Wheel of Time Heron Marked Blade(Amazon) STL's available

[UkkosTrombone]

I'm working on a Heron Marked Blade based on the images released by Amazon. I have the Guard and Heron modeled and STL's to share. I'm exploring all my options for making the blade and grip. I would like it to be rigid and durable. I don't think I want to use foam on this one, I won't be sharing this one with the kids. I have used Home Depot yard sticks to make blades in the past. They are surprisingly straight and stable my first thought was laminating a few together then shaping the blade from them. Also, the first google search result said a katana is 42.5" long. That seems a little long, but I scaled my template to that size anyway.
Anyone have thoughts? I am open to any and all suggestions and collaborations.