Easy Deathstroke PVC Prop Sword

February 16, 2014

Easy Deathstroke PVC Prop Sword

While playing the video game Batman: Arkham Origins, I noticed the unique design of Deathstroke's sword. In the game, he uses a sword that can be best described as a katana with a straight blade. The many different designs of the blade can be seen here. Appearing in many comics and video games, Deathstroke is known as the greatest assassin in the DC Universe. You can read more about Deathstroke here. Being a major fan of Deathstroke, I set out to try to make my own version of his sword.

Materials Used

1 piece of 3/4 inch PVC piping (3' long)
1 PVC 3/4 inch coupling
1 PVC 3/4 inch end cap
Black electrical tape
Aluminum Tape

Tools Needed

Pencil
Hack Saw
Sand Paper
Heat Gun
Foil (optional)
Clamps
Wood Planks (2 of them about 3' long, 2 of them around 1' long)
Gloves
Palm Sander
Table Vice

To start things off, make a mark 8 inches in from the end of the PVC. This will be the grip of your sword. Sand all stamps and scuffs off of your PVC (except your pencil mark!). Using a small-grain sandpaper works best for this.

Heat the long end of the PVC using your heat gun, making sure not to come more than an inch from your mark. The foil can be used here to speed up the process by reflecting heat onto the back of the pipe. Constantly move your heat gun up and down the length of the PVC and continuously rotate the pipe to prevent any burning. Keep the heat gun about an inch away from your pipe.

WARNING: Burnt PVC may release harmful fumes!

Once the PVC starts to become flexible, use your glove to feel the pipe. You should be able to press the PVC inward down the entire length. If this can be done, quickly move your PVC between the two boards and place clamps along the ends and center of the pipe. Make sure to leave the grip section outside of the boards. Tighten your clamps so that the PVC is flattest on the end opposite of the grip and tapering up to the normal 3/4 inch diameter. Let this sit for 20-25 minutes to cool.

Remove the boards and clamps from your PVC. Check for any imperfections and correct them in the same fashion used to flatten the blade.

The PVC just past the grip was uneven on mine. I simply heated up the small area and re-flattened it using smaller boards.

Place your PVC in a table vice with the blade tip facing outwards. Mark your desired angle for the tip using painters tape. Cut along the line with your hack saw. Sand down any flakes and imperfections left on the tip.

Reheat the blade tip with your heat gun and clamp it like shown. This is to give the desired point to the edge of your blade. Let this cool for 15-20 minutes.

Use a palm sander to make any finishing changes to the tip.

I cut the grip off of the blade. I DO NOT advise doing this. The sword is much sturdier if it is left as one solid piece.

If you cut your grip off of the solid piece, add your PVC coupling. Either way, add the end cap to the grip.

Wrap the entire grip area in black electrical tape. For the best results, follow the following video on how to tape drumsticks. It's all done in the same fashion. You can see this here. I used varying styles between the coupling, end cap, and the grip itself to add varied texture to the design.

All that's left is adding your grip to the blade. Painting your blade a metallic silver would definitely add to the look of your build. I have not done this yet because of how tricky painting PVC can be.