The YouTube channel Faraway Forge shows the making of a real glowing Katana. The light effects are created with some EL wire and tape. Probably not the best piece for cosplay or conventions (keep the big knifes at home plz) but it looks very cool!

Forging a Katana in a futuristic Cyberpunk style. The goal of this project was to create a cross between a Lightsaber and a very real, very functional Katana. This is a detailed look at the steps involved in the build, the most notable of which are: forging both a back and front section for the blade, creating an artificial differential heat treat by tempering the two sections of the blade at different temperatures, making the handle out of scrap metal, sand blasting the handle components with a homemade sand blaster, and finally lights! The glow of the blade and handle are created with electroluminescent wire and tape respectively. This stuff is produces a great effect, and is driven by a circuit board and homemade battery box which are entirely self-contained in the handle of the katana.

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