I have been waiting to do this Roman sword craft since my brother was in first grade. In case you are wondering that is over 20 years. When my brother was in first grade his school did a “Knights and Princesses” themed day and all the boys (or anyone who chose to be a knight) got wooden swords made from yard sticks. Ever since then I’ve been looking for an excuse to make one.
Roman sword craft supplies
yard sticks (the number depends on how many you are making, you can use only one for a single sword), sand paper, gray acrylic paint or gray spray paint, hack saw, hot glue gun, duct tape
First cut your yard stick at the 18 inch mark. Roman swords were about a foot and a half long. If you are making several then take another yard stick and cut it into 6 inch segments.
Sand the ends of your cut pieces to get rid of any splinters.
Paint your Roman sword pieces gray. We mixed in some silver paint to make it a bit sparkly.
Plug in your hot glue gun and when it is ready glue the two sword pieces together to form a “T.” I found gluing the cross-guard on between 4-6 inches up to be the best hand grip.
Cut a piece of duct tape about 12 inches long, then tear or cut that piece in half. Then wind the two pieces of tape around the cross-guard to provide a bit of extra stability. This step is not necessary, but if your kids are going to play with these swords much you need to do it.
Some history behind the Roman Sword
Let’s talk the Roman short sword, and the genius behind the design.
A real Roman sword has a leaf shape, and tapers at the front. The design ensures it can slice a person open and the sword will not be pulled in by suction of the human body (I know, gross, but these are the details boys love).
The Roman sword got its length because that’s the longest they had the technology to make. It takes a much higher grade of metal to make a long sword and if the Roman sword was longer it would be prone to breaking.
Also the length of the Roman sword is ideal for infantry carrying a sword all day long. It’s less tiring to carry a short sword, it will not get tangled in supplies as you march from place to place.
The downside of a Roman sword is also its’ length. Roman infantry have to close to very close combat to effectively fight. While an infantryman usually also carried two short spears, they were intended to be thrown and either down an enemy soldier or hit their shield making the shield useless. They were not intended for melee combat.
As a side note I will warn you these Roman swords will not stand up to extensive play. They will break, but they look good for the short term, and my kids loved playing with them.
For the rest of our Roman posts head over to Hands on Roman History a part of the iHomeschool Network’s hopscotch.
Yard sticks, huh? The helicopter mother in me just fainted in fright. Looks like something the kids would love 🙂
They certainly did. I’m amazed my brother’s first grade class was able to make them and didn’t have lots and lots of injuries from kids fighting with them.
Way cool. Ironically, I am just in the process of updating my old post with books about the Roman Empire 🙂
I just saw it and love it.
Looks like the kids had as much fun making them as playing with them! And no one injured – sounds like a success 🙂
I was amazed no one got injured. They did break one yard stick before we could make it into a sword, but other than that….
This does look like something the kids would love, but I’m afraid I’m too much of a helicopter mom for them. My brother has some pretty neat foam swords that my kids adore when we visit, and my own kids do have light sabers…
Foam swords are amazing things, that’s our main go to for toy weapons, especially the Nerf ones, they are so sturdy.
What a totally fantabulous way to make a sword! Love it!
It really was amazingly fun.
Very cool activity! My kids would love. I’ll be sure to share the gross details about the swords’ design with my 9 year old – thanks!
It’s all about the gross details with them isn’t it?