For just about any type of sword (we'll do a katana in this example):

1. Cut off an appropriately long section of frame. Preferrably one that does not have too many intersecting pieces. The bottom of the weapon-frame is perfect. It should be about 3-4 inches long. .

2. Looking at the piece, you will notice a seam running from end to end. . This seam is where the 'edge' of the blade will be. . It's important to know which ways are front and back since the blade curves in a particular direction and since the frame is slightly rectangular.

3. For bending: Boil water. Hold the frame-piece under with metal tongs or a fork for approx 3 mins. Remove from water, and with a towel protecting fingers, bend the piece into a slight curve. Practice makes perfect here so expect to make mistakes early on.

4. Now you have a curvy piece of plastic. Once it's cool (you can speed it up with cold water), you can start with the carving.

For starters, get the right tools. The very first sword I made used only a pocketknife and sandpaper, so you don't need all the fancy stuff I use now. These instructions will try to cover both ways of doing it, but I reccomend starting out simple.

Carving:

1. You need to define where the blade stops. Since we'll use a section of ladder-rung for the grip (and won't need to use any of the frame you're carving) you'll make a notch far enough from one end to give yourself a decent grip.

2. Blade: Ever whittle wood? No? Um. . I'd like to help, but it's something that needs to be shown. ;)

What we're doing here is carving away the four corners of the frame to give us an octagonal shape when looked at from the end. The octagon is a lot easier to sand. .

Look closely for those seams I mentioned earlier. They're going to be the front and back of the blade. The sides are what you're carving at.

Sanding: The shape your going for looks somewhat like this: <>
With the points of the blade being on the seams of the frame. Sand all the way down to the notch you made for the grip.

Blade-tip: This one isn't too hard. The shape you're going for looks like this: /| With the slanted bit being toward the front of the blade.

Grip: Don't worry too much about this. Cut off the piece of frame at the notch you made. Make sure it's nice and flat. Glue an appropriately long section of ladder-rung. For a katana, make it about as long as two Stikfas hands are wide.

And you have it. A Stik-Sword from the plastic frames.

Don't worry if it doesn't look perfect. Mine didn't. . Heh. . Lot's of trial and error will reward you with some awesome weapons.

Cheers, and enjoy-

patric