~ by Alassë Solá (lyrae_archeress)

I’ve found a simple, functioning way you can make a wooden sword. I’ve seen a few articles about metal ones, but those require going to a farm machinery place, to get a pipe or something flattened. This can be difficult for younger people, especially the ones without cars – like me! Wooden ones work just as well if you can’t find plastic ones.

The I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-A-Sword Sword

Materials

– A foot of imitation leather

– 80-D sandpaper, 2×3 inches (very heavy sandpaper leaves deep marks.)

– Three sticks, one long, two short-about two or three inches long (Any length. See below for racial-specific swords.)

– A hot glue gun

The Blade

1) Get all of the materials above.

2) Decide your race, because your sword design will depend on your race.

3) Decide the length of your hilt. It should be the length of one or two of your hands, or the sword won’t be very long, nor will you be able to hold it!

4) Take your sandpaper in your hand. Fold it in half, if you want to. Rub back and forth on the sword part, not to gently, but not hard or you’ll rip it. Make sure you sand both sides.

5) DO NOT MAKE SHARP EDGES. You may make a point, however, it MUST be blunt. This sword is NOT for actual swordplay. It’s for LARP ONLY.

The Hilt

1) Sand the bottom of your hilt if it’s jagged.

2) Cut the leather into ONE long strip.

3) Starting at the very bottom of the hilt, apply some hot glue and stick one end of the leather onto the glue. Then, gently wrap the leather around the hilt until you reach the top. Dab some hot glue where the fabric ends, and stick it on the hilt.

4) Now sand the two smaller sticks down until they are the same length (if not so already). Curve one edge inward, like a crescent moon shape, until it fits the line between the blade and the hilt. Do this for both of the small sticks.

Finishing Touches

1) If you’d like, you may add some runes that spell the name of the blade. They can be in whatever language, but I suggest using a pencil to plan out what goes where.

2) You may also add a gloss or finish coat if you wish, but I didn’t do that.

Three Different Styles of Swords

I recommend looking at the movies for inspiration. Here’s a brief guide of three races: Elves, Men, and Uruk-Hai.

ELVES: Elves use a curved blade, sometimes with a tiny spick jutting out from a blade edge. Best for graceful slashing, NOT stabbing.

MEN: Men have heavy swords, wide and bulky. Depending on what culture, like Rohan, the design will be different.

URUK-HAI: Uruks have one long flat blade without much of a hilt. There is a t-bone or one spike shape jutting out from the top.

An excellent source of further information and images of LOTR weaponry is the book Weapons and Warfare by Chris Smith, which can be ordered through our very own CoE store here.