well I used toy swords and spray painted the baldes bright metalic silver and on film, they looked pretty good.

White Tiger Films

I like the toy swords idea. With a little work this could really look good.

ourkid - have you contacted prop rental places?

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

You can also google 'Latex Foam Swords', these are what they use in the LARP (Live Action Role Play). Just don't order anything from Rampant Mouse. I ordered some stuff for a costume from them over six months ago which they never sent and refuse to give me a refund.

i looked into the latex swords, and although i found lots of sites that sell them i'm still a little confused about how they look/work, etc.

www.maketradefair.com
www.thehungersite.com
www.oxfam.ca

Have you contacted any prop rental places?

=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

oh hey CI, sorry i missed your question the first time. i have, but they mostly have large metal medeval ones... i'm looking for a more asian style martial arts pair.

www.maketradefair.com
www.thehungersite.com
www.oxfam.ca

You might take a close look at ?Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.? I worked with a prop master who said that many of the swords in the movie were actually made of cardboard and plastic. That way they would be light for the actors to carry and could also be produced in large quantities, considering the difficulty of getting metal swords with the intricate scrollwork on the blades.

We discussed how these swords might be made at lunch. We figured that an aluminum yardstick could be used as the spine. A mold could be made for each side of the blade, into which could be placed oven-hardening clay (such as Sculpey or Premo). This provides the basic sword and it would actually be fairly rugged for a prop.

To give it the metal finish (if you want it more realistic than spray paint), these are many brands of faux metal finishes available at craft stores (such as Michael?s) that simulate everything from pewter to iron.

I know that this may sound like a lot of work, but if you can find a talented Art Department person, it would really add to the production visuals of your film.

Hope this helps.

Dan Rahmel
Author: "Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking"
http://www.cvisual.com

do you think i could just buy a wooden practice sword and do the metal finish you described?

www.maketradefair.com
www.thehungersite.com
www.oxfam.ca

You may be able to coat a wooden sword with the metallic finish. I believe that the faux metals are generally made for a less pores surface than wood, so you would probably have to seal the wood with something to make it smooth/look good (maybe a polyurethane sealer).

I once used one of the faux metal materials to make a 1920s pewter frame over Premo plastic and it looked real on film. A lot more authentic than paint.

The stuff is pretty cheap as I recall. Why don't you do a simple test? It should take you 10 minutes. Just take a piece of wood with similar grain to your wooden sword, apply, and take some test footage on a DV camcorder.

If it looks good, try smacking it. Since these are for swords in a martial arts film, you want to make sure the surface doesn't flake off with a simple impact.

Hope this helps.

Dan Rahmel
Author: "Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking"
http://www.cvisual.com

thanks a lot for the help. i appreciate it...

www.maketradefair.com
www.thehungersite.com
www.oxfam.ca