Making latex weapons

[TraconEdgar]

I may see about checkingout a kite store... I can't think of anywhere else to get fiberglass rods.

Light weapons aren't really my thing. And I disagree that their lightness makes them hurt less. I've fought against claymores made with two 3/4" PVC pipes taped together side by side as a core, and I've fought against ultra-lights that literally weigh about the same as a spoon. In my experience, ultra-lights consistently hurt more.

Back on topic, I forgot to mention in my last post - for those of you who are going to make your first latex weapon, make one out of the blue camp pad first. While the overall appearance of the weapon won't look as good as with plastazote, when you make mistakes making your first one, it's much less expensive.
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[TuralyonGilnea]

Being a much heavier hitting group we still went with fiberglass cores for looks(the weapons arent as big and fiberglass dont break as easily). We solved the weight issue by put bondo laiden led through the fiberglass rod(on the pommel end) using wooden pommels and by putting weighted quillions on to get that balance and feel of a real sword along with the looks, so far so good(other than i messed up on some initial construction process and our prototype died....heh)!

[Chief]

Sound advice on the camping mat. I must have made about 150 weapons out of camping mat before moving to plastazote. Another thing I do is save scraps from old weapon projects, as well as old chunks of weapons. This way "stundents" can learn the properties of the zote without having to waste actual material.
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Nothing beats a friend like a rubber sword...

[RyanPaddy]

The impact thing is all relative. I wasn't comparing boffers and ultralights which probably vary in lots of ways other than weight, I was comparing latex weapons with heavy fibreglass cores to ones with lighter fibreglass cores. The lighter ones definitely hurt less, they just have far less impact. How hard something hits is mostly a question of momentum. Momentum = mass * velocity. Reduce the mass, and you reduce the momentum, thus reducing the impact. Yes, it's possible to swing faster with a lighter weapon but it's also possible to pull your blow more easily and it still doesn't seem to have the same impact even if it does land faster.

On the other hand, whether you like the feel of light weapons is totally a question of style. Counterweighting them a little at the pommel does add the illusion of heft without really increasing the impact of the blows.

Seegras - I gather that standards for core diameter vary across Europe. The latex weapons I've imported and sell (as www.paddywhack.co.nz ) have 7mm rods and I prefer them to the heavier ones I've encountered. I'd rather have a bit of flex in the weapon than a heavy smack in the face.

We use round fibreglass rods from kite shops. The other possible source are sailing shops, they use fibreglass batons in sails. But those have a flat or diamond-shaped cross-section, and I find that shape hits harder and is more likely to work it's way out of the foam.

[TraconEdgar]

Isn't it F=MA where F is Force, M is Mass, and A is Acceleration?

Anyhow, it's looking like I'll end up with four weapons, three from the plastazote and one from the camp pad. The camp pad one is starting to look like it may turn out decent. I also currently have one 'cricket bat' clamped together in the garage for curing. I tried using a wooden dowel as the core, taking a piece of rubber hose, splitting half of it, and securing it to the weapon that way. Unfortunately, this will cause a little bit of a bulge in the end, but hey, these are X-weapons.

There are no kite stores in my area, according to the phone book. And we're pretty far away from anyplace where sail boats might be found. Still, there is a large Amtgard chapter in Denver, about an hour north. I'm sure they know where I can get some rods.

Can you recommend a way to smooth out the sanded portions of the camp pad? I'm thinking of making the primer coat using the sealant normally used for the last step. But I have concerns that the latex may not stick to it. I guess I'll have to experament on a piece of scrap.

I was suprised as to how well the dap is holding the blue pad together. Have your weapons ever failed from delamination of the foam layers, or is it usually failure from either the core breaking through or the foam simply wearing out?
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[Chief]

[TuralyonGilnea]

ANy suggestion for making Latex Axes, Hammers and Maces?

[Chief]

I am actually working on an axe tutorial as we speak, I hope to have the basics up soon. I don't actually like making latex hammers or barrel maces due to the firmness of the foam. For weapons like that I tend to use half breed technology [A lot of my Dagorhir weapons use this half latex, half old tech]. Not so much because the weapons are dangerous, but instead because I don't want to hear peple complain.

I might be able to offer other advise if you have exact questions.
_________________
Nothing beats a friend like a rubber sword...

[RyanPaddy]

I've decided that the perfect LARP weapon is a flanged mace. Like this:

http://www.ex-caliber.com/mace.jpg

http://www.ex-caliber.com/detail-mace.jpg

The reason it's so great is that it looks meaty, but it's mostly air. So you expect it to give you a good smacking up but it lands with minimal impact because it's so light. Also, the flanges deform when they hit you so they absorb much of the blow. And it's got a terrible wind resistance profile so it tends to slow down when being swung. Best of all, they're cheap and fast to make.

To make one of these, first I create the haft as a sandwich of 3 layers of foam around a 6mm or 7mm fibreglass rod (6mm for short maxes, say under 60cm or so). This foam covers the entire rod. Then I wrap a piece of foam around the head end to thicken it out, glueing it to the foam of the haft. Then make a bunch of flanges to a template and glue them on well. You can vary the length (I have a great 2-H one) and the detailing of the flanges to give heaps of variety.

We've got a whole bunch of these now. I love outfitting heaps of monsters with these things (especially really spikey ones with a rusty-looking latex finish), and they're good for knightly character types too.

[TuralyonGilnea]

I have been looking at that flanged mace design, however fo rour game, i need to make people feel it through some 16ga steel, so am obviously going to have to add some heft, and frankly im concerned of the flanges busting off. Thoughts? Also chief, in my group im not worried about complaints but ill IM with some questions on hammers and the like.

[RyanPaddy]

[TraconEdgar]

A question on paint: Will acrylic latex paint work fine, or does it have to be pure acrylic paint with no latex in it? I'm wanting to use some Behr Acrylic Latex paint, but I want to make sure before I put down $27 on paint that may not work.
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[Chief]

For flanges [or axe head, hammer head] strength you can try attaching thin pieces of garment leather up from the saft and onto the flanges. You can either cover the whole flange, or just the top and bottom edges. You then paint the latex over the whole thing, and this makes one hell of a bond.

The leather does not really add any sort of stiff surface to the mace, but watch that you do not use too much glue. If you do a nice job cutting your pieces you won't even notice they are there in the finshed product.

I had a friend do this on an axe head made of blue camping mat, and he was able to stand on the axe head and pull the shaft without pulling the axe head off.
_________________
Nothing beats a friend like a rubber sword...

[RyanPaddy]

I've read on UK LRP forums that latex paint is actually better than others for mixing with latex. But it's just hear-say, I haven't used it.

The key thing is to make sure there isn't any copper base to your paint, apparently that degrades the latex. Higher-price paints tend to list their ingredients, with lower-price ones it's a lucky dip.

If you're doing silver, you'll need a lot more paint per latex because the colour is quite weak. It also pays to have a black or grey undercoat if your foam isn't grey, for the same reason.

If your latex is too thick it can be diluted with water (it's mostly water anyway).

Finally, for mass-production you can actually dip blades into a tub or tube of latex, let the extra drip off, then hang up to dry. The latex needs to be very watery for this to work. THis is much faster than painting on with a brush, you only need a few coats, and the finish can be ultra-smooth if you get it right. To avoid having a drip coming off the tip of the blade I stuck a pin in it for the latex to drip off, then pulled the pin out at the end and trimmed around the small hole.

[molotov02]

for the coulor; we use latex mixed with acrylic paints.
you have to use any waterbased(acrylic) paint, otherwise it will not mix well with the latex. citadel (warhammer) paints work great (if expensive) for small area's. for anything larger, you'll need bigger tins from the DIY shop.

if the latex is to thick, use a small amount of ammonia to dilute it. you only need a tablespoon or so for a cup of latex.