Two-Handed Javanese Kris

prusaprinters

Technically speaking, this was modeled after a traditional one-handed Javanese Kris sword. But to my knowledge, a double handed version never existed in real life and the weapon was a symbol of societal status. I liked the curves, and one day would love to attempt to forge one. But it is one of the most difficult edged weapons to make as you must control straightness while also keeping the curves and taper from the guard to the hilt of the blade consistent. My hopes are just for folks to find it a fun challenge to print, and it was also a test for myself to see how the organic supports worked. As for printing instructions, there are some things you should know that I did which helped tremendously. I used Prusament Galaxy Black PLA with the default settings for Prusament PLA in the Prusa Slicer. I used a Smooth PEI sheet and also just lightly touched the surface of the sheet with 1200 grit sandpaper (any grit between 1000 to 1400 grit will probably produce the same results), as I was having issues with adhesion. I then gently brushed the same area with a folded paper towel, then started the print. Then the tricky part was getting this sucker to print all the way to the top without wiggling! :DI had to go in manually to the active print and continuously keep slowing down the print speed because the taller it gets, the more it wobbles when the bed quickly reverses direction to restart the next layer. And since the part is so thin, it would still be wobbling by the time it met the head of the nozzle again for the next layer. You can print about the first ⅓ of the sword at 100% print speed, but then the next ⅓, I slowed it down to about 30 - 50%. Then for the last top ⅓, I actually felt the need to slow it down all the way to the lowest speed which was about 10 - 11%. And because I had to slow it down, the total print time took almost 4.5 hours (sorry…). And my last note is that in the pictures you might see a faint line about ⅔ up the sword where I accidentally paused the print while trying to slow the speed down. It's not actually a flaw in the print :) Anyway, if you do all that, you should be able to reproduce what I created in the pictures. You kind of have to be there all the way through, but it is a fun challenge, and perhaps folks can use it for D&D or Warhammer or something. I did give my wife a hard time though about walking around the printer while it was printing, and I had to keep reminding myself to breath while I watched it haha!!! :DHave fun!!!