My daughter (age 14) asked if we can make a wooden sword. I am a bit confused as to her precise need but I do know that she will be taken it to a school thing and she does work in the props group for plays.

Nobody is looking for authenticity and she also did not have a specific era of interest so they are not attempting to match.

She did point at a type of double edged long sword which is not curved. I suggest that she not attempt a style with a thin / long Cross-Guard, especially if it is made of wood, because I expect it will be what breaks first if dropped or even in transit. I do not think that I will even attempt a scabbard.



Any advice or links that might be of interest?

I have a piece of curly maple that should work well for this.

I will be intentional about not having a fine edge like I do when I make carving knives for soap out of wood; sometimes I teach kids to carve soap and I give them a knife made out of wood to carve the soap. This works well and they are sharp but fragile.

I told my daughter that for a first sword I would want to make a blade that was not curved for the first attempt.

I am guessing that I can use a belt sander; I own a ridgid oscillating belt sander that should work for this. Perhaps I can use a saw or router to remove some of the waste.

maybe I can wrap a part of the Hilt / Grip with rope of some sort, but they might not notice if I simply shape it to be smooth using rasps, files, and sandpaper.