9. Weapon Construction
Weapon construction
Unlike many live action games in the United States, the weapons used at Adventures in Mid-Land look and handle somewhat like real weapons, except for their weight. This is due to our weapon construction techniques, which are a hybrid of European LARP latex weapons and American round boffers. While we do emphasize function, there are still a few ground rules that must be adhered to at all times:
· All striking surfaces must be padded with at least 5/8” of closed cell foam.
· All pommels and tips must be larger than the orbital socket of the eye (approximately 2” in one dimension).
· All weapons must have an appropriate balance between mass and whip. While we understand that longer weapons will have more whip, it is not acceptable to make a fifteen pound weapon with multiple cores, etc., to overcome this.
· Mid-Land weapons do not incorporate squishy foam “stabbing tips”.
· Mid-Land throwing weapons never have a rigid core.
· Mid-Land melee weapons are always at least 18” long.
Restricted weapons
The following weapons types are always prohibited:
· ball and chain weapons
· punch daggers
· slings
· flails
· blowguns
· melee weapons attached to shields
Safety
When building a weapon please keep safety in mind! During the process of building a weapon you will make use of many dangerous tools and chemicals. Always wear eye protection when working with tools and chemicals. Wear hearing protection when working with power tools. Read all chemical labels and instruction before using them. When working with chemicals do so in a ventilated area. Wear rubber gloves when working with chemicals and keep finger away from your eyes and mouth! Keep your work area free of clutter and promptly clean up when you are done. Close all chemical containers when you are not using them!
Materials List
From local department store:
· Blue camping mat / sleeping bag pad. This should be smooth on both sides, not the “egg crate” variety.
· Black athletic tape / hockey stick tape.
· Poster board.
From a good hardware store:
· DAP (or similar) contact cement
· 36" piece of 1/2" CPVC pipe
· 18" piece of 1/2" CPVC pipe
· 6" of heavy all-purpose hose (NOT garden hose). This is usually black or red / orange in color, and is reinforced inside with filaments.
· duct tape
· electrical tape
NOTE: Adventures in Mid-Land reserves use of the following colors / color combinations when taping weapons: blue (magic), white (silver), green (poison), yellow (weapon of quality), and black combined with white veins (Elven steel). If you are unsure whether or not your weapon is taped with the correct colors, ask a Game Master. Black and silver / gray are always OK.
Tools List:
· brand new cheap extendable snap-tip utility knife
· Dremel tool with cutting wheel OR jig-saw with fine tooth saw blade
· X-Acto knife with sharp #2 fine point blade
· pencil
· ball point pen
· long ruler
· disposable foam brush
· scissors
· hot glue gun and several glue sticks
· Safety glasses [highly recommended]
· Rubber gloves
Sword Construction
This section will explain, step-by-step, the construction of a Mid-Land legal flat boffer. In this example, we will be making a sword with a 33" blade and an 8" hilt, with straight 6" quillions. Feel free to adjust the dimensions accordingly for a weapon of the size you want, but keep in mind that the maximum length for a one-handed weapon is 30”, or 42” if you purchase Martial Proficiency for your character. At no time should a flat weapon longer than 4 feet in total length be made from 1\2” CPVC. Weapons such as polearms, two-handed swords and spears should be constructed of pultruded fiberglass, ¾” or 1” PVC, or ¾” CPVC.
1. Make your blade template on the poster board.
Your blade can be whatever shape you wish, but MUST follow the following rules:
· NO pointy protrusions that could impact someone's eye.
· Blade MUST be at least 1 7/8" wide. 2 1/2" is recommended to start with (this is what we will build in this example). This provides a minimum of 5/8” on the striking surface of the weapon.
Using your pencil, draw a 36" line in the middle of the poster board. This is your centerline. Mark off 1 1/4" on either side of your centerline. Connect the dots. Make one end rounded. The inside of your duct tape roll works well for this. Draw a 3" line in heavy pen from the rounded tip down the blade center. Draw a 3" line in heavy pen from the flat end down the blade center. Cut this out with scissors. Save the template for later use.
Blade template
2. Prepare your core.
Using the Dremel or jig saw, split the 18" piece of CPVC lengthwise, making two troughs. Remember safety when cutting the splints!
Splitting the CPVC
With the hot glue gun, stick these to one end of the 36" piece of CPVC, on opposite sides sandwiching it. These splints will cut down on the flex of the blade, as well as create a ready-made hilt. When the glue has dried, wrap electrical tape tightly around the splinted half of the blade.
Core splints
With duct tape, cover the pommel end of the sword to protect the foam from the sharp edges of the CPVC. Cut a glue stick in half, and glue it into the tip of the sword with more hot glue, leaving about an inch sticking up out of the CPVC pipe. Make a heavy mark on the core 7" from the pommel end.
3. Make your quillions.
Measure your hose and mark the center with pen, drawing a ring around the middle. Using your X-Acto knife, cut a slit 1 1/4" long lengthwise across the middle of the pipe. Make two more cuts, 1" long, 1/4" on either side of the first. Connect these three cuts, making an elongated hexagon in the middle of the hose. Repeat on the other side of the hose. Slide the hose onto the core, down to the mark 7" from the pommel. It should fit very tightly. Use electrical tape in an X pattern to secure the hose to the core. Don’t be stingy. Cover the hose neatly in duct tape. Cover the ends first.
Cross guard
4. Make your pommel.
Cut two square pieces of camping mat 6" x 6". With DAP, lightly coat the last inch of the pommel end of the core. Also coat one side of each piece of mat. Let the DAP dry. (Note on contact cement: you MUST let the cement dry 15 minutes minimum before attempting to stick pieces together. This cannot be stressed enough.). Stick the two squares together, sandwiching the last 1" or so of pommel between them. Trace the inside circle of your duct tape roll onto the pommel square. Using your extendable utility knife, cut this circle out. Try to draw the knife smoothly through the foam, do not saw at it. Cutting at an angle helps. Neatly tape it up. When taping weapons, it is best to tape the edge first, then the flat parts. It is necessary to make many cuts in the overhanging tape with your X-Acto on rounded parts, so the tape will overlap and lay smoothly. Try to leave some tape overlapped onto the hilt, so the hilt wrap will anchor it to the sword.
Pommel
5. Wrap your hilt.
Using your black hockey tape, spiral-wrap the hilt [handle]. If the hilt is not fat enough for you, try building it up with leftover poster board or corrugated cardboard before you tape it. Hot glue works well to secure these.
6. Make your blade.
Cut out two long rectangles of camping mat, 3" wide and 35" long. These measurements need not be exact, they are designed to allow you room to make errors. The exact sword blade dimensions will come from your template. With DAP, lightly coat the exposed core and one side of each piece of mat. Let the DAP dry. (Note on contact cement: you MUST let the cement dry 15 minutes minimum before attempting to stick pieces together.). Lightly stick one piece to the core, trying to center it, and leaving an inch above the quillions open. Lightly stick the other to the core, not letting it touch the first yet. Holding the sword vertically, gently and carefully press the two halves together using your thumb and fingers on either side of the core. Be careful to make the blade straight from the core. If you press the two halves together while flat on a table, you will get a lopsided blade. Let it dry. Leave it alone for an hour. Place your template on the blade. The point should be two to three inches from the tip of the core. Trace it, making sure it is centered. Sometimes an extra pair of hands helps here. Hold the sword vertically. Using your utility knife, slice your blade out along the lines. If you make a mistake, leave a lump, etc., you can use the hot tip of your glue gun to smooth it out. BE CAREFUL! You can easily ruin your blade doing this too much. Neatly tape it up. When taping weapons, it is best to tape the edge first, then the flat parts. It is necessary to make many cuts in the overhanging tape with your X-Acto on rounded parts, so the tape will overlap and lay smoothly. Try to leave some tape overlapped onto the inch of exposed core at the bottom, so that a final thin strip around there at the end will anchor it to the sword.
7. Tips
· LET YOUR DAP DRY!
· If you don't have the tools to split the CPVC splints, try a dowel core halfway up the CPVC instead.
· Try to use a single strip of tape to tape the entire edge.
· Cut the duct tape with the X-Acto whenever possible, don't rip it.
· Use as little tape as possible. Less tape = less weight.
· Whenever you can, use duct tape, even if you have to split it in half with your X-Acto.
· Use combinations of colors (black, red, brown, silver, etc.) to make your sword stand out, or all black for a sneaky weapon.
· The more twists and curves your blade has, the harder it is to tape neatly.
· Concave cuts are much harder to tape than convex cuts.
· Keep your knives sharp. The utility knife you use for this sword SHOULD NOT be used for another. It is already too dull.
· A strip of leather from an old coat or backpack bottom makes a great hilt grip.
· Try substituting a racquetball or a tennis ball for a pommel. Fill it with hot glue for a counterbalance.
