

To finish the katana I painted the sword, as an optional step I painted 2 rectangles (one in the handle and one above the collar), which mimic the parts of a katana.