Hi guys I know this should probably be somewhere else but I’ll leave that to the moderators to sort.
Long story short I have a 1.5m fibreglass rod which I would like to turn into a scythe.
I was thinking of using lagging to cover the handle and foam mat for the blade.
I figure the blade will be coreless so I can get both a stabbing and slashing effect going.
Question, Will the lagging be enough protection?
How do I stop the blade from ripping?
Don’t use pipe-lagging, but integrate it entirely into the handle, and reinforce the sandwich with cloth strips?
It seems like a challenging project:
-
If you don’t put a fairly rigid core in the blade it’s going to wobble all over the place.
-
If you do put a fairly rigid code in the blade it’s going to be difficult to make it safe (because it will be a stabbing weapon with a core).
I think the solution might be to treat the blade something like a larp-safe thrusting spear. Put a rigid core most of the way through it, cap that core with something impenetrable to stop it pushing through, then on the end build a stabbing point with a compressible open-cell foam tip. I’m not sure what rigid core I’d recommend though - would need to be something that can be firmly attached to the handle.
Could you get away with using something like a stiff-ish hosepipe for the blade’s core? Might be a compromise position.
I think I may have made my intentions a little unclear, so I included a quick sketch I made in paint.
The red core of the handle was going to be fibreglass with lagging as padding in-case the blade misses. The blue blade was going to be camp mat.
The arrows indicate how the weapon will strike either as a stab with the very tip of the blade (which is no where near the tip of the core) or as a slash/slice with the underside as though I’m cutting … um … grain…
so the core tip is not really going to be a problem as it wont contact my enemy (but I will still pad it up to be safe ) What I’m worried about is the blade tearing of near the handle, and whether or not the lagging will be enough padding for the handle
You can laminate up alternating layers of foam and canvas to make a stiffer blade with. I’d use three layers of foam and two of canvas.
Dan - What I’m saying is that the blue part (the blade) will be floppy. You could put a solid core in it to stop that, but then you’d need to be careful of the pointy end of the blade as it’s very likely to stab people.
Some folks are suggesting you put heavy fabric in the blue part/blade rather than a core. That would be safe, but personally I think it would still be quite floppy that way.
Either way, the amount of shearing force where the blade joins to the haft is going to be high. That connection will need to be very strong.
I’ve kept some foam that I trimmed off my shield to make it smaller. It’s 3 layers of foam, no canvas - and I think it’s pretty solid.
I’m happy to give it to you if you want to have a play with it and see if it’d suit. It’s already curved, so you’d just need to trim to the shape you want.
[quote=“Ryan Paddy”]Dan - What I’m saying is that the blue part (the blade) will be floppy. You could put a solid core in it to stop that, but then you’d need to be careful of the pointy end of the blade as it’s very likely to stab people.
Some folks are suggesting you put heavy fabric in the blue part/blade rather than a core. That would be safe, but personally I think it would still be quite floppy that way.
Either way, the amount of shearing force where the blade joins to the haft is going to be high. That connection will need to be very strong.[/quote]
Ok thanks, I think a floppy blade should be fine to some extent as most of my blocking will be through the shaft, with the blade to counter attack.
@derek do you know where to buy some cheap canvas?
@amphigori is that just camp mat foam? How well does it hold up? I have some basic weapons made from camp mat at home and they tend to rip at the core.
It’s just camp mat and ados. How will it hold up? Dunno. That’s why I offered you this - so you could have a play with it and see if it suits
It’s pretty solid in its current form.
I’m assuming you’d latex over it.
My only concern will be the cutting motion when you move the scythe back towards yourself. I actually made a character with a Scythe for a larp in the uk and the blade was destroyed by somone moving backwards away from a blow. I was 14 - i should have known better but I didn’t.
My reccomendation would be to use it more like a polearm / spear and thrust away from yourself. It won’t be like fighting with a spear unless you played Dark age of Camelot (Vale walker) which is what my origional character was based off
Good luck!
I have a few planks of polyethylene foam used for packaging that might work, would they be larp safe?
Make the core of the blade from corflute with the ridges running lengthwise down the blade. Then cover with camping mat foam. This’ll give a solid core to attach to the handle and is less risky from a stabbing point of view that a solid rod core.