Welcome to another article about making home-made equipment for LARP. Today we are going to talk about making flat weapons. Flat weapons give you some advantages over you opponent. One example is that it's more aerodynamic so it slides through the air as it is not as bulky as round weapons. It's flat so it can bounce off incoming projectiles more easily but it's not that heavy either. A flat blade lacks the recklessness that a mace or staff can give because you cannot just swing it around and hope to hit something. The hit area on the blade is much smaller, but with proper training you can use it your advantage delivering careful quick blows.
First you will need:
- soft foam (it's best if you buy those rolls of foam for lying on the beach)
- a bamboo stick (1-2m in length)
- super glue
- duct tape (a whole role)
- scalpel
- a bit of leather if have it lying around
First, make a sketch of your sword/axe on the soft foam. Don't cut yet as you will need about 6 layers of the foam around the bamboo, so be economical. Take note that you will have 2 layers on each side of the bamboo and 2 layers in the middle. The 2 middle layers should have a cut out space for the bamboo.
Now when you have a theoretical model of your weapon, you should take the layers apart from each other. Stick the 2 middle layers together with super glue in the shape of your weapon. Leave it so the glue can take effect for about 15-30 minutes. While you are waiting get a cup of tea or some beer and enjoy the creation of your deadly weapon.
After drinking some liquid and inhaling glue for 30 minutes you should feel the power of your weapon already, but you need to give it the final touch.
Put the bamboo in the 2 middle layers and stick them with duck tape just enough so it holds together and doesn't flap around. Put 1 layer on each side of the weapon and stick them with duct tape to the core model. Put super glue on each side of the weapon and put the last 2 layers on each side and enjoy the fumes for 15-30min.
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Hope this is of some use.
The answer is no. This is why (at least in our set of modified Amtgard rules) it is neccery to put extra 5cm of foam on the top. Don't make the duct tape go too thight on the tip of the weapon and nobody gets hurt. :)
Personally, I'd skip over the bamboo rods entirely. The game that I play specifically forbids any kind of wood to be used as the core, because even wood like bamboo breaks too easily (bamboo swords are the exception, because they're built specially to handle the pressure of full contact fighting). I always use fiberglass rods in my weapons, or if I can't manage to get a hold of that for some reason, PVC usually works just fine.
The other thing is that you shouldn't have to use the entire roll of ducktape. The kind of foam to use for a project like this can actually be found in thicker sizes online, and even at some retail stores in the form of camping mats, which are generally thicker than beach mats. That way, you won't have to tape things together until right at the end, as long as you put glue in the right places. Less ducktape means less weight, which also translates to less pain for the guy getting hit. I like to avoid ducktape altogether and go with Kite Tape or nylon ripstop, but that's a bit more involved.
But, like I said, it's a good overview for how to make a weapon, and a great help for anyone who hasn't done it before!
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