How to Make a Foam Sword Level 3
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ก.ย. 2024
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Learn how to make a foam padded sword that is easy and inexpensive in this video tutorial by James H. Fullmer. This tutorial assumes you have already become familiar with the supplies and techniques covered in the Level 1 and 2 videos. This sword may be more complex to make but it is very durable.
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Thank you for the tutorial, I would recommend any viewers to make sure that they can make their swords within the rules of the Book Of War for Belegarth Medieval Fantasy Combat Society and/or Dagorhir rulebook specs. Much of what has been done here is pretty close to what many foam weaponsmiths have been doing to make good quality weapons for the larps and MedFanCombat gaming.
Thanks for the compliments. I add the third layer because I like how it looks better and I think it's a nicer surface to get whacked with. I have at least one other shield video coming eventually but I'm afraid it's round again (I like smaller round shields). The same techniques can be used for any shape though. Good luck making your sword!
Say I wanted to replace the blue foam entirely with 3/8" EVA, how many layers would I need on striking surface? 3 for clarity, 4 for comfort?
Opera music makes it more epic than it is!
If you play Amtgard, with all that foam it could probably be a Great Weapon if its thick enough and replace the duct tape cover with a cloth cover and increase the size to reach Great Weapon length.
I'm gonna get started on my first weapon set this week! Thanks for the tutorials! Great work.
The main music is from Army of Darkness. The track is called, "Building the Deathcoaster"
With soft enough foam I've been able to use this method to create a great-sword that does not hurt at all really and still appears to have many characteristics of an actual sword. Besides that I use a certain amount of European martial arts to give myself a bit of an edge against my opponents. So (in my own opinion) you can make a foam sword that you can play-fight with that acts realistically and is still safe and fun.
Christian Wilkett-Lumba I do something similar except a nodachi and I use basic kendo techniques it’s really funny watching people throw a fit when they lose before they can even react thankfully there are still some good sports though
This is the kind of feedback that is really helpful. Thanks. Your comments and suggestions are excellent.
i love how the video host actually responds to people with dignity.. most people have things not necessary for responses..
Great tutorial; I really like the idea of using driveway markers as a core. One thing that always bugs me though is finishing off a sword with duct tape. I think the fabric covers just look cleaner and more professional.
All in all, this gave me some really good ideas. Keep up the good work!
ive been watching the videos in this series for a lil while now and i love how the epic music continues playing between him talking :P oh and great tutorials!! lol
these tutorials are really good. very informative and easy to follow.
one thing I would love to see is a serious latex molded sword. something that may not be as wallet friendly but artistically and realistically superior.
seeing some tutorials on that would be more then enough to get a subscription out of me
6:52
"Now doesn't that look cool?"
I wouldn't say cool....
I would say EPIC!
Here, here! I haven't yet made a video to talk about making cloth covers but the best covers are the cloth ones. Learn to sew, (or lavish affection on a lovely girl who knows how) and make a cloth cover. You'll be glad you did. They look better, last longer and are much nicer to be hit with.
this sword looks AWESOME. I got a foam sword at the KC renfest, but making my own sounds cool. i hope making a level 1 sword isn't too hard for a 12 year old =p
Ello.
Great vids, and aside from what some of the others have said (except for the Bulgarians and Swedens who'd like to beat each other with hyper speed latex swords and don't fully appreciate the purpose of the video), I'd suggest you shave the blade down first, then put the guards on, then the weights and cover. That way you have less chance of the guards being broken off and a stronger bond.
I noticed that no one (seemingly) from any Dagorhir groups have commented on this video as of yet, and I thought I'd point out that duct tape should not be used on a striking surface. It'll hit really, really hard (or rather, slap). The weapon can definitely be reinforced with duct tape, but not on the striking surface's outer layer.
Other than that, I thought this video was really very interesting. (:
That loos so sweet. Now I know how to make the cross guards better! Thanks.
@Raven1024 : Yes I make those all the time, while 5 inches is too much and will bend the rigid foam, .5-1 inch from the end of the closed cell and 2-2.5 inches open cell works well.
The sword in particular isn't allowed to be stabbed with because of the lack of open cell
I feel bizarrely awesome since I modified this and made a scythe!
To save money just use a pool noodle for the foam and pvc pipe for the core
LnL - you can't use that anymore
Depends on the game. at Underworld Larp LnL's description is standard for weapons, actually the sword in this video would not pass safety for several reasons.
it would pass a dagorhir, amtgard and a few other larps though, as long as he went with a cloth cover and lost the duct tape. and the pommel/cross guard was wider than 2"
@Raven1024 Distance of reciprocation is different, yet due to the wide variety of blades to select for cutting: a jigsaw can preform just as easy for the average person.
Ex. Putting on a blade with tiny teeth can do detailed work & go slowly. A blade with small teeth will go through material faster, so on & such forth. Plus a person can use it later on for doing things other than in the kitchen.
My arguement is the Jigsaw is a perfectly fine usable option, & the best option is up to the user.
Good tutorial, and bonus points for using the Army of Darkness OST!
yes someone else knows
@Raven1024 Jigsaw has blades with small teeth & blades with big teeth to fit the detailing needs, therefore it is as easy to use as your carver, only difference is the direction of the handle. Plus the Jigsaw has a straight edge to make straight cuts.
The jigsaw did get me through the Middle East, which I included for credibility, not because it is my favourite, I have lots of tools I use more than that one. I included it as a low cost option that really works.
WARING: this video have a lot of tape
Lol
I'll look forward to your video on making latex weapons. I've been waiting for a good one.
Great tutorials... It's sad this channel is abandoned :(
Aaah great tutorial! So easy to follow.
I know I keep saying this but... there really are more coming! Thanks for the encouragement!
Good Question. I have had a couple of battle card games published that use the people, places and events of the Book of Mormon (ancient America between 600 B.C. and A.D. 400). The 1st was called, "Book of Mormon Battles" (hence the website name) and the 2nd, "Warriors of the Promised Land."Like the Biblical Old Testament, there is a lot of warfare in the book, and so I thought rather than just reenact the battles with cards, kids might like to make fun weapons and "live" the experience.
For those who want to play Dagorhir, there's kind of a problem with this method; In the official rules Ducktape cannot be on striking surfaces. You can put the ducktape on the cross guard (would actually make it stronger) but a cloth cover, sock cover, even pantie hose over the blade would make it Dag Legal. This is a great tutorial though for those who don't want to use PVC. What he does is called the 'Sandwich' method and for super thin cores it works amazing.
wow really well done sword but if you dont mind me requesting u make a higher leved shield video cuz alot of the older such as myself and othersd would want to know how to eficiently make one not just a circle but different shapes and sizes
Yes. The musket sounds cool.
That's entirely up to you. Experiment. As a basic guide, if you are just goofing around with friends, there is nothing wrong with Level 1 techniques. For more heavy duty play, stick with using the camp pad as described in Level 2 and 3.
omg please don't ever cut anything towards your Palm like that... Jesus....
9:15 definitely needs MOAR FOAM...maybe a whole roll! that...was sarcasm.
I've often thought about a helmet but I don't have a clue how to do it yet. Thanks for the comments. If I were younger I would definitely be boffing but for now I just made the videos for my kids and the kids of my stake for a youth conference where we made lots of weapons for battle simulations. Glad you like them! fight with honor!
Just an FYI, I'm pretty sure all these weapons are fine to use on Belegarth, from the research I've been giving. So if you want to use these weps but you can't do them in Dagorhir, remember theres always Belegarth to try out too.
You can buy the poles from Hardware stores or farm supply stores.
Very cheap, too. Little more than a dollar each.
It's for safety reasons. These are built for full contact sparring and pitched mock battles, so the thick blade and heavily padded pommel are essential to keep the players from actual harm.
Would you want someone all hopped up on Redbul™l to accidentally hit you in the eye with anything less on a back-swing, just because he didn't see you? That wide 'paddle' is far less likely to compress enough to dig into your eye socket than, say, ¾" PVC covered in pipe insulation!
Safety first!
I own one of those latex boffers, and I would love to see them get adopted by Dagorhir and other groups!
But for many folk, safety trumps realism.
That's why I mentioned it.
Maybe when I contact my local dag group to join up, I'll show them my latex boffer. It currently fails for weight, but I think the weight limitation is only to ensure the home made boffers have the needed padding.
@Halofreakanoid Well yeah but you can easily make realistic swords with plenty safe stabbin tips. you just make the core like 5 inches shy of the tip and make the tip out of softer but still semi rigid foam, so it holds it's shape but compresses relatively easily.
Even better make the very tip out of very soft material, with more rigid foam behind it, so the rigid stuff won't fit in the socket. This essentially gives your sword a boxed end like this one, but with an actual pointed looking end.
Let me clarify if I may(and please correct me if I am wrong): You should tape the blade in a few areas (as shown) to add extra strength to the blade but in Belegarth (and possibly other groups) a sword will not "pass" inspection (in other words it will fail). (Man, I used a lot of parenthesis).
Covering your weapon with tape will not cause it to fail in use (i.e. fall apart). I absolutely agree with you, however, cloth covers are the best! They look better and it's nicer to get hit by them.
@SilentRaeth1 Contact cement is going to be essential for this type of design. Apply to both surfaces and wait until it dries before applying the two together. Don't rush it and it will work great.
Covering it with latex seems like a good idea to me - could help sculpt it better. But i would finish off with sealing the whole thing with silicone
Well, to elaborate. In Dagorhir, one of the oldest LARP's that ever come about -spanning about 30-something years- the subject matter of exotic weapons have been around for as long as the combat "sport" has been invented. Lots of things have been made and tested. Now there are 2 main problems with the scythe: The durability of the core, and the difficulty in making it so that it won't fall apart or hurt anyone. Only a few guys were able to make one work.
You can also use softer foam on the sticking surface to make it a softer hit... as well it will allow you to make the blade thinner for a more realistic look...
@Raven1024 : Well, it's not really about the bruises, as you get those anyway, especially if you are in a full contact group or using pvc core weapons, the problem is usually how safe the stabbing tip is, as if it gets too small it can stab an eye and whatnot.
I originally created these videos for my card game website but posted them here in case they could be of use to anyone else.
@dragondevel5 My guess would just be get some plastic link chain from a hardware store, like the plastic chain people use to section off areas for evens and stuff. It's lightweight, relatively cheap, and doesn't hurt or break. I'm not sure how you would go about attaching that to your weapons, but for now, just an idea.
It says book of Mormon battles at the end. Your Mormon too?!?!? Thats so cool!! I love boffering so much! You should see my spear :) oh man, i just watched all your videos and you really know what your doing :) i would love to see a tutorial on making a helmet if you know how. Good work my friend.
All hail the migthy duck tape!!!
Duct. Tape.
Despite the fact that one can be made and passed. It'll only be like an elongated axe blade with a small strike range with probably a stabbing tip at the end of the pole. On top of that, the usefulness of the weapon is as selective as a catapult in a siege battle. You'd only use it for a few things like one-on-one, or in siege battles where you'd had to be behind a shieldman.
First of all I want to say that I like most parts of your tutorial. You give a good explanation of tip protections, balancing the sword, guard/pommel attachment.
I do however think you use way to much foam. You are making your blade 2 inch thick. The flatside of the blade is general a non striking area.. Minimum requirements on the striking area in most larps is 0,5 inch. If you want to play it save you can apply this rule to the complete contact area. (also the flat side of the blade). This will make your blade around 1,3 inch thick (including core). I understand you want 2 inch thick if your gonna smack people with it from all sides but then it's more like a fighting stick (commonly used in larps) and not a sword.
Personally I think 2 layers around the core is stretching it, 3 layers is just ridiculous (again in my opinion/experience, you can larp how you want! If you like to hit without any worry in the world I can understand). You need a minimum 0,5 inch of foam on both sides (this aplies to most larp events). With two layers you get 1 inch of foam on both sides with 3 layers you get 1,5 inch of foam on both sides. I use 0,8 inch of foam on both sides to keep the weapon a bid more real, i don't hit as hard as I can with the blade though. I just make nice quite hard swings without putting all my force behind it (no screaming power swings).
To compare my blade is 1,3 inch thick and 2,2 inch wide. Most swords you can buy online are 1,1 - 1.5 inch thick and 1.9- 2,5 inch wide (two layers). This sword is 2 inch thick and 3,6 inch wide.
Its meant for Bel not larp.
Kinda makes me realize that I'm glad I play in a game that doesn't allow camp mat weapons. It's either PVC Cored Closed Cell Weapons or professionally made latex. Good instructive video though.
16 years man. I watched this the day it came out.
@KaelofFortriu Two is significantly stronger. It's like making wooden practice weapons out of three or four small dowels instead of one big one. Much less likely to snap.
By the way... thank you vary much... this is going to help me make the swords I want to make...
Song has a SICK baseline! :D
@andrij66 I was more indicating that with the turkey carver you can use the tip much more easily since it only oscillates a small amount. I assume you're talking about an actual electric jigsaw, not mislabeling some manual saw?
Putting details like surface grooves in with a jigsaw would be much harder due to how far the blade moves, whereas the turkey carvers move about a millimeter depending what you have. Also I've never seen an actual jigsaw for $5 either.
I hope so. I get some cocky folks saying they can do better but I have yet to see a video (all talk and no action - talk about patheticness). I have tried to provide good instruction on some of the most common techniques but if you've got a better one don't keep it to yourself. If you can't find a tripod or a friend (or a pile of books) to hold a camera, send me the information or a link and maybe I can make a video of it.
@KingPhoenix6666 I agree. I think you'll all find that two layers is just fine.
It's best to use a PVC at the grip to counter balance the sword. Meanwhile, this is pretty good for a sword made for fast pace combat. Dagorhir requirements are filled. Except for the metal used to counter balance it.
@andrij66 Yeah, jigsaws are great for getting some of it cut out. (Or personally I prefer a bandsaw but that's the same basic principle, narrow vertical blade)
The thing I like about the turkey carvers is that you can get into some nice detail with them since they're handheld. It's like using a paper cutter and scissors for papercraft. The paper cutter is great for getting the paper down to size and roughly shaped, but the scissors are the way to go for detail.
nice score in the background. army of darkness
@travelsonic I'd rather use multiple fiberglass rods instead of a thick pvc anyway for those *shrug*. Bundles actually add quite a bit of strength because they flex slightly rather than break.
im going to use your method and make my own sword this weekend.
@Raven1024 Electric Jigsaw, correct, both of mine have cords, some have Batteries, most people that use a manual saw choose a coping or hack saw. There are different kinds of blades you can put in the slot, come cut alot, some cut alittle, & some can even cut through metal. (wow! sounds like a reciprocating saw) Variable Speed, Straight cuts aligned with a ruler & can make 45*-135* angled cuts, for $5 I think is pretty good. Gaw, all your complaining, you must really like your turkey carver.
one of the better techniques is to cover the whole sword in liquid latex. I do this with all my weapons and they look great. You can add latex based colors to color the latex. hope this tip could help some of the people wondering how to make their sword look better: The minus is that you have to be very cautious with the sword when you make it to prevent random shit showing.
I don't know how hard you guys hit with your weapons and what are the standart diameters you can get at your stores in the states. But we are using 10mm rod for 1hand weapons and 16mm diamters for 2handed weapons here in europe.
Guten tag! I look forward to your videos on the correct way to do it ;)
@travelsonic I found them really cheap somewhere a while back (shipping too, at least for 4' or so lengths). Can't remember where though as I haven't made foam stuff in a while. The shipping is always bad if you get into "oversize" though like rods for staves or halberds.
Also I'd look for a turkey carver with the finest teeth you can find, just thought I'd point that out. If you get one of the crappy ones with large teeth and a bad blade it'll be a rough cut (you can still clean it up though)
I recommend a power saw to get a clean cut but hand saws will work too.
Fiberglass is a great core - only problem is the cost compared to PVC... I mean that not necessarily in the cost of the fiberglass itself - you can get it cheap online if you know where to look, but the shipping is where you can get ripped off.
Gotta try the turkey carver idea some time.
You tell him Hamish.
Funny story. When my oldest son was about 3 yrs old, he created a recipe called, "sugar beans." He told us that you take some green beans, put them in a plastic graduated medicine cup with water and sugar and then put them in the refrigerator for 12. Twelve what?! Just 12. Apparently, if you had to ask, you weren't ready to make "sugar beans." It still cracks me up.
It's probably just me, but I personally really dislike flat edges on the striking edges of a sword. I use a heat knife or sharp box cutter to bevel it into a nice looking edge. I personally don't really like the use of popsicle sticks to add counterweight, it just strikes me as much too fragile. That all said, the end result still looks pretty great!
@Halofreakanoid Ofc the better plan is just to avoid high thrusts as much as possible anyway and parry to the side instead of up.
I agree! The best covering is cloth.
@Raven1024 Jigsaw might be your friend then as well... I see them all the time for $5 both in Kalifornia & Texas. Never tried it on foam, but there are a wide variety & selection of teeth to put on.
@Routanne Stop by the various LARP sites - Belegarth, Dagarhir, Amtgard for what their rules of play are. The most simple version is:
No head shots
Limb is lost if it is hit
2 limbs gone and you are dead.
Torso front or back is a kill.
Hitting the hand holding a weapon does not count as a hit.
Play with honor - you should call it when your hit. Don't try to get away with anything. If there is a question about a hit, take the hit.
@PIELOVER67 Contact cement, etc, is very good for keeping a weapon together - having made purely foam-and-duct tape, and flat boffers using PVC, foam from old DanceDanceRevolution pads and held together with Super 77 adhesive spray, I can safely say there is a noticeable difference. I even use them on round boffers now, which keeps them from sliding around like they tend to do over time/use.
I love the music choice! Ash Vs Evil Dead!!
This is a question that is asked a lot but it is difficult to answer. It's like asking how much it costs to replace a gasket on a car - 50 cents if you have all the tools, $75 if you don't. If you have all the supplies it's really only about $7 in materials per sword. It's closer to $40 or $50 in you have to buy everything but you can make multiple swords.
@Raven1024 My group hasn't had any issues with it for the past 3 years, but we are moving towards clothed weapons now anyway
this is sooo awesome! thank you so much!
@shanesuss can't be that expensive - I am looking into using driveway markers for my boffers, especially since I needed to get some pipe insulation to fix one of my boffers and will have a lot of excess - this means an excuse to buy a readily available material so I can make a proper ultralite quarterstaff :D
At 1:25, for the first blue strip, before you added the black evalite, I would have used a double-long blue strip to fold over, rather than having the first fold be the second blue layer.
Have you tried that?
Man you kick ass, as soon as I get some extra $, I'm going to make as much of this stuff as I can, and have sword fights w/ my brothers. Any where I can look to get good ideas for rules? I all ready have some in mind
Lose limbs if hit
2 swords, or sword and sheild
boundrys (big and small)
@SilentRaeth1 3M Super 77 adhesive spray works too
you'd only use open cell for a stabbing tip, projectile tip, or a wood-core shield. it won't stand up to blunt attacks.
@Arkloyd
"That wide 'paddle' is far less likely to compress enough to dig into your eye socket than, say, ¾" PVC covered in pipe insulation!"
I thought 3/4" pipe was usually reserved for the bulky axes, mauls, and in some cases stalves, and not the short and long swords, or claymores and the like, but then again, it does vary from game to game.
okay. I'm gonna make a suggestion here.
Make a video about making axes. That'd be beyond righteous.
I would recommend a thicker handle. Everything else looks good, but a thicker handle just feels better in the hand.
@andrij66 Just didn't think cost really mattered as much as that it wasn't really the best all around tool for the job. If you really want cheap and effective (And actually much easier for details than either aforementioned tool, since both the jig and the turkey carver can do it, but you would end up going back cleaning up any little grooves or anything you wanted to do cuz both blades tend to leave frizzy edges on this stuff) then just use a hot knife.
When he is talking about the cross gaurd, can you slide it on before doing the counter weight? so you don't have to cut the little slit?
Impressive construction for someone that doesn't play Dagorhir, Belegarth, or Amtgard. I would recommend you add a cloth cover to your next construction. The duct tape wrap at the end looks sloppy and can cut people.
Otherwise impressive video. Btw what sport is this for?
Contact cement can be found in hardware, home improvement and department stores in the adhesive area.
He is using 24 inch strips for the blade. I'm just guessing myself, however, when he layers over the blue strip over the base layered parts and the top, he loses about 2-4 inches of foam on the top from the curve. that leaves 20 inches at least. Then at the bottom he trims off a small ammount. I would say that is two or three inches. that leaves you with around an 18" blade. I myself am using closed cell foam I got form home depot, and am using a 48" set of strips of closed cell for my blade.
OOooh! Now i get it! I thought you were talking about making the pads thinner. Have you used this method before. How could I make a consistant groove? thanks
Nice, thanks a lot I think this gonna help me make a greatsword I always wanted to