Awesome Swords

In this video from That Works, master swordsmith Ilya Alekseyev shows off his skills by designing and fabricating one of the most beautiful swords we’ve ever seen. Ilya used traditional and modern techniques to create the iron, damascus steel, and silver piece. Dubbed Transubstantiation, the sword is both a work of art and a functional weapon.

A sword can do plenty of damage on its own, but lighting it on fire takes things to another level. With some help from fellow maker Integza, Mike Shake set out to create a sword that burns and melts at the same time that it slices. The blade is made from a porous 3D-printed metal, and it runs on butane gas. Perhaps it instantly cauterizes wounds.

This sterling silver ring from Tachibano Co. is shaped like a miniature katana. Its shiny, curved blade wraps around your finger and is finished with a detailed handle, capturing the spirit of traditional Japanese craftsmanship. Available in sizes 8 or 9 with a rhodium or 18k gold plating.

Japanese swordsmiths have been making bladed weapons for centuries. Veritasium offers a scientific explanation of the process, starting with a charcoal smelting method that produces steel from tiny deposits of iron sand collected from riverbeds. After that, a swordsmith forges, folds, and welds different kinds of steel to create a beautiful and sharp blade.

Given its softness, copper is not a great material for weaponry or tools – but it sure looks awesome. In this video from Mini Katana, they teamed up with a metalsmith to turn thousands of pennies into a unique sword. But hunting down enough vintage copper pennies was only the start of their problems.

After seeing an illustration of a mime wielding an invisible sword, maker Mike Shake was inspired to build one in real life. While his see-through katana isn’t completely invisible, it’s still an incredibly cool and effective weapon. Mike’s opponents will never see what hit them. After considering using a glass blade, he went with a clear and strong polycarbonate.

You don’t need to be Ranni’s lackey and trek all over The Lands Between to get your hands on this bad boy. Though you may need to farm for its cost and the shipping fee. Panda Studio’s officially licensed life-sized resin replica of the Dark Moon Greatsword from Elden Ring is a crazy 59″ long. Limited to 88 units.

The Mandalorian’s Darksaber is the most sword-like weapon in the Star Wars universe. So, it only makes sense that a blacksmith would build a real-world replica. Black Beard Projects forged his Darksaber’s blade from high-carbon and stainless steel, recreated its handle using 3D printing and sand casting, and machined its guard from steel.

We love how metal can be used over and over again. After one object has served out its life, it can often be melted down and turned into something new. In this clip by metalsmith Random Hands, he shows us how he took a rusty link from an old piece of ship’s chain and hand-forged it into a beautiful new samurai sword.

What’s cooler than a regular katana? One that hides in its handle and extends like a lightsaber. After seeing an example of this awesome collapsible katana design at a convention, Maker David Miao printed a copy of it at home on his Prusa XL 3D printer. He made it look even better by printing it with Fixdry’s tri-color PLA, which gives it a rainbow sheen.

The energy sword from Halo is the game franchise’s ultimate melee weapon. We’ve seen a number of real-life replicas of the sword over the years, now here’s another take on the weapon. Random Hands started out with a rusty old leaf spring from a truck, which he cut, forged, hammered, and split down the middle to form the two halves of the blade.

A while back, How Ridiculous built a helicopter with baseball bat rotor blades. After putting that machine through its paces, they fitted it with metal fly swatters. Now they’ve retrofitted their high-speed spinner with katanas. After a scary incident with a loose blade, they tightened things up and played some Fruit Ninja.

Maker DiesInEveryFilm wanted to see a sword with a flexible blade could be as effective as a straight blade. He created his unusual weapon by machining a custom blade, cutting it into segments, sliding them onto a length of aircraft cable, and welding them into place. The result is a bit floppy but still dishes out damage.

The zombie-slaying game Dying Light 2 Stay Human encourages players to improvise weapons to take down the undead. Thanks to Integza, we have a real-world, 2-for-1 weapon that combines the reach of a sword with the power of a chainsaw. The finished chainsword is driven by an 8 horsepower brushless DC motor.

Ross the Random is back with another cool transformation video. This time, he took an ordinary steel spoon and turned it into a beautiful work of art. First, he carefully cut out a dragon pattern using a jeweler’s saw. Then, he used a grinder and file to turn its handle into a tiny sword. We love the blue finish he added with the torch.

We always enjoy watching rusty metal objects being reworked into new ones. In this satisfying blacksmithing video from Faraway Forge, they start off with a big old industrial hook, get it fiery hot, and hammer it into a bar shape. From there, it takes huge amounts of handwork to shape and hone it into a blade for a katana.