I Built a Transparent Katana (it's unbreakable)

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.

"Have you ever seen an invisible sword?" Well no, it's invisible.

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.

Alright so hear me out: There is another Japanese Martial Arts style that would make better use of the material, both in regards to its transparency and ability to bend. I believe it’s called Owari Kan-Ryu, but I just call it the Wobbly Spear technique. In essence, you grab a spear near the bottom and with your lower hand push it back and forth (sliding it through your higher hands grip) so as to cause the tip of the spear to wobble in a circular pattern. It helps to get past guard stances, and would likely benefit greatly from having an invisible spear used.

"Glass is glass, and glass breaks." that reference made me smile :)

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 !

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.

What I love about this is that this is just some dude figuring it out as he goes along. He's not some professional but he had a cool idea and he wanted to create it so he did.

17:43 The fly that entered his mouth 😂😂

Mechanical engineer here. By making a 90 degree angle between the blade and the tang in the handle you created a stress concentration there. Abrupt changes in geometry like this create localized stresses far greater than the average stress, hence why your blade snapped there. Fun video!

"That thing was too big to be called a sword. Too big, too thick, too transparent, and too plasticky, it was more like a large hunk of polycarbonate."

What I like about your videos, is that you communicate all the information, but without having to watch hours of footage! Excellent job!!

"Cool sword." Snaps in half. "Oh, stress risers, riiight."

Airport security isn’t gonna like this one..

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.

Hardness is not the same as tenacity, as a mechanical property. Policarbonate is not a hard material, so it is basically unable to actually retain the sharpness of the edge. That's why most of the test showed breaks by blunt weapon impacts, and not much of a cut. Still, it is a very cool weapon and admire your attitude of fucking around and finding out. Great video as always!

Bro I love this video, your face when the sword breaks off from the handle and your just processing the emotions after all that hard work had my dying! So relatable lmao Hope you do continue to do well, much love from the USA!

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.

Mike shake, i have been watching your videos for a long time and you helped me learn so many skills and not be bored during covid

Your sense of humor is a nice bonus to your amazing work on the transparent katana. :)