Wolverine Claws (Steel)

"Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. God made it last too long" - Logan

Ever since I was a young boy, I have been a fan of superhero movies and Wolverine has definitely been my most favorite. The amazing dialogues, crazy fight scenes, and of course, the claws - all made him the most badass superhero for me. Like most other wolverine fanboys, I also spent a lot of my time on holding pens, forks, and knives between my fingers and pose in front of the mirror as a mini wolverine. But as I grew older, I thought to myself that I cannot be doing this for long. Not because I realized that holding 6 knives between your fingers is dangerous for a kid, but because there were often times that I didn't have enough knives and had to adjust with a mix and match of cutlery. So I decided to 'take matters in my own hand' and put the creative side of my brain to work to make myself these sexy wolverine claws. It took me about a week to finish but it was definitely worth the effort and time.

Metal strip 930 x 20 x 4 mm

Wood strip (according to your handle)

Some basic tools

First, I went online and searched for a design that I liked. I wanted to make claws that look real, I selected a shape that matches the one in the movie. I resized the picture so that the length of the blade would be around 9" and printed it off. After which I cut out the design and started to search for the right material for the project.

The design that I have selected also shows the sharpened edges which helped further with the finishing.

After finalizing the design, I needed to select the material to make it. I love working with metals, so I went with a steel strip of a similar size, which turned out to be a good choice.

I took a 4 mm steel strip and chopped it off into six 9" pieces and bent them according to the shape of the design with the help of a hammer, which was quite easily done.

When all the pieces were shaped perfectly, I glued the template on the strip to cut the excess on the tip of the blade. I made the necessary cuts and made it round with an angle grinder.

Once I was satisfied with the shape, I proceeded further with sharpening them as it might not be easy to sharp them after getting it all together. I used a flap sanding wheel so that I could work according to the template, and the tips of the blade looked pretty good.

I also welded two small metal strips to it which would later be attached to the handle. For that, I took some measurements by placing the blade on my knuckle, holding a pen in my fist. After which I measured the distance.

To assemble the blades I made a wooden fixture by nailing some wooden pieces on a small ply. It helped in aligning the blades and holding them together during the process. After which I welded a 3" metal strip as a handle. I stretched the blades outside a little during the welding process so that it looked like it was expanding.

Making a handle was a little difficult for me as I wanted to make something that fits perfectly on the knuckles. But after some adjustment during the welding, it ended up to be perfect.

After welding it together, it started to look like Wolverine claws but the shine was missing. The next step would be to shine them and to add a grip on the handle.

To make them shine I decided to go with chrome plating because it gives a good shine and works best with mild steel. So, I started with an acid bath which got rid of all the rust and made it clean. After which I polished it properly so that the Chrome plating sticks nicely to it.

Once Chrome plating was done, my Wolverine blades had a pretty decent look, however, the grip was not that good. So, I added some wood strips on the handle using adhesive and clamped it for a strong bond.