Voltron’s Flaming Sword Forged in Real Life

The blacksmiths of Baltimore Knife & Sword always do an amazing job forging fantasy weapons for Man at Arms Reforged, but they have really outdone themselves this time. This latest sword is just perfection. The team created a recreation of Voltron’s blazing sword, and it really ignites! Hank Hill would be proud, because it has a continuous propane-fueled flame. “Nothing burns like propane, I’ll tell you what!”

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This was a challenging build since it was never a real sword to begin with. It’s from an ’80s cartoon, so they couldn’t get any high-res shots of the weapon. So they ended up using a small toy version to design a 3D model from, and built it from there.

The finished sword is a blazing and badass blade that I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of.

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3D Printed Baby Rattle Sword: ExPLAlibur

Thingiverse member Targ was inspired by a fellow designer dutchmogul’s 3D printed rattle mace and made a pair of sword rattles for his baby. Each sword is made of five pieces. Targ printed all of them using PLA filament, with the exception of the jewel, which is made of Taulman’s T-Glase filament.

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Targ also 3D printed the little balls that give off the rattling sound. To ensure that they’d stay inside the sword, he inserted the peas while his printed was making the blade. He recommends using super glue or 5-minute epoxy to secure the sword pieces together.

Head to Targ’s Thingiverse page to download the files for the rattle. Dutchmogul’s mace rattle is just as cute so you should check that out as well.

[via MAKE:]

 

Making a 93-layer Damascus Steel Roman Gladius Sword Is Beautiful

I’ve always rather fancied swords having grown up on kung fu and ninja flicks. This amazing short film shows master bladesmith Tony Swatton of Sword & Stone as he creates an epic sword that any roman soldier would have been glad to have. The sword is a reproduction of a Roman gladius sword. The build uses Damascus steel in a 93-layer technique and has a cool twisted grip.

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What makes director Phil Holland’s video of the build especially impressive is the image quality, as it was shot in 8K resolution using the new RED Weapon 8K camera. Naturally, you can’t hope to watch it in 8K, but it is still glorious in 1080p, and incredible in 4K if your system can handle it.

Making a sword looks like very hard and hot work indeed. I got sweaty just looking at the process. The video is well worth a watch.

[via Gizmodo]

Guy Builds Functional Ice Sword, Chops Stuff

Allen Pan is a cool guy. Cool as ice even. Allen recently built a sword not out of steel, but of ice. Surprisingly, it is strong enough to chop through a watermelon and also can decapitate helpless snowmen. I’m surprised they don’t have these swords in Winterfell where the winters are like decades long.

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It is impressively strong because Pan made the sword out of Pykrete, a composite material of water ice and a fiber like sawdust. Who knew that combination could be so tough? They actually considered using it during World War II to build warships. This is a much better use. Watch as Pan demonstrates its power.

Pan used toilet paper instead of sawdust for the wood component, but it seems to be just as strong. His mix was 86% water and 14% toilet paper. We all have access to those materials. This sword is nothing to mess with. That watermelon could easily be a human head. This thing is deadly.

[Home Geekonomics via Neatorama]

DIY 3D Printed Light-up Halo Energy Sword: Slice & Solder

There are tons of foam or plastic replicas of the iconic Energy Sword, but tinkerers can make one that does more with less weight with the help of Adafruit’s guide. The company’s design uses 3D printed components and a pair of RGB LED strips to create a cool prop or toy.

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The replica is based on Adafruit’s Arduino-compatible Feather microcontroller and its NeoPixel LED strip. The company also designed 3D models of the sword’s blades and handle; you’ll need to print the former with a translucent material so the light from the NeoPixel will shine through. Adafruit’s Bluetooth app will let you change the NeoPixel’s color and mode.

Lunge to Adafruit’s website for the guide.

Life-size Attack on Titan Sword Replica: Neck Scratcher

Compared to other fictional weapons, the sword used by Attack on Titan‘s heroes isn’t that hard to replicate. But if you want to go straight to slashing with the Survey Corps, you can’t go wrong with ThinkGeek’s officially licensed replica. The plastic sword measures 30″ long and has ejectable blades. You’ll just have to imagine the rest of the 3D Maneuver Gear.

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ThinkGeek normally sells the toy for $4o (USD) but as of this writing, you can get one for only $24.

Star Trek: TNG Foam Klingon Bat’leth is Better than a Nerf Sword

I always thought that Worf was one of the coolest characters on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I also liked the fact that he had a cool melee weapon called a Bat’leth. I always wondered how many Klingon’s chopped off their own fingers handling one of those wild curved bladed weapons.

Fortunately, this particular version will leave all your limbs and digits intact since it is made from foam. That means you can be the king of Nerf battles when you whip this thing out and commence to beating on chumps that are out of darts.

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The foam weapon is based on one of the Bat’leth propsused in the series and is four feet long. You can pick one up at Entertainment Earth for $42.99 when it lands in April 2016. Pre-orders are underway right now.

DIY Fallout 4 Shishkebab: You’ll Scorch Your Eye Out, Kid

Like many of you, Caleb Kraft is a fan of Fallout 4. Unlike many of you he’s a maker both in the game and in real life. When he saw the concept art for a new version of the series’ flaming sword he decided to make a fully-functioning replica. This is Vault Dweller at Arms.

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Caleb asked the help of the famous retro console modder Ryan Fitzpatrick aka Platinumfungi to make the Shishkebab replica. They made it by installing a crude flame-throwing system on an actual katana. Unlike the video game sword, this replica’s motorcycle handbrake isn’t just a handguard. It’s also the trigger that releases butane from a canister to the copper pipe installed over the blade. A button near the hilt activates a spark of electricity at one of the pipe’s openings to ignite the butane.

Make the Cryolator next Caleb! Check out his article on Make: for more videos of their build.

[via Geeky Gadgets]

Pencil Sword Eraser: The Pencil Is Mightier

I can’t count the number of pencil sword fights I got into growing up. All I know is that my elementary school teachers didn’t appreciate it much. I can recall one particularly nasty duel where my opponent ended up with some lead under the palm of his hand.

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What may well be the coolest add-on eraser for a pencil I have ever seen has turned up. It looks like the hilt of a sword. Slip it onto your pencil, and your pencil sword fights will now be much more realistic.

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The erasers actually work, as if you would want to mess up the world’s coolest erasers with mere mistakes. They come in blue, grey, and black, and you can purchase them online from Peleg Design.

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[via Laughing Squid]