Stong transparent material to cast a katana blade?

[LazyBear]

I want to make several replica swords, including some Anime katana replicas I think would look great if made out of a colored transparent material. The hilt will be cast in aluminum or made of wood...depending on the replica. I bought a cheap full-tang katana, I've removed the blade, and I plan to cast my blades from a mold I will make from it

The problem I face next is deciding what material I will use to cast my blades. I am new to this, and initially was going to make my blades from resin. But after a bit of research (here and other places), I've learned that resin would be too brittle if cast too long and thin. Thus, it kind of makes it a poor choice to construct a katana blade replica. Is that true? If so, can anyone suggest a good material that will meet my needs?

So, in a nutshell, I need a material that is:
- strong (not necessarily dueling strong, but at least wont break or crack if dropped or knocked around)
- transparent
- relatively rigid (minimally flexible)
- ideally cold-castable
- preferably not bank-breaking $

If I'm asking for the moon, let me know that too.

Thanks guys!:thumbsup

 

[parfaitelumiere]

would more suggest you to used polycarbonate but you will have to shape it entirelyfrom a sheet.
It may be possible to tahe a tape , about ¼" thick and about 1,5" large and the lenght you need for your blade, then bent using heat gun, with lots of care and finally carve the cutting edge.
A katana blade has a very specific profile and finish so I guess it will be quite hard to do.
I was thinking about a clear saber blade since I'm about 15, because I created several manga characters, and one of them had a clear red blade on his saber.

 

[LazyBear]

would more suggest you to used polycarbonate but you will have to shape it entirely from a sheet.

I was thinking about doing it this way, but if I wanted the material tinted or colored I would have to paint it. I'm not sure paint would look as good, and it certainly wouldn't be as durable as if the plastic was colored. I saw a thing about castable polycarbonate resin, but that looks like it involves a little chemistry and a LOT of safety precautions. I'm not totally against that method, if practical, but I'm just not set up for it.

If I can find a method and material to do this, I would love to make an Original Trilogy Star Wars lightsaber. If you look, the beam is more flat (like a blade) than the cylindrical beams of later movies.

 

[parfaitelumiere]

Polycarbonate in VERY hard to shape by heat, it has a very short temperature to be cast and it's very thick, I wouldn't suggest you to try this way.
I was thinking about the ultimate lightsaber blades in the past, but it would need a thousands dollar mold just to cas blades one by one...so I left the project.

 

[cavx]

How many are you making?

For less than 10, I'd be cutting them from a sheet.

You would not "heat shape" (forge) the polycarb, rather cut/grind (the stock removal method) it in to shape. It is strong and flexible and can withstand a thrashing.

As for a mold-able version, it would be cool, but you would also want a vacuum chamber to degas the resin before you poured the cast so your parts didn't end up with thousands of bubbles. You still have to make a master in order to make a mold before you start.

 

[RogueTrooper]

There is no cheap way out.

I made a 4 ft long Elric blade from 10mm clear acrylic on our cnc router. Then I flame polished it.

It looked awesome, but it was a ton of work.

The only strong transparent material to build from is acrylic sheet, polycarb is way to tough to router and flame, plus it's burn rate is mental

 

[LazyBear]

How many are you making?

For less than 10, I'd be cutting them from a sheet.

You would not "heat shape" (forge) the polycarb, rather cut/grind (the stock removal method) it in to shape. It is strong and flexible and can withstand a thrashing.

As for a mold-able version, it would be cool, but you would also want a vacuum chamber to degas the resin before you poured the cast so your parts didn't end up with thousands of bubbles. You still have to make a master in order to make a mold before you start.

I made my own vacuum chamber to degass my materials, and I will likely be making more than 10. I have a bunch of friends who would love these things if I can get it to work. So I would like to go the casting route. Forging seems like more work per-blade and I would get inconsistent results.

Would acrylic or epoxy resins suit me, or still too brittle? There's a video on youtube HERE were the guy made the Skyrim glass sword out of acrylic, but his sword is a bit more robust than mine would be.

 

[CPTRogers]

Try epoxicast 690 from smooth on. It's a clear resin and when mixed right, is pretty strong It can also be pigmented to give it a color while still being transparent.

 

[ARKM]

There is no cheap way out.

I made a 4 ft long Elric blade from 10mm clear acrylic on our cnc router. Then I flame polished it.

It looked awesome, but it was a ton of work.

The only strong transparent material to build from is acrylic sheet, polycarb is way to tough to router and flame, plus it's burn rate is mental

Would a jigsaw work for cutting polycarbonate sheet?

 

[parfaitelumiere]

I think it can work, with probably slow speed to avoid fusing,
I think if it's too fast the fusing material will stick to the blade and create issues.
With a "finish" blade, or metal blade it will probably work.
I cut some "plexiglas" with this kind of tool.

 

[studebaker]

That's an easy answer... Smooth-On They have the transparent clear casting material and the dye to color it.