The first thing do when making a weapon is draw up picture or blueprint of what the weapon will look like. For something like a generic popsicle stick I tend not to, but if I’m making an ax, mace, hammer, marn, or a sword with a cross guard I do, so I know it will look decent before wasting materials to make a crappy weapon.
Materials for making a weapon
- Core of the weapon (bamboo, fiberglass, PVC)
- ⅝ thick pipe foam
- Blue camp foam
- Duct tape (any colors)
- Electrical tape
- Strapping tape
- Dap contact cement
- Packing tape
- Scissors
- Knife
- Pennies or nickels (for capping your weapon)
- Hand grip
- Sock (if not duct taping blade)
- Hand saw (for cutting core)
The first real step in making your weapon is figuring out what core you want to use. The three main cores our larp uses are bamboo, fiberglass, and PVC. All have different advantages for making weapons. Bamboo is cheap and light but has a higher chance of breaking down over time and eventually snapping. Big name hardware stores will carry bamboo starting in the spring and into the summer, but by fall they won't have any in stock. We do have a bamboo connection in the game and if you ask Mike Doherty (Wrath) nicely he might be able to get you a bundle of bamboo. Fiberglass is also very light and very strong. Its able to withstand more abuse than bamboo before breaking but is five times the cost and has to be bought online. PVC is the easiest to buy. Big name hardware store will carry light wall PVC all year round. You can also heat PVC up and it will bend so you can make curved weapons. PVCs one big downside is that it is heavier than bamboo and fiberglass and when fighting it has a slight whip to it.
Once you have decided which core you want to use you will need to cut it. I can’t stress enough that you need to measure the core several times before cutting it. If you don’t measure it correctly your weapons could come out too small or even worse, come out too big, and nobody will let you live that down. To make a uniform 3’8’’ you should cut your core to 44 inches. You need to cut the core two inches shorter than the complete length of your weapons. So for 3’ it needs to be to cut at 34’’, for a 4’6’’ you should cut it to 52’’, and for a 5’ you should cut it at 58’’.
Safety is highest concern in our game. Every weapon needs to be capped on both ends. Using loose change is the easiest way of capping your weapon. Pennies will work on smaller sizes of bamboo and all of fiberglass, and nickels will work on the larger sizes of bamboo and PVC.
Keeping with making sure everybody stays safe, the next step is to add a thrusting tip to your weapon. Your thrusting tip needs to be 1 ¾ inches long. Take your pipe foam and cut it at 1 ¾ inches. Now cut that cylinder of pipe foam into thirds. Take one of those thirds and wrap it with strapping tape making a small foam cylinder. Now take more strapping tape and secure it to the core.
The next step is to foam your weapon. Take the rest of your pipe foam and cut it to 21 ¾ inches. Now cover the slit in the pipe foam with either packing tape or strapping tape. There are two ways of getting the foam onto the core. You can either cover the core in windex and the foam will slide on easily or you can jam a finger into one end of the foam and then using suction slide the foam onto the core. I find that the suction method works a lot easier and then your weapon isn’t wet from windex.
Now strapping tape the foam down to the core and across the top over the thrusting tip. I find that most weapons will wear down where the core and the thrusting tip meet. So taking a few strips of strapping tape and wrapping them around that point helps the longevity of the weapon.
Now comes the best part! Dapping on the camp foam disk. Most people will tell you to do this in an open area or in a room with windows open. Ashenmark likes to open our Dap at the start of making weapons. Let the Dap scent fill the room and helps get your weapon making juices flowing. First take your leftover pipe foam and trace a circle onto the camp foam. Cut out the foam and then dap both the camp foam and the tip of your weapon. Don’t instantly attach the camp foam to your weapon. The dap needs between ten and fifteen minutes to become tacky. Once the Dap is tacky, attach the camp foam onto your weapon and then strapping tape the camp foam to the weapon for more security.
Once the glue has dried you can either duct tape the weapon or sock the weapon (look for future View articles on how to make socks and tape weapons). I have no skill with a sewing machine but luckily have several people that will make socks for me. So I tend to use socks more often than taping my weapons. Taping cost less and will give your weapon more structure so it will last longer but will be heavier than a sock. In my opinion, unless you are a master seamster, tape will also give you the ability to customize your weapon with more than just one color. Putting on socks is kind of like putting on the pipe foam. Either the sock is too thick in diameter and it will slide right on or you will have to use a trick to force it on. You can cover the foam in more Windex or you can roll the sock up like a condom. I find both of those methods aren’t that great but with enough force will get the sock on. I’m a fan of taking two pairs of pliers, grabbing the open end of the sock and slowly scooching it down the foam.
Once you have taped down the sock with some electrical tape, you can either tape down the shaft of the open part of the core, or add a hand grip before tapping the core. I like to add the hand grip before tapping. Hand grips are all about preference. You can just use some electrical tape or some sports grip tape. Some people will go all out and wrap their handles with leather. I use tennis racket grips. Walmart sells them for around two dollars for one but I like the feeling over other styles. It does get a little pricey if you are making a lot of weapons, but leather is more expensive, and both sports tape and electrical tape wear a lot faster than a tennis grip.
Once the handle is on you can then tape the shaft of your weapon. I find there is no difference between spiral wrapping the shaft or making four long strips to cover the shaft. If you use the four long strips method its a good idea to spiral wrap both ends of the strips so they don’t peel off.
Now you have yourself a new weapon. Only magic weapons can have a blue-colored striking surface. Other than that You can use whatever colors you want when making a weapon. If you end up making a plain black weapon like my example weapon is, I would suggest adding some accent pieces to it. You can just add some colored stripes on the shaft of your weapon or use a fabric pen or Sharpie to write your characters name on the bottom of the blade. I put stripes on all weapons I make and on my own personal weapons I put a K on the bottom of the blade.
I can’t stress enough that you should take your time when making a weapon. If you put a lot of effort into your weapon it will last longer and will look ten times better than if you just speed through the steps to make your weapon. Turning making a weapon into a weapon making day with friends can help you make several good quality weapons. Treat it like a conveyor system. Get a group of friends and give everybody different parts of the weapon to complete. You can make a bunch of weapons and have fun while doing it. If you are like me and don’t like working with people when making weapons try watching a movie or tv show. Pick something that you’ve seen before and just keep it as background noise. If you get stressed out with a part of the weapon just take a break and come back to it in ten minutes.