03/14/21 
I am transforming plastic into magical items of beauty and wonder!
Specifically, I am creating digital files that a laser cutter reads then translates into a series of commands to etch and slice acrylic sheets into said items of beauty and wonder. It's very fun and also cool.
The long and short of it--There and Back Again, if you will--is that we have a laser cutter in the shop at work. One of my managers used said laser cutter to make clear acrylic tree ornaments for Christmas last year and I was extremely intrigued! He walked me through the process and I, of course, had a million ideas.
I had made a "life-sized" model of Sting using scrap cardboard, glue, and permanent marker on a slow day earlier last year when my co-worker jokingly suggested we have a cardboard sword fight. I was like "hey, I'll show you a sword... !"
I figured out that the dimensions given by Weta Workshop are for a sword that seems "Hobbit-sized" when held by non-Hobbit actors, so it's quite a bit larger in hand; meant to make a human appear halfling sized on camera. 27.2 in would be massive for a Hobbit! It's almost a two-handed sword for me, admittedly a pretty small human already. Personally, I like to reference this discussion post in the TolkienFans subreddit which hypothesizes Sting at around 15in. This would mean that my earrings, at 2.5in, are pretty darn close to being 1:6 scale, which I think is cool!
I've seen lots of really cool acrylic jewelry designs over the years, including this absolutely sick pair of original iridescent sword earrings by Monster Cliche on my Twitter feed, so... could I do it? Could I be the one to make Sting earrings?
The answer is yes.
I bought a sheet of 12x12 fluorescent blue acrylic from Delvie's Plastics, opened up Inkscape, and got to work.
- the process
- initial test using scrap plastic: different sizes, detail levels, w/ vs w/o holes
- fixing file: increasing margins between raster and vector for less sharp corners, removing hole to be instead drilled by hand
- second test using final material
- troubleshooting laser focus: etching around shapes instead of within?
- cutting ten (10) swords for a total of five (5) pairs of earrings + 1 extra for myself
- hand-drilling holes in sword hilts
- cleaning earring hooks and backs with hydrogen peroxide
- assembling swords + jump rings + earring hooks
- crafting holders and promo inserts from cardstock
- admiring my work, wearing my own pair of Hobbit swords and feeling like an absolute badass
I feel so cool wearing these, y'all! So, so, so cool. They're shiny! And the edges of the fluorescent blue acrylic glow so beautifully in light. I've always loved wearing my own creations--the power!--but I really hope these swords will also please an audience of likeminded and very stylish LotR fans.
- specs
- sword: 2 1/2in length x 11/16in width x 1/8in depth
- drop length: 3 1/2"
- material: fluorescent blue acrylic
