I Built a Transparent Katana

Invisible and Indestructible Sword Creation

The speaker discusses their endeavor to create an invisible and indestructible sword using polycarbonate material.

Choosing the Material

• Glass initially considered due to transparency but deemed too fragile for a katana.

• Polycarbonate chosen as it is transparent and highly impact-resistant, ideal for the sword's durability.

Crafting the Sword Body

• Large panel of polycarbonate obtained for the sword body.

• Using tape to outline the katana shape on the panel for precise cutting.

Shaping the Katana

• Katana unintentionally made larger than normal but weight not an issue due to polycarbonate's lightness.

• Cutting out the sword shape from the panel using a bandsaw, ensuring precision in shaping.

Refining and Testing the Invisible Katana

The speaker refines the katana's shape, ensuring balance and sharpness before testing its effectiveness against various targets.

Finalizing Shape and Details

• Using a belt grinder to refine final details of the katana after cutting out excess material.

• Removing plastic wrap reveals nearly invisible appearance indoors but more pronounced invisibility outdoors with proper lighting.

Sharpening Process

• Creating a bevel on the blade by marking centerline with caliper for symmetrical grinding.

Making a Transparent Katana: Crafting Process

In this section, the creator discusses the process of making a transparent katana, detailing the steps involved in crafting the sword and achieving transparency.

Creating the Initial Shape

• The mechanism allows for setting a consistent angle while grinding the sword with a belt grinder. This is theoretical as the creator has limited experience in grinding.

• After an hour of grinding, one side of the bevel is completed, despite initial doubts about the outcome.

Polishing and Smoothing

• The katana is not sharp yet but has an edge. The next step involves smoothing out angles between the spine and bevel to prevent reflections.

• Using sanders with different grits, each pad is used to remove scratches and make the katana more transparent.

Achieving Transparency

• Through multiple rounds of sanding with finer grits and hand-sanding with 2500-grit sandpaper, micro scratches are removed to enhance transparency.

• Despite achieving some transparency, using a headlight polisher reveals distortion due to variable thickness in parts of the katana.

Perfecting Transparency: Refining Techniques

This section delves into refining techniques to enhance transparency further while addressing challenges like distortion caused by varying thickness.

Minimizing Distortion

• Experimenting with maintaining consistent thickness and creating shorter bevels results in reduced distortion and increased transparency.

• By creating a new sample following this concept, significant improvements are observed in both edge quality and overall transparency.

Finalizing Craftsmanship

• Completing the final blade involves polishing edges, refining shapes on a belt grinder, and ensuring complete transparency except for minimal distortion from bevels.

• Crafting a minimalist transparent guard adds aesthetic appeal without compromising functionality or comfort during use.

The Making and Testing of a Katana Sword

In this section, the creator completes the katana sword with a unique glue effect on the handle, expressing mixed feelings about its appearance. The testing phase begins with various targets to assess the sword's cutting ability and durability.

Completing the Katana Sword

• The glue creates a distinctive effect on the handle, resembling ice. The creator feels it gives off an anime revenge arc vibe when holding it. However, they express uncertainty about its coolness.

Testing Cutting Ability

• Targets range from soft to hard, including pineapple, watermelon, pumpkin, wooden plank, ballistic dummy, and brick.

• The pineapple is easily cut by the katana despite doubts about its cutting capability.

• Unexpectedly, the sword snaps right after the handle during testing on harder targets like wood. This leads to a realization about material rigidity affecting breakage.

Assessing Durability

• Despite handle breakage, the blade remains intact without any damage or scratches.

• Subsequent tests on watermelon and pumpkin show that while cutting is successful, there are limitations due to blade thickness affecting clean cuts.

Impact Testing: Ballistic Dummy and Wooden Plank

This segment focuses on impact testing using a ballistic dummy with gelatin simulating muscle tissue and bones. Additionally, a wooden plank test reveals surprising results regarding the katana's strength.

Impact Testing on Ballistic Dummy

• The ballistic dummy has gelatin simulating muscle tissue and bones for realistic impact assessment.

• The katana successfully slices through the gelatin and shatters bones beneath it without any damage to the blade itself.

Wooden Plank Test

• A thick wooden plank is used as a challenging target to test the katana's strength. Despite uncertainties about potential outcomes due to lack of prior knowledge of blade strength,

the katana effortlessly destroys the wooden plank without sustaining any damage.

Detailed Blade Assessment

In this segment, the speaker discusses the outcome of a blade assessment, highlighting the durability and quality of the blade after undergoing testing and repair.

Blade Durability and Quality

• The katana successfully broke a break during testing, showcasing its strength.

• Despite the break, the blade sustained minimal damage, impressing the speaker.

• Upon repair and polishing, the blade exhibited few scratches but maintained a nearly pristine edge.