Create: Fire Emblem Awakening Falchion Wooden Sword Model

Hi everyone! Today I will be showing you how to make a wooden sword model. Specifically, I will be modeling the Falchion from Fire Emblem: Awakening. 

The tools that I used are:

• Scroll Saw 
• Sandpaper 
• Chisels 
• Sawhorse 
• Jigsaw 
• Drill with drill bits 
• Chrome spray paint 
• Gold leaf paint 
• Wood of your choice (I recommend doing research on wood density, I personally used pine because it is very malleable but still sturdy) 
• Clamps 

I absolutely love making props and working on costumes, and I hope you will too! Now that we have covered what you will need let’s start going through the steps. This time we will talk about woodworking and how to make the base for your model. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Step One: Outlining your design

              First start by finding some reference images of the sword you will be building. I personally used the Lucina model from super smash brothers to get the proportion of my body to the sword correct. After you find your images, you will either want to look up the standard length of the sword type you will be making or find a reference image with a person in the same frame as the sword. After finding a picture, measure your sword to person ratio and then transfer it to your own height. From there, you can find the key points of the blade (hilt, hand guard, the taper of the blade) and write them down. After this, all that is left is simply tracing your design onto you wood. I started by sketching with an orange marker then switched to a black marker once I had put all the key points I needed to into my plank of wood.

Step Two: Cutting out your design

              After outlining your design, it is time to start sawing. Start by using your sawhorse and some clamps to hold down your wood. It is a good idea to have someone else there with you in case of emergency if you have never used power tools before. You will want to start by making relief cuts about every six inches around your design to keep the saw from overheating. For those of you who don’t know, a relief cut is a cut you make when you have a long cut such as a blade where you are going straight for a long period of time. I have put a helpful image showing how relief cuts work and the order with which to execute them.

Step Three: Cutting out circular piece

              For the falchion, there is a large circle in the middle that is completely open and needs to be removed. To do this, start by getting your drill and drill bits. Keep your wood clamped to the sawhorse, then using one of your larger bits, drill a hole big enough for your jigsaw blade. I drilled mine in the middle then cut directly down to the point to make sure it looked sharp. After that, use your jigsaw and saw around the shape. After that, you should have a rough model with the general shape of your blade. Now it is time to start sanding.

Step Four: Sanding

              This is by far the most time-consuming part of the process. To aid in the process I put a straight line down the center of the blade to taper down the blade evenly. I recommend if you have the proper tools and some supervision, to use a table saw and saw off some of the excess blade material. I did not do this, so sanding took a lot longer, but I also felt much safer because it can be dangerous to use the table saw incorrectly. I also sanded down the handle and rounded it out to make it easier to hold and more accurate to the photo.

Step Five: Chisel out designs

By this point, your blade should look like the picture on the left. Your blade should be relatively smooth and tapered and your handle should be fleshed out a bit in terms of shape. At this point, we will be chiseling out the design in the center of the blade. To do this, take a chisel size you are comfortable with and chisel gently towards the center of the blade. Use a hammer to gently chisel out the designs. Do not chisel too deeply because we still want there to be a defined line down the middle of the blade. Repeat this on both sides of the middle then repeat on the other side of the blade. This is a detail that cannot be added with paint, hence we use the chisel to define it. If you would rather use paint and not use the chisel, feel free to but know it will not look as defined at the end.

Step Five: Paint your blade

Once you smooth everything down to how you want it, it is time to paint. I used a chrome paint for the blade of the sword and gold leaf paint for the details. To make the details on the handle use different shades of gold paint until you get a color you are happy with. After this, feel free to use spray top coats whenever you see fit and you are done!

Let me know if you guys have any questions below. I would love to see pictures of how your work came out as well. Good luck, and have fun!