Scissor Blade Saga: Journey complete!

Well, not really. It still needs to be sent through the mail and received by piexv, but the scissor blade must continue on its journey without my hand directing it. And so, with a mix of satisfaction and a little sadness at being done, here is the master post for making my scissor blade. This is going to be really long, and since I’ve posted my progress several times already, many of it will be review. There will, however, be the final changes, and if anyone were to choose between reading the previous posts and this one, I would highly prefer they read this one, as it contains the final process and prices.

MATERIALS (an underlined tool is what I recommend over the other when given an option)

5/4x6 decking for the blade, 31" required. $4.17 for an 8’ board at Lowe’s, $1.35 total.

2x8 pine for the handle, 14" required. $7.97 for an 8’ board at Lowe’s and Home Depot, $1.16 total.

½" dowel for connecting the sections of the handle to the blade, two 3.5" sections (7", not including the width of the blade between the two sections) required. $1.48 for a 6’ poplar dowel at Menard’s, $0.14 total.

Spray primer, about four ounces required. $3.77 at Walmart?, $1.26 total.

Red spray paint, about four ounces required. $3.77 at Walmart, $1.26 total.

Jigsaw or bandsaw

Circular saw or table saw

Drill press with various size and grit sanding drum attachments or sanding table

Wood glue: make sure it doesn’t expand too much like Gorilla Glue. I used Titebond glues.

Electric drill to get a small sanding drum in tight places if need be and to drill the holes and the hole for the screw.

One 2" 8D screw to connect the back ends together.

One 1/8" and one countersink bit

Wooden plug

Sandpaper and/or sanding block

STEP 1: Planning

To begin with, print off a reference image of the scissor blade. Make sure this image shows the blade as straight as possible and as parallel as possible. If the blade is shown at the wrong angle, this will impact the overall size and proportions of it. Images like these:

One key to getting a high-quality blade is meticulous calculations. I spent about two hours carefully measuring every important point on my reference image (for example, where the blade is the thickest and where it’s the thinnest), calculating how big those measurements would have to be in order to be proportional at 42", and carefully drawing it on the pattern paper. Some portions, like the handle bits, are more efficiently drawn using the grid method, where you draw a small grid on the reference image and a larger, to-scale grid on the pattern paper.

One of the hardest thing to keep still when tracing a pattern onto wood is keeping it still. A few years ago I learned a handy trick using scotch tape and the skin’s natural oils that not only keeps the pattern steady, but also won’t rip the paper when you try to remove it. All you do is stick your fingers to the adhesive section a few times before positioning the pattern where you want it. By doing this, the oils in your skin stop some of the adhesive from activating. Or something. I don’t know the exact science behind this.

Once the patterns are cut out, you can trace them on the wood immediately or wait for whatever reasons. Scissors are good for cutting the majority of the pattern out, but a sharp knife like an Xacto should be used to cut out the front hole if you want it to be oblong. The shape of the front hole is either circular or elliptical depending on which reference image you use. I chose the elliptical. For circular holes, all I needed to do at this point was to make a dent in the center of where it will be so the drill bit won’t stray from where you calculated it to be.

STEP 2: Cutting

When using power tools, make absolutely sure that everything is done safely. Keep all electrical cords away from the blades. When cutting, make sure the wood is firmly secured to the work table with clamps. Be sure to wear eye, ear, and mouth protection to prevent sawdust and chips from preventing you from working. And don’t use any tool you either haven’t used in years or have never used without supervision or someone nearby.

There are two kinds tools to cut the pieces from the boards. One is a saw that doesn’t need to cut a straight line, such as a jigsaw or a bandsaw, and the other, a table saw or a circular saw, does. Each tool has pros and cons. The bandsaw will cut the cleanest edge you’ve ever seen, but if you twist too hard when cutting a curve the blade will pop off the wheels and you’ll need to spend a few minutes getting it back on. Also, bandsaws have only a certain amount of space between the blade and the casing. Unless your bandsaw has 3’ or more of clearance, I’d use a jigsaw. The jigsaw is good when you want to make sharper curves or don’t have the resources to buy a bandsaw. However, since the blade isn’t secured on both sides like a bandsaw, the blade has the tendency to bend if you push too hard to the sides. The circular saw and table saw will be used for cutting the top of the blade and, eventually, trim the 5/4x6 to a proper width. More on that later. A circular saw will cut a straight line, but since it is handheld, has the potential to drift. A table saw is secured to the table, so the only thing you have to worry about is keeping the wood steady. I’d recommend a table saw.

You may also choose to drill the holes at this point. If you choose to make the front hole elliptical, you’ll need to drill a hole just wide enough for the smallest sanding drum to fit in it. The smallest sanding drums are, in fact, strips of sandpaper wrapped around. When you have the sanding drum in the hole, just work it until you have the ellipse.

Next comes trimming the blade to the proper width. Run the table saw along the edge of the board, taking off about a blade’s width. About 6-8 inches from the back end of the blade (the diamond piece), carefully take the blade out and flip it to the other side of the sawblade. Note: This is not the proper use of a table saw. Either be very careful with this or don’t do it at all. Carefully run the board against the sawblade until you come to the first pass. Try to stop cutting when the two appear symmetrical. Repeat for the other side of the board.

But we’re not quite done yet. by this time, the blade should be about 7/8" thick, and the reference images will show a detail near the big hold in the middle: a curve that appears to be the same curve as the edge of the sawblade. How convenient! It’s not exact, but it will do nicely nonetheless. This cut only needs to be made on one side of the blade. Set the final width to ¾" and cut the board along its length until you get to the approximate area with the detail. On my table saw, set to the highest setting so that the blade is up as far as it will go, the diamond section allowed for a perfect angle. Back the board back out after turning off the table saw. After some chiseling of the first parts you cut, you now have a perfect width along the whole blade.

STEP 3: Sanding

Now begins the most painstaking step of the entire process. Since most edges are curved, you can’t use a table saw to make the bevels. Now it is time for arguably the most versatile power tool: the drill press. But first, draw the reference lines along the blade for where the bevels will go if you haven’t already. Those are pretty important. Also just as important if not moreso is a way to get rid of the sawdust you will be making as you sand your items. Shopvac, ventilation system, just make sure the dust is kept to a minimum or you’ll be coughing and there’ll be a big mess to clean up when you’re done.

Sand the bevels down using various sizes of sanding drums and various grits of sandpapers. You will probably need to swap these out, either with new drums when they wear down (which shouldn’t happen often) or different size or grit drums periodically depending on what part you’re working on.

I’m not sure how to describe how to make the bevels other than a keen eye and a steady hand. And lots of patience. The blade will take about two hours to carve, and the handle pieces will take about four hours to carve. Make sure you keep the piece at the proper angles. When I beveled the blade, I only beveled one side. In retrospect, I should have beveled both sides, because the one side looks too plain. But for now, check out the bevel I made:

Other than the cutting edge, each edge has a small chamfer on it, a 45 degree bevel. There are a lot of these. The handle needs more work than just bevels. Sure, some parts of the handles will need them, but the handles are a slightly different story. First, make sure you have the edges sketched out on the handles. If you look at reference images, in nearly every image you can see a defined line along the center of both portions of the handle. To achieve this look, sand down each side of the line at an angle. This will make the ridge more defined. The rest of the handle should be rounded to fit a human hand.

STEP 4: Cutting (Again)

It’s time to cut again, but this time less of it. It’s time to connect the handle to the blade and the handles together.

Using a power drill, drill straight into the handles and the diamond section of the blade. Make sure your hand doesn’t move to a different angle, of you’ll have to compensate on the other half. That’s not as fun. If you can get the angles perfectly, your blade will be perfectly straight. My blade came out slightly angled, but it’s hardly noticeable. You may have to drill into one of the dowels depending on your angles or other stuff. One dowel connects the straight handle to the diamond piece, the other dowel connects the curved handle to the diamond piece.

Connecting the two handle piece together requires more finesse. You’ll need to drill a pilot hole for the screw in the small triangular bit on the back of the curved piece. Then drill it again, but with the countersink bit so the screw fits tight against the wood. Don’t drill too far or you’ll compromise the stability of the end of the handle. Glue a wooden plug into the hole to fill it in, and cut and sand it off when it dries.

STEP 5: Painting

Okay, you’ve got everything sanded down the way you want it. Excellent. Now we’re almost ready for priming and painting the scissor blade. First, however, make sure the blade is clear of any sawdust from sanding. Maybe take a damp rag to it. When the blade is clean, spray the primer on every surface. If you’re spraying on a horizontal surface, you’ll need to wait for it to dry before flipping it over. If you can hang it somewhere and spray every angle, the extra wait time isn’t necessary. It will also decrease bothersome drips.

A white primer will make the color more pure, or closer to the color on the cap. A darker primer will probably be better for the scissor blade, since it’s a dark red in the anime. It’s up to you.

The primer will fill in the smaller holes and divots, but for larger holes or cracks you’ll need to fix yourself. After the primer has dried in about an hour (the exact amount of time depends on the brand), sand the first coat of primer with sandpaper or a sanding block, about 250 grit. Wipe off the dust and spray another coat of primer to get some more blemishes out. When that has dried, it’s time to paint. Spray where you want to, but make sure not to spray too much at once or it will drip. After a coat or two, your blade should look a little something like this:

STEP 6: Cosplaying

Now it’s time to show the world (or at least the con) what you made for $5.17. Pose. Showcase. Swing it about (but be careful of other congoers and walls, ceilings, floors, and windows). And most importantly, find the person with the other half who killed your father.