Here it is from my dad:
Ok. Using a picture of Zelda with the sword measure her then the sword to estimate the proportions of the sword. This step is very important! I assumed Zelda was 5’. I used a conversion of ½” equals 1’ or whatever it was. I used a metric conversion of 1mm = 1cm, or whatever, because the metric system is SO much easier to work with. I then measured out the blade on a oak plank bought at LOWES. I think it was ¼” x 6” x 4’, you’ll need 2 for the blade and handle. Cut out blade from oak plank. Glue on cross guard wood and handle. This was triple thickness of the oak. Also glue on upper part of guard, I used poplar because it has a finer grain and it was leftover from some other project. Shape everything using wood rasp, file and progressively finer sandpaper. Carve details in the upper portion of the hand guard, I used wood chisels and sanded it smooth. Paint blade silver, allow to fully dry. Tape off blade then paint hand guard gold. After drying wrap hand guard handle with embossed gold paper, gluing it in place, I used E-3000 (great stuff). I used black ribbon at top and bottom of handle to cover the ends of the paper. Drill holes in bottom of handle and ends of the cross guard to attach lamp finale at bottom and ceiling fan chain pull ends to the ends of the cross guard (these were purchased at LOWES in the lamp dept). I used pins and epoxy to glue the finale/chain pulls in place. Attach pre painted (gold) wood appliqué flowers to each side of the hilt portion of handle. Coat entire sword with clear coat or polyurethane; use multiple coats allowing adequate dry times between coats.

There’s a lot of detail left out. I finished it in a week which includes dry time of multiple coats of polyurethane. I also polished the clear coat to get it to shine more. It’s not recommended to clear coat metallic paint as it dulls the appearance. I did clear coat the metallic paint and that’s why I had to polish it. The clear coat helps prevent paint chips when the prop is banged around during the con. You need to decide if you want a really shiny prop or one with a more durable finish.

I found that hardwood plywood yields a better product than oak with its open grain. Plywood is stronger and less subject to breakage as the grain of the wood layers run perpendicular. If plywood grain is exposed use filler and sand it to smooth the finish.

Finish sanding is critical to getting a smooth even looking paint job. The smallest blemish or rough spot will show up HUGE in the paint. Also always give paint time to dry, if a second or third coat is applied over a coat that isn’t fully dried you end up with a tacky paint job that will have to be stripped and reapplied. Oh, yes, use primer on bare wood, this is usually fast drying and will show up any flaws in your sanding, which you can fix before the second coat of primer. Follow the directions on the paint. The manufacturers have done a ton of work to figure out how to get the best finish.

I can’t stress enough that finish sanding and pre-painting prep is essential to getting a nice smooth finished paint job. A really well made prop will look crappy if the paint isn’t right. That being said, even a marginally finished prop will look ok in photos.

Hahaah random stuff is good. :3