I recently had to cut them off because those teeth became an issue with the new, taller reaper costume). (The blade originally had several teeth cut into it near the top of the blade which looked really cool. Glued it into place and then ran a 4' wood screw through the other side of the branch down into the handle to securely hold it into place.įor the blade, I cut it to shape using a jigsaw and filed the edges using a rasp and sandpaper. I then trimmed off some material at the end of the handle to fit into that hole to make a rude mortise and tenon joint. To attached the handle, I drilled a 1/2 inch hole about 2/3's of the way through the branch. This way, whenever I grabbed the scythe, as long as that handle was under my left forearm, I knew exactly where the blade was. With the point of the blade in my lower back, I positioned the handle at a comfortable height so that I could rest my arm on top of it AND the handle would run directly under my wrist and forearm. The handle position is very important to help with maneuvering the scythe. I simply cut a 1/2 inch groove into the top of the staff at a slight angle to give the blade a tilted look.Īfter positioning the blade temporarily, I marked the spot where I would attach the handle. This way, I could always feel that point behind me and knew I wasn't stabbing someone else. I basically sized up the blade so that it would curve from the top of the staff but come down to a point at my lower back.

The plywood does work well but it's much harder to make it look like a blade. This is a good idea since it saves weight and is easy to work with. I've seen some really beautiful blades created with dense foam and support rods glued inside for strength. The blade can be made in many ways using many materials. I also took a piece of old 1/2' thick plywood I had laying around and sized up the blade. Once I had the branch cut to length, I cut off another section of branch about 10 - 12 inches in length for the handle. Kind of ruins the effect when that happens. Otherwise, you'll be stabbing people and knocking stuff over everywhere you go. If you are wearing a costume, you might not have the best visibility and you need to know exactly where the blade is at all times. I also wanted to consider how to walk around with this safely. I kept the larger part of the branch at the top so I would have more material to attach the blade. Too large and it's way too difficult to carry.Ĭut the branch to length taking the shape into consideration. Making it too small and it begins to look like a kid's toy. I wanted this to be just under 8 feet so I could maneuver it in most buildings and keep it looking intimidating. Much of this will depend on the material you use but in this case, I decided to use mortise and tenon joints to attach the handle and the blade.įirst thing to do is decide on the height. Unfortunately I created this thing over 10 years ago. Sorry I don't have any actual construction pictures here.

Grim reaper scythe farming