Pop Those Claws

Right up there with flying, or maybe wallcrawling, there may be no other superpower that fans covet more than Wolverine‘s claws.

Cosplayers love to wear fake claws, but they can’t actually pop them the way that Logan does. There have been fans who’ve managed to make fake claws that expand and retract, but this has always required a switch or lever, which undoubtedly dilutes the experience. Even Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine in the movies and uses the highest-quality faux-adamantium claws money can buy, has no idea what it feels like to make those claws pop out — his Hollywood prop claws are real enough, but when they pop on screen, it’s a CGI effect.

Well, those days are over. One very smart geek, who goes by the moniker “FingerRails” on YouTube, has finally figured out how to make claws, which are worn like a gauntlet over the forearm, that realistically pop. As he explains, he installed a release mechanism at the gauntlet’s bicep, so that flexing his bicep causes the claws to pop out.

Are you geeking out over this as much as I am? This is absolutely the closest possible thing that fans could come up with to mimic Wolverine’s signature weapons without actually installing them beneath the skin. (I’d be willing to bet that in the far off future, somebody will find a way to make that happen.) “FingerRails” says he made one set of claws in just two days. (He now has one set for each arm.) If they were that easy to make, you have to wonder why nobody thought of this before.

Oh, and in case you were wondering: the blades are real. He made them from steel, with the gauntlets’ frames being welded copper tubing. Above is a video showing the dual-claw-popping action in all its glory, while the video below follows the devices being made.