I'm so glad I've found you, this is a fantastic tutorial and makes me excited about giving it a go and making my own! I've only made coreless LARP claws using HexFlex so far, but enjoyed the process and really want to try my hand at other weapons. Defo subscribing and hoping to see more wonderfully informative builds in the future!
Does the spraygun clog often? im trying to make my own sword(s), but found it easier to dip the whole blade in the latex. But this leaves ALOT of dripping. So im beginning to think a spraygun would be easier. What is your experiences with the gun?
I personally prefer to just paint the latex on with a brish and then use a little foam roller to smooth it off with each layer. If its just 1 or 2 items that works great. Wash the brush quickly after and if you wanted dip it in some fabric softener. But you'll ruin the brush fairly quickly either way. If I'm working on a batch then I use a air compressor with spray gun. I have used an electronic spray gun in the past (one for painting fences type thing). It does work but I clogged it on my 3rd run with it. The latex is pretty brutel on the mechanism. If you have the means to use an air compressor with gun this is easier to keep thoroughly clean after each layer. Be sure to use outside or in a very well ventilated or isolated place. The amount of latex particulates fires off is absolutely insane. Good luck either way but definitely brush on works finw in my experience.
I got a question would you recomment cutting the two side pieces of the blade at an angle before sanding or does that make it harder to get the blade in shape?
I cut the foam at an angle after gluing the foam to the core and before sanding, simply to make the sanding a little quicker. Shaping on the sander can be a little fiddly and it's easy to warp the shape by over sanding. The closer you can get the blade shape pre sand the better.
@GQ3MindSpeaks if you keep them clean and spray with silicone between events and store in a dryish place out of any sunlight then they'll last years. This dagger went to a friend and it's still shows no signs of aging of damage. Trick is to take care after and between events.
@GQ3MindSpeaks unless you mean as a liquid? Once mixed I try and use the latex and paint mix in a month. It can easily last longer especially if it's in a sealed container but if I'm using the air gun/brush I will use a fresh mixture of paint and latex to avoid it getting clogged. If it's for painting on this isn't as important and can be thicker and a little older.
I'm so glad I've found you, this is a fantastic tutorial and makes me excited about giving it a go and making my own!
I've only made coreless LARP claws using HexFlex so far, but enjoyed the process and really want to try my hand at other weapons.
Defo subscribing and hoping to see more wonderfully informative builds in the future!
Thank you so much!
Great tutorial, thank you! Looking forward to trying to make my own! 🙂
This is awesome man! I look forward to more videos!
It turned out so well!
Really good tutorial
Do you have a store where you sell these larp weapons? If so how do we get a few for our larp grpup?
Does the spraygun clog often? im trying to make my own sword(s), but found it easier to dip the whole blade in the latex. But this leaves ALOT of dripping. So im beginning to think a spraygun would be easier. What is your experiences with the gun?
I personally prefer to just paint the latex on with a brish and then use a little foam roller to smooth it off with each layer. If its just 1 or 2 items that works great. Wash the brush quickly after and if you wanted dip it in some fabric softener. But you'll ruin the brush fairly quickly either way. If I'm working on a batch then I use a air compressor with spray gun. I have used an electronic spray gun in the past (one for painting fences type thing). It does work but I clogged it on my 3rd run with it. The latex is pretty brutel on the mechanism. If you have the means to use an air compressor with gun this is easier to keep thoroughly clean after each layer. Be sure to use outside or in a very well ventilated or isolated place. The amount of latex particulates fires off is absolutely insane. Good luck either way but definitely brush on works finw in my experience.
You can see the spray gun I was using before I got the compressor involved on my knuckle duster video. th-cam.com/video/UFBjjJwJjKY/w-d-xo.html
In the air pistol..Can you tell what do you put in?
@manub4386 it's just liquid latex and I usually mix it with black acrylic paint for the base layers.
I got a question would you recomment cutting the two side pieces of the blade at an angle before sanding or does that make it harder to get the blade in shape?
I cut the foam at an angle after gluing the foam to the core and before sanding, simply to make the sanding a little quicker. Shaping on the sander can be a little fiddly and it's easy to warp the shape by over sanding. The closer you can get the blade shape pre sand the better.
How long does the latex and acrylic mixture last?
@GQ3MindSpeaks if you keep them clean and spray with silicone between events and store in a dryish place out of any sunlight then they'll last years. This dagger went to a friend and it's still shows no signs of aging of damage. Trick is to take care after and between events.
@GQ3MindSpeaks unless you mean as a liquid? Once mixed I try and use the latex and paint mix in a month. It can easily last longer especially if it's in a sealed container but if I'm using the air gun/brush I will use a fresh mixture of paint and latex to avoid it getting clogged. If it's for painting on this isn't as important and can be thicker and a little older.
I'm trying to make some LARP claws. any recommendations on how to pull that off?
Like wolverine claws or finger tip extensions? By wolverine I mean the ones you hold in your palms and that go through finger gaps.
Like a 30 inch boffer than has a tip that looks like a paw full of claws@@thehermitworkshop2913