We DO need to check out Alista’s PVC hybrid thingee. I’m pretty much smitten with my Warrior shortsword from Paddywhack, however & that’s cored with fibreglass. Of course noobs probably won’t turn up with one of those unless they’re rich noobs.
A reasonable alternative is what we’re looking for though right?
Spoken for truth, though I do remember Michael making a katana using flattened PVC back in the day. Instead of using mat though he still used the normal aeroflex tubing so the end result was still a round boffer.
More jargon - EVA? Where do you get this stuff Mike and what does it look like? Or perhaps it is just some giant robot about to destroy the world…
I’m also trying to find a thicker fibreglass rod. Most places seem to have it in 8mm thickness but I’m hoping there’s 10mm lengths out there. I’ll definitely be subscribing to the Derek school of weapon making with the hose on the end of the fibreglass core for stabitty goodness - but is there a reason for the hollow portion of hose? I’m sensing potential for a floppy tip. Noone likes a floppy tip…
And has anyon tried using PVC piping over the end in place of the hose?
Another thought I had was around the handle. One thing I noticed when whacking Jared was the foam handle does squidge a bit just like Al says, and I did find it a bit disconcerting to have the weapon move in my hand even that small amount. What I’m thinking is a short length of PVC pipe over the fibreglass rod will give that slightly thicker grip base which will be easier to put the griptape/cording/whater around. If’n I’m right a thing of 10mm PVC will fit nice and snuggly over an 8mm thick fg rod.
Derek I think you also mentioned athletic tape in there somewhere - what did you mean by this?
Bah, all the stuff to relearn when migrating from bofferland…
I don’t think there is anything wrong with using PVC for the core, and I’d like to give it a shot. I’ll be interest to see how rigid the result is.
All Skirmish swords are fibreglass (flat sail batten), and all our javelins/axes are PVC pipe with a flat batten protruding from the top onto which the blade is affixed. Plus I built a couple of polearms out of solid fibreglass rods (circa 12m diametre).
I reckon Skirmish has the largest armoury of larp weapons in NZ, and our games consist of fighting, fighting, and more fighting.
We have had no issues with our fibreglass weapons at all. In fact, the largest issue has been PVC pipes breaking. Our swords are going on 9 years old, and not one fibreglass core has broken, although we regularly maintain our weapons and some of the cores have slipped out of the PVC pipes. And we almost always have noobs at our games.
As for unweildy, yes, fibreglass is heavier and this takes more energy to manoeuvre. Unless you have a counterweighted pommel made out of purpose-cast lead. Which is what we have.
I use epoxy resin to hold a PVC handle around the end of the batten, and then cover the handle in innertube rubber. It’s a nice grip.
For fighting, I’ll choose a Skirmish sword over a professional latex sword any day.
It’s a closed-cell foam that you purchase from the Dunlop Foams warehouse in East Tamaki. You can get it in different grades, and the one we use for blades is denser than camping mat and better suited to purpose. I think PE thirty is the one, and PE 45 is harder and better suited for crossguards.
legend - cheers Mike
I suspect this should all be in a different thread, but anyway…
I personally prefer the rounds. In Quest you have been allowed to use flats since about 1995. I personally have constructed a few using sail batten and also electric fence stays and have decided that PVC is the way to go. We do know how to suck eggs down here.
You can get a medium density EVA foam in camp mats from Para Rubber. these are $21 each. This foam should go on the edge. You can use a cheaper foam on the flats as it will not be taking the impact. Good old duct tape seems to last better than some of the coverings that you get on latex swords.
For about $50 I can do you a long sword, for $60 I can do the sword and scabbard. Weighting will be optional. Either that or we hold a workshop in the Tron for those who want to learn to make flattened PVC weapons.
The much derided rounds will be kept as they are excellent training weapons.
The reason for the bit of hose at the end is to allow the tip to bend but still to have something that the end of the fiberglass rod cannot punch through. It only needs 50mm of hose off the end of the fiberglass to do this.
I agree. I use all kinds of materials for handles. Leather tightly wrapped, tape, wood, whatever … I hate soft handles and I don’t even wear a glove for SCA combat because I don’t like the soft material between the handle and my hand.
Athletic tape is used to strap sprained ankles. It usually comes in white or flesh* colour and is like a woven cloth with a sticky side. The reason I use it is it is tough and takes paint really well. It is much more expensive than duct tape though, so if you’re on a budget, I’d recommend duct tape, or even sewing a cloth scabbard with an appropriate fabric.
I think there is the possibility of doing too much research. 
Many of the materials I list just happen to be what I had on hand. There are a lot of materials that will work and I recommend just getting your hands dirty and having a go. Draw a picture of what you want to build, and set to…
- for certain values of “flesh”
[quote=“Alista”]
I personally prefer the rounds. In Quest you have been allowed to use flats since about 1995. I personally have constructed a few using sail batten and also electric fence stays and have decided that PVC is the way to go. We do know how to suck eggs down here.[/quote]
As I said they fill a niche - but that aeroflex stuff we used to use for lagging is getting pricey now at over $14/m in most places, for just the thinner stuff.
[quote=“Alista”]
You can get a medium density EVA foam in camp mats from Para Rubber. these are $21 each. This foam should go on the edge. You can use a cheaper foam on the flats as it will not be taking the impact. Good old duct tape seems to last better than some of the coverings that you get on latex swords.[/quote]
Again, aeroflex tubing for the pvc weapons is better than trying to wrap it in camp mat, but is still pricey. And the supplier in Frankton does the foam at various densities for about 2/3 of that price Al. You’re getting ripped
[quote=“Alista”]
For about $50 I can do you a long sword, for $60 I can do the sword and scabbard. Weighting will be optional. Either that or we hold a workshop in the Tron for those who want to learn to make flattened PVC weapons.
The much derided rounds will be kept as they are excellent training weapons.[/quote]
Making my own weapons isn’t an issue, it’s just revisiting the stuff I’ve forgotten over the last few years while I’ve been pretending to be a grownup, and making sure not too much has changed
And cheers Derek for the extra info - I have now completed my shopping list I should be set to go. Time to convince the missus I need a belt sander… 
One store Dave: Bunnings.