The inspirations that I had for my final project come from the show Fate/Stay Night UBW. The character pictured above uses two swords (Kanshou and Bakuya) he creates himself inspired by a Chinese folklore of a blacksmith couple called Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. The story can be found in the book, “In Search of the Supernatural: The Written Record” by Gan Bao.

The swords have a very dark look along with being in the fantasy realm swords. Now creating the swords has been something that I’ve struggled with. I’ve seen/explored various options on how to create them either with EVA foam and a graphite handle (Youtube: Odin Makes), EVA foam only (Youtube: YogaCosplay), 3D Printing, or just using Wood/Clay (Youtube: NotBitter).

I’ve leaned more towards going down the woodworking route because I find woodwork to be rather enjoyable and it will give me a nice feel to the swords instead of having something lighter or more frail. I plan to use about 1 and a half inch thick wood so that I can grind it down into a nice shape. The schematics I have so far are:

This helps me get a feel for the sizing that I want so that it doesn’t come out too small or too large. I want to use a GITD paint to create a circuit pattern around both swords to simulate how they are generated in the show and add a dynamic effect to them without over bulking or taking away from the original work.

My plan for creating this is to first create a sturdy cardboard outline to trace onto the wood. Then using a jigsaw to carefully shape out the wood avoiding over cutting and grinding down any excess. I’ll use a band saw to smooth things out and create a bladed effect on the sword. The handle will be stained and the grip will be done with either electrical tape or with a top layer of baseball handle tape. I will have to carefully select my paint colors to avoid making it look too cartoony but also not overly realistic.