I Built a Transparent Katana

Subscribe for new videos about building and testing cool things.
Let me know in the comments what you want to see me make next!

[MikeShake]

I'm thinking about improving V1 of the sword, which is obviously going to cut better because of the thinner profile, and making another video comparing that with a real katana. I was also swinging the final sword like a bat, because it lacked cutting abilities but it had a lot of power. Anyways Let me know if you’d like to see an improed version of V1, in which I fix all the mistakes I made, including a better slicing technique!

Edit: I’ll do it

Ps: the reason I kept the katana that thick, is because it would otherwise bend just with gravity. So the improved version of it is going to be shorter, kinda like a real sword.

[siringc]

"Have you ever seen an invisible sword?"

Well no, it's invisible.

[nussisultanamazumder]

1:14 fact that NOKIA is one of the indestructible items mentioned here....🤣🤣🤣

[vedant_stone]

At this point, I just love to see the guy happy. The guy is so happy while making this sword lol. I love to see that wide ear to ear smile by doing something silly(as others would call it, but not me).

[Duckrabbit_Forging]

As a bladesmith, this pisses me off.
As a bro, this is freaking awesome.
Mike, if you see this, i can probably answer most of your questions about knife/sword/weapon making.

[ewengaming]

The fact that the blade is so thick that it reacts like an thin hammer and not a katana. It do not cut but completely smash the objects !

[Watashi_Wa_Habib]

01:15 and other indestructible materials 😂
That line just got me 😂

[Chunkymango-ojmq]

i love how whenever something bad happens he keeps it and makes it work

[Rowrowthegravyboat]

A true bladesmith does not make mistakes. Just smaller knives.
I’d like to see a test with v1 too. I know it didn’t match the title of the video, but your blade geometry was significantly more conducive to cutting through stuff.

[andrewbrinkworth]

To be honest, I think the fact that the only part not transparent is the edge, makes it look so much more terrifying... I think that if the whole thing was completely transparent, it wouldnt look as badass... Having only the edge be seen though makes it look fu**ing scary lol I love it.

[jammybap]

The right angle you cut into the blade where the handle and blade meet is what caused the break, not the added thickness of the handle. The same thing happens with steel weapons - they call it a stress riser. A rounded transition from handle to blade would help avoid it.

[AwfulWeather]

Airport security isn’t gonna like this one..

[GHOST_mpx_]

Bro hats off to you man so much hard work 🙏

[leadershipnation]

I think, it's not just about material, but also at what angle we hit the target. Great job brother 🎯...loved your work and dedication

[yesseru]

I actually really liked the v1, the distortion makes it seem like some magical fantasy sword, i hope we get to see more of it!

[davidbucklen-blacksmith]

15:02 swordmaker here. When you make a sharp transition like between the tang and blade you create a stress riser. You need to create a round transition.

[AviStryfe-imdv]

Great job man. I think ill start my own little project thanks for the motivation.

[asheswath]

Bro just revolutionized Medieval warfare

[RXD_BB]

"When it's wet, it looks great"
His expression 😭💀

[HappyJackington]

The biggest reason your handle snapped off is the geometry of your sword. Having those sharp interior corners creates a stress concentrator. It's like if you have a 10 lane highway suddenly shrink into a 1 lane country road with no transition. All the cars (stress lines) have to bunch up at that point, cramming into that tiny area with no easing into it. It works when traffic is low (like swinging the swrod through the air), but the moment there's any serious traffic (like hitting the pineapple) there are too many cars trying to go into that 1 lane. For the cars, they just can't move anywhere, for your sword, it breaks.

You will always run into this issue with making the grip smaller than the blade, but adding internal radii or some way to gradually reduce the size, will help to prevent this failure in the future. That will always be your point of failure on a sword made out of a single material. Katanas, even though they are made from one piece of steel, have different hardnesses at different parts of the blade and grip effectively making them multi-material sword.

I bet you that if you were to take your V1 sword, even though it is a sharper blade, you will have the handle snap off even if you don't make the handle thicker. It's just a nature of your sword geometry and really only something you can learn from spending too much time reading books, or breaking things like your doing, which is how the books were written in the first place.

I also don't want to invalidate your own discovery of adding material to the handle making it stiffer and contributing to the blade breaking. That is definitely a part of it and an awesome insight to have found. I just want to highlight that your 2D geometry has as much a roll in the strength of the blade as the 3D geometry does.