I've always had a liking for cold steel weapons, and with some cheap source it's easy to make one of wood (or more, eh?). Only a few steps.
You're going to need:
- soft wooden slats (pine does well for me, if you want to put your sword to more use make sure to choose a harder type, but it takes more work to shape the actual weapon)
- saw - any type to cut the slats' length to measure
- rasp and sandpaper - to shape the sword
- cardboard - for the hilt (or whatever it's called :D) - it is as well possible to make it of wood if you've got proper equipment, but it spares a lot of time if it's made of cardboard actually;
- scissors - to cut the cardboard paper
- stapler and duct tape - to fix the hilt (stapler can penetrate pine, but any other tool would make)
- (wooden) varnish and metal paint - these are optional to make the look good and the blade's lifetime longer
