When I first started doing these things, it was just to have tools to practice with. The method I used for my first, more fantastically-shaped sword was to staple two halves of the blade together and to the handle, which was only sanded lightly on the edges... Kinda uncomfortable.
Later I started gluing solid blade to handle, and leaving it at that. When I realized it still didn't work, I went to putting slats across what I've come to call an inverse tang (which basically just means I put the handle partway into the blade, rather than the blade partway into the handle) and nailing the assembly together.
All I mean to establish is that my process has changed to favor comfort and safety. Unless you want it that way, I don't bevel the cutting edge and will instead round it off (I got my finger cut by a sparring partner once, who was using a sword I'd made with a defined, 90 degree angle cutting edge.... Fair amount of blood, still have the scar, felt like a tard.), and I've gotten a lot better about making handles round and super comfy. More recently I've gotten into wrapping them, which I think also makes it WORLDS better. In addition I stopped using metal altogether, opting for glue and dowels at a level of redundancy that essentially means that if a sword breaks, it will NOT be because of the joint. I've had handles break from repeated shear forces from swinging, and blades break or fracture from repeated blows and bang-ups, but a joint hasn't failed for me since I implemented my current process, which I've used for a few years now. I have the utmost of confidence in my finished products.
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