In the anime series "Vampire Knight", the Artemis Rod is Yuki Kuran's anti-vampire weapon, which she received from Kaien Cross and always wears hidden under her skirt on a leather band. ... Only when the Artemis Rod is in its scythe form is it capable of killing vampires.
I was commissioned to make the “Artemis Rod” weapon from the anime series Vampire Knight.
To make the long shaft, I lathed it in 2′ sections out of 1-1/4″ poplar dowel. A longer piece on the lathe just wiggled too much in the center to work.
All the shaped segments in position.
My plan to connect them to each other was to run a threaded rod through the sections and string them like beads. I clamped my drill to a shelf and attached a long 1/4″ bit. I then carefully lowered each section onto the spinning bit, stopping occasionally to make sure it was still centered.
A quick test fit of the threaded rod. The end pieces leftover from lathing still have to be trimmed off.
Two major sections of shaft glued together.
I used Bondo to make the diamond pattern around each raised section of the shaft.
The blade was sculpted out of two sheets of blue insulation foam.
I cut a piece of thick plastic to sandwich between the foam blade halves. This will reinforce the foam as well as act as a solid connection point for the shaft. A small section was lathed and then slotted to fit around the plastic. It was then epoxied and bolted in place.
The foam sides glued together around the plastic. For glue, I used a small amount of Styro Spray, the foam hard coating resin that would cover the sculpted blade.
To sculpt the blade I used a small rasp and sanding sponges to smooth the surface.
The final sculpted blade. I few coats of Styro Spray and some putty work at the shaft and it would be ready for painting!
The final painted scythe. Although you can’t see it in the photos, I used hammered finish silver paint to enhance the weapon’s organic qualities.
Detail of the finished blade. Assembled, the Artemis Rod is over 7′ tall.