Weaponmaking

Sadly I’m in PN this weekend. But I will be down next weekend for the Chak’ta Peace Accords.

Yeah - that’s likely to be the most common failure mode. One I saw last night layered the base of the soft foam into the 3-layer sandwich of hard foam, rather than having a straight line join. And cloth reinforcement on the outside will help (though also potentially mess up the latexing).

Or more importantly get a feel for it. But my first experiment is going to be an actual weapon - just an attempt at a head on a spare dagger core, to see how it goes together. I don’t want to waste a lot of time sticking together components for a weapon that can’t be used.

I’ll bring it along next week then.

Oh and I’d avoid cloth on any exposed edges, it might become a problem when latexing.

See you next weekend.

Lessons learned so far from the experiment:

  1. a 2-inch square of cloth in the middle (as required by the design) does not protrude through the blade edges (at least with the sort of wedge design they were using). I was nervous about this; now I’m not.

  2. car-cleaning sponge is probably too soft. It does however collapse nicely. Its also not bad to cut, but the sander will probably shred it. So I’ll need to look for another tip material.

  3. Getting a point on a wedge is a bitch. A long, leaf-shaped spearhead would be easier to cut, fit nicely within the minimum dimensions, and probably work quite well.

  4. From poking myself with it, it doesn’t feel too bad. But it will probably feel quite different on the end of a 2m pole, with all that extra mass behind it.

  5. Most important $2 shop blades are cheap shit, and nowhere near as sharp as the more expensive ones you get from Mitre 10. The sander may be able to clean it up, but I’m thinking it may be worth paying four times as much to get a decent smooth edge.

You guys might have mentioned this before but three questions

A) how many parts of paint to Latex do you guys use when you are latexing your weapons

B) do you paint your weapons separately then your latexing like done on Quiche Commandoes or together like i remember Derek Doing

C) Lastly how many people use Isoflex and how necessary is it

[quote=“Dogmirian”]You guys might have mentioned this before but three questions
A) how many parts of paint to Latex do you guys use when you are latexing your weapons
B) do you paint your weapons separately then your latexing like done on Quiche Commandoes or together like i remember Derek Doing
C) Lastly how many people use Isoflex and how necessary is it[/quote]

I use about 10% paint / 90% latex. Latex dries clear, so you won’t get the same colour as what it looks like wet.

[quote=“Dogmirian”]You guys might have mentioned this before but three questions

A) how many parts of paint to Latex do you guys use when you are latexing your weapons

B) do you paint your weapons separately then your latexing like done on Quiche Commandoes or together like i remember Derek Doing

C) Lastly how many people use Isoflex and how necessary is it[/quote]

You can use Isoflex on a shield if you have painted it to help protect it in a combat but beware as it can crack if it is layered on too thickly

Francisca:

Gladii:

Nice. How’d you approach the attachment of the axe head? They get a lot of torque on them.

Its all in one chunk with the haft. I made a 3-layer sandwich in an “L” shape, with fabric between the layers where the head would be, and carved it out. There’s more fabric reinforcement under the cosmetic “socket” section.

Having looked back, last time I glued and taped a foam flag to the core for the central bit, then did the outer layers in one lump with the haft.

So, how do people feel about throwing axes?

The francisca throws well, but is cored, so probably a no-no for chucking at people. But I could make a coreless version, weighted with washers like the knives.

The latest:
shortsword-complete

(Shortsword, ~65cm long)

I should document the hilt sometime, since I keep reinventing the wheel (in terms of grip length) every time I do one of these things.

Wow that looks pretty professional!

The camera hides all the flaws :slight_smile:

So, anyone know of cheap gunmetal paint that can be mixed with latex? Games Workshop is of course expensive (~$8 for 5ml), as are tamiya model paints (~$5 for 10ml). I’ve tried mixing silver with black in varying proportions but just can’t seem to get it right.

I don’t know of any. I always mix black with the latex and dry brush the silver on afterwards.

I don’t know of any. I always mix black with the latex and dry brush the silver on afterwards.[/quote]

Well, I’ll be trying the Tamiya first, mixed in with latex; if it doesn’t work, I can always paint it directly.

(I’m trying to match a dagger hilt to my Excalibur sword, which is problematic)

Don’t use Tamiya. It says its arcrylic, but contains organic solvents, which turn your latex into glop pretty quick.

Games workshop works perfectly, but is very expensive.

I also recommned kaiser colour, and sullivans acrylic ranges, i have got good results from using them :slight_smile:

Having experimented, Citadel chainmail plus my normal black gives a passable match to the hilt of my Excalibur longsword. Unfortunately my normal blade colour is more a dull grey than the bright silver of the Excaliburs, still, matching hilts.

I have another two daggers to reblade sometime, so I’ll try doing them with bright silver blades and see if I can get a better match.

The latest: Norman style sword, with “tea cosy” hilt, for the NZLARPS-Wellington gear library. Blade is sword-blank, but I did the hilt and latexing. Based on this.

Having made this, I am beginning to understand the curse (“you will never own your best work”). But I guess if I document it, I can always make another.

(Guard: 2-layer sandwich, 7-inch diamond. Grip: 4 inches long, 3-layer sandwich. Pommel: 4 layer sandwich, 6cm x 4.5cm).

Sometime I should do that post on “Sword hilts 101” as well.