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.

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

Once he showed the nokia we already knew we're in business 😂

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.

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

For every push up this like gets, I'll do one comment Whos watching this comment in 144p?

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!

"i think this is the wrong side of the swo-" - famous last words

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!

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.

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!

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1063">17:43</a> The fly that entered his mouth 😂😂😂

The biggest reason your handle snapped off is the geometry of your sword. Having those sharp interior corners creates a stress concentrator. It's like if you have a 10 lane highway suddenly shrink into a 1 lane country road with no transition. All the cars (stress lines) have to bunch up at that point, cramming into that tiny area with no easing into it. It works when traffic is low (like swinging the swrod through the air), but the moment there's any serious traffic (like hitting the pineapple) there are too many cars trying to go into that 1 lane. For the cars, they just can't move anywhere, for your sword, it breaks. You will always run into this issue with making the grip smaller than the blade, but adding internal radii or some way to gradually reduce the size, will help to prevent this failure in the future. That will always be your point of failure on a sword made out of a single material. Katanas, even though they are made from one piece of steel, have different hardnesses at different parts of the blade and grip effectively making them multi-material sword. I bet you that if you were to take your V1 sword, even though it is a sharper blade, you will have the handle snap off even if you don't make the handle thicker. It's just a nature of your sword geometry and really only something you can learn from spending too much time reading books, or breaking things like your doing, which is how the books were written in the first place. I also don't want to invalidate your own discovery of adding material to the handle making it stiffer and contributing to the blade breaking. That is definitely a part of it and an awesome insight to have found. I just want to highlight that your 2D geometry has as much a roll in the strength of the blade as the 3D geometry does.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="902">15:02</a> 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

Love the details and interest you have in anything your doing not just for views ❤

Airport security isn’t gonna like this one..

“Glass is glass and glass breaks” loving the Jerry rig reference

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

MUSHASHI MIYAMOTO REFERENCE 🗣🔥🔥🔥

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="875">14:35</a> Katana becomes really invisible 😂

"Have you ever seen an invisible sword?" No sir, I have not.

I actually really liked the v1, the distortion makes it seem like some magical fantasy sword, i hope we get to see more of it!

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

"When it's wet, it looks great" His expression 😭💀

This is his weaponmasters arc. First he mastered the fight and now he is learning the forging.

"When it's Wet, It looks GREAT." - Mike Shake, 2024

is this a jojo reference? why isnt it made out of diamonds?

"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."

so, coming from combat robots where polycarb is used a lot, i can tell you that cyanoacrylate makes polycarb brittle. it was the ca glue reacting with the polycarbonate that made it turn brittle. there is a chemical bonding agent made to glue polycarbonate, but isn't a glue, it effectively melts the 2 pieces together making it almost as strong as if it were 1 whole piece

Now we need an anime where the protagonist uses a sword like Mike's...

Acabo de descubrir este canal y es increíble como llevas tus ideas a la realidad, el único detalle es que soy de habla hispana, pero con la pista de audio en español el alcance de tus videos puede aumentar un montón y alcanzar muchas más vistas, y una gran oportunidad de crecimiento para ti, suerte y mucho exito en el canal

Awesome stuff. Trick as well. You can flame polish the edges to make them almost transparent after cutting. Also use resin instead of super glue to bond acrylic or get acrylic weld. Look at some aquarium videos to see how that works. It melts the two acrylic parts together rather than a glue. 👍

@MikeShake I love this project and I'd like to help you make it better. I think that there are several areas of consideration for the next version and testing methods. I have not read all 6700+ comments, so please forgive me if I repeat any. I hope some of this helps. 1- The thickness of the "katana" and it's cutting edge -A katana is not meant to "cleave" through things. The curved shape of katana is meant to provide the smallest amount of cutting surface on the target. This increases the PSI of the cut. When you see a katana "chopping" through something, don't imagine an axe going through wood. Imagine the blade being dragged through the target and slicing deeper as the blade is pulled across the target's surface. More like a saw would work, slowly getting deeper by cutting along the surface, not going straight through. -A katana is thin so that (among other reasons) it can pass through the target with the least resistance. What you have created functions less like a katana and more like an axe, machete or kukri. However, if you decrease the blade's thickness, it will of course be weaker. -The edge angle is very wide, which is going to be more resilient to damage, but is not going to cut very well. That is why your cuts were messy. Of course, the narrower the edge, the more easily it will be damaged. -The problem you had with the blade being more visible with the shallower cutting angle would be lessened if the blade were thinner (as it would have less distance to travel from tip to flat) 2-Target materials -If you're trying to make an invisible katana, you would want to test it against objects that katanas are normally tested against. I have seen a katana cut a bullet, but if I remember correctly, the blade was badly damaged afterwords. The katana was ideally used to attack soft tissue and slice deeply enough with one cut to open an artery or reach vital organs. The easiest way to do this with a blade is to stab, which is why spears and arrows were more favored in large scale conflict and most blades (that I'm aware of) were meant to deal the finishing wound with a stab. There is a very interesting history about katanas and why they were shaped and used as they were. I highly reccoment learning about them if you want to take your project to the next level. 3-Swing technique and target fixation -When you're cutting with your blade I'm noticing that your swing is not at a comfortable level for you. I would reccomend lowering it so that you don't feel that you have to keep raising your shoulders at the last moment. Since training a correct sword swing is not neccesary for your project, I think it would be a waste of your time to learn swordsmanship. Of course, for your own fun and enrichment, I would say go for it LOL. But just for this project you could just work on a horizontal baseball swing or a vertical axe chop. The actual way to swing a katana takes a lot of work, and i think that your material would not do very well for the job (but I could be wrong). Once your swing is good, then I would focus on making sure that your target cant fall away so much. A lot of the energy of your swing is being dissapated by the movement of your target. 4-Safety -Even when you're cutting into soft targets, you can still have material failure. Since your sword is an unknown quantity I would highly reccomend that you at least wear safety glasses at all times. Since you're not a trained swordsman, you might also want to wear some wrist wraps so that any reverberation of energy back through the sword into your hands doesn't injure your wrists.

I really appreciate this guy and he is my biggest inspiration on youtube❤The coolest youtuber

I wanted to do a joint email with multiple youtubers but I couldn't find your email so here is your part of it. Thank you Mike Shake, for teaching me that there is no talent, only skill. That anything I put my mind to can and should be learned. You are very skilled. Also fun fact, my birthday is a day after yours, isn't that cool. You have made me want to cultivate my brain into doing fantastic things I thought were reserved to those with some kind of inner expertise and talent. I want to learn because of you, I want to do, I want to become everything I dreamed about, that I can be as fluid as billions of years of evolution in this singular life. You inspire me, and also have introduced me to a few skills I enjoy myself. A teacher of the want: to be taught and learn.

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.

It definitely deals more blunt and internal damage than slicing damage. Really cool!

it looks so beautiful

Man this looks like a forged in fire episode seriously❤

I work with this material a lot, to get a perfect clear edge you need to get them flame polished. The difference between that and hand sanding is crazy. Only thing is it takes a specialist tool, using a flame from a lighter isn’t the same thing. Maybe this will help you for the future :)

Nice job! A couple advices: 1) when unsure about how a material will react to being worked on with a machine, try on a small disposable piece first. 2) when cutting the handle recess, drill holes first to avoid sharp corners, from which a crack could be generated.

My engineering teacher would adore you

Mechanical engineering blacksmith here. Sleeping is very important so make sure you sleep enough.

Hey man, I saw a lot of comments saying that the cause of the snapped handle is because of the geometry which could be partially true, however the primary reason why this happened is because polycarbonate becomes brittle when it is exposed to superglue or loctite due to the active ingredient cyanoacrylate.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="974">16:14</a> partially correct. The flexibility shouldn’t affect its ability to cut much, as steel swords also flex quite a lot. The thickness of the blade is part of the reason it doesn’t cut clean, but the main reason is the steep bevel. A bevel like that can’t get particularly sharp, and it’s a rough transition from the edge of the blade to the spine, massively reducing its cutting effectiveness

Buen vídeo. Super original, el doblaje es super relajante y las explicaciones son muy detalladas. El resultado es muy bueno

This may be waaayyyy too much work, but there has to be a way to bend the light at the beveled planes so that the light hitting them is transferred through the opposing plane at the correct angle. I'm assuming it would involve changing grain structure at the edge through some sort of heat/pressure treating at edge and end up sacrificing a lot of durability where you want it most, making super precise convex/concave bevels, or a combination of the two. You might even be able to use a mirrored flexible adhesive to create a prism out of the edge (if such an adhesive exists). Either way it would make a great showpiece, but likely wouldn't be functional.

Demon slayer moment <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="881">14:41</a>

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="510">8:30</a> I know that smile! My grandfather had a carpentry and I grow up playing in there. After school it was building time! Crossbows, soapbox karts, and any kind of toys and wood mechanisms... Unfortunately he is not here anymore, and all I have are memories from a time that passed too fast. That smile is everything, hold on to it brother!

The imperfections around <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="785">13:05</a> just make the sword look so much better!

Amazing! I'm doing one this week!

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1063">17:43</a> I thought that the bee was real lol

This new concept of videos is a great idea, you should continue to create weapons and test them out

The geometry between the blade and the tang is very important. Never make a hard angle to a point when reducing for the grip. It always needs a rounded transition because otherwise all the force focuses on that point and snaps it like that.

I cant believe he didnt do anything with the first blade. It turned out so well!

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="515">8:35</a> banned from UKposts

I’m not normally one to critique, but since you mentioned you weren’t familiar with bandsaws, I thought I might chime in. I noticed that at about <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="273">4:33</a> you made a small cut which allowed the piece to release, as the longer cut was already finished. It’s generally (when possible) best practice to make your longest cut last so that you’re backing out along the blade as little as possible. This lowers your chance of binding the band, which can injure you and damage your equipment and material. You can also make relief cuts into the middle of long spans, like along your (katana) blade, so that you can more easily adjust or take breaks. Hopefully this is helpful, and sorry for the long comment, especially if it’s not. Really good work and really cool video-thank you for making it!

Thoroughly enjoyed watching this journey and such an eye opener. One can expect to see this invisible weaponry coming to a town/ city near you anytime soon.

This will become the future of melee combat. Knives, swords, axes and shields made from this stuff will be kind of terrifying

That's a hammer, not a sword.

I quite liked the distortion effect on the first version. Also, I think this would look fantastic with normal looking, visible katana handle (guard, wrap, etc) and just the transparent blade. Could even put some lights in the handle so it put on a funky and distracting show for your hypothetical enemies. Flicking between invisible, hyponotic and bright flashes on demand.

Ekusuu.. Caribaaa! Saber supremacy for the invisible sword

Something you could have done on the V2 modle is after making the sharp end of the blade you made it thiner so it would slide better though abjects

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="54">0:54</a> JerryRigEverything will be proud about the reference

Another reason of why the sword was fragile at the handle is because of the sudden change of shape from handle to blade : This is called stress concentration, and it occurs where there is a sudden change in geometry or dimensions of a material, which causes an increased concentration of stress in that specific area Additionnaly, one of the reasons of why it did a poor cut on a watermelon could be due to technique, and the thickness of the blade. Swords are purposefully flexible, maybe not as much as yours but this is in order for steel to be able to go back to its original shape, and not just bend when an amount of force is applied. Maybe you can try but cutting and not swinging it like a bat, for exemple when you cut vegetables with a knife, you don't just chop it, but you also do a slicing motion, though this is an idea as I have no experience in using a sword, and only know the very small basics of material resistance, and I hope it helps !

I like katana v2 with the glowing edge. It looks so badass.

For somebody who has no experience in the field, you did a great job. But with that edge it's closest to an axe, not a sword. I'd be interested in the v1 version of the sword which really looked great. I'd also love rounded edges so you see distortions but no sharp edges.

The sledgehammer test breaking the sawhorses was unintentionally so funny. You praised the polycarb for how little damage it took when the sawhorses took almost all of the impact (evidence - they broke). The base has to be stable and in-compressible otherwise you're just passing the force through to the object at the end of the chain. If you're going to use wood at least make them stumps. Also for the bandsaw, you should extend the base to support the weight of the thing you're cutting as the bouncing changes the angle the saw meets your piece.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="75">1:15</a> "and other indestructible items" - lol, I absolutely lost it :D

When u r taking out the tape from KATAN it is so so satisfying and looking pretty Awsome

Heh, I loved the switch from confidence to doubt. "I'm going to build one! ...... Not sure how ..."

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="875">14:35</a> was so funny

The distortion effect was WAY cooler than just transparent! Wow that looked amazing! The sword ended up being more like a floppy long axe or something with that crazy shallow bevel.

Anyone has the will to do the impossible and MikeShake is a prime example of that

me encanta el doblaje, super relajante. Y claras las explicacionesl, un vídeo muy bueno con un humor sútil

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="791">13:11</a> bro is literally holding nothing for 32 seconds

As a blacksmith myself I know the pain of having your creations break but you did learn something from it so amen

You earned me as a subscriber with this one! You mad mad fella! Absolutely loved it 🙌🙌

When sanding or grinding, go the whole length of the sword, it will give you better contrast and easier control while you do it. I’ve made several kitchen knives no katanas though. Good luck.

This version is more of a sharp club than a sword, it didn't so much slice or cut as dent and smash, and shortening it actually did you some favors in terms of being able to maintain edge alignment. I'm really glad you dulled the handle before trying the harder objects! It's still a devastating weapon, capable of shattering bone and crushing muscle tissue and cartilage into useless pulp. Honestly just as terrifying as a clean cut in its own way. Bottom line, It's sick af. I definitely think you should finish v1 and make it ultrasharp- a translucent sword is still dope!

The first one was way cooler honestly. It'd probably cut far better too; this one was more like smashing objects.

Awesome content!, subscribed! Thanks Mike!

For you, I was here all day. Actually you are the best.

I used to binge your videos. I'm glad you did this video. Its classic UKposts without obnoxious music and ads very easy to watch and entertaining. Keep up the great work, Mike.

GTA 6 is more invisible than this katana

I subbed because this is badass. Finally a real glass sword. How much is one of those slabs? I want to craft one for myself to collect.

this thing is so badass bro good job

I think the handle issue might be the sharp corner. don't forget stress raisers! a smooth curve to reduce the width to the handle size is better than a sharp internal corner!

It would be super cool to invite a professional in this katana thing! I don't doubt your cutting skills but it's curious if a professional with this type of katana can achieve something different! 🔥

Thanks for this video, the next person who tries to rob me will never see it coming.

Bro u r my inspiration 🔥 respect from India 🇮🇳

“He Is a Man of Focus, Commitment and Sheer Fucking Will”

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="770">12:50</a> "mistakes make a masterpiece" -myself

I really wanted to see the first sword tested on cutting. It was so much sharper. Fun video!

“Glass is glass and glass breaks “ Mike Shake