Yone's Azakana Blade, League of Legends - Overview

19.12.21

Introduction

Welcome to the overview for a project to make a cosplay prop sword inspired by Yone’s Azakana Blade from League of Legends.

Here I can offer you a little insight into the sword that demanded attention, and the character that brings it to life!

While this unlicenced replica is intended for decorative purposes or for use as a cosplay prop, the main reason I’m building it is that a friend who does website design wants one, so I’m doing a Dothraki Trade!

Check out the links at the bottom of the page for full detailed build guides.

Yone

“In life, he was Yone, half-brother of Yasuo, and renowned student of his village’s sword school. But upon his death at the hands of his brother, he found himself hunted by a malevolent entity of the spirit realm, and was forced to slay it with its own sword. Now, cursed to wear its demonic mask upon his face, Yone tirelessly hunts all such creatures in order to understand what he has become.”

One blade carries the weight of my past. The other, holds the key to my future…

Azakana Blade

This sword is an absolute work of art! The weapon is a fantastic fusion of geometric edges and organic curves! The jaw-dropping aesthetics of this sword are so unique, and are alluring and daunting in equal measures.

The Azakana Blade that this project is focused on is one of two dual-wielded swords that our hero dances through the battlefield with, the other being his Wind Sword.

The matte black handle and spine do an incredible job of making the multiple reds really pop from the blade; the colouring on this item is simply incredible, somehow it’s both rich and understated, as are the runes running down the bottom of the blade – visually striking and impossible to miss!

It’s also big. Like, real big! This sword is big, beautiful, slightly curved and exceptionally unique! I know some aspects are going to prove problematic, but I genuinely can’t wait to get this project started!

The Process

As excited as I am to start, I need to be aware that realistically speaking, this will likely be my hardest project to date. This sword differs from a normal one in a number of key ways. Honestly, I’m seeing a lot of things that could potentially trip me up in the future:

There is no straight line from the handle to the tip, meaning the support rods I plan to use are going to need to be carefully placed. The spine will ideally need to be separate from the blade itself to make the paint job better, however this creates further issues regarding the support rod running down the middle. How it interlocks with all the parts will be a crucial design element to get right.

There may be great difficulty had in trying to balance just these issues, and I am currently unsure if the large size of the item will be an asset or a liability.

The thin spine sections will likely need a large amount of mass added for structural integrity, all of which will need to be hidden inside the blade.

The last issue I can envision is the support hole in the handle, as I can see no way around requiring a very long hole to be cleared of support material after printing. I can’t imagine this part being much shorter than 300mm, possibly even 400mm! I have a big drill bit already, but I may need an even bigger drill bit.

A lot of problems, but the only absolute “make or break” issue that is currently unknown and critical is that of the main support rod fitting into position while interlocking several parts together.

Enough of the problems! Now, some of the things I am excited about:

Using a clear resin with either some pearlescent or simple white dye will hopefully bring those runes out in a very visually pleasing way! Having played around with resin recently, this being the last action with the build is a very satisfying thought.

I have a few different reds I can hopefully use to blend the blade across multiple bloody shades, meanwhile the matte black sections will be a simple solid colour job.

And I know I’ve mentioned it a few times, but the size! This will be an absolute unit!!