Fiberglass Rapier Simulators

[Webmaster]

Brian Hunt's instructions for making fiberglass rapier simulators are now online in the Practice section:

http://www.thearma.org/Practice/fiberglass-rapier-simulator.html

(Yes, the Webmaster has been busy catching up this weekend.)

[Jeffrey Hull]

Thanks for the information!

[Matthew_Anderson]

Hey, pretty cool. Brian, you're so clever!

[Brian Hunt]

Hi Matt,

thanks for the compliment, but I can't take full credit for this one, it is an adaption/inovation from someone else's idea that I ran across in about 1995. I wanted a good cheap way to get into rapier fencing for everyone, and thought about fiberglass blades and wasters, and combined the idea.

They worked really well for the rapier class that JC did out in Provo earlier this year. Plus they are dual purpose, you can train techniqes with them but they are also safe for bouting (with masks of course). Not to mention I hate how expensive the floppy, flexi rapiers are . . . especially with the the inherent problems they bring to a training session.

Brian Hunt.
GFS

[Scott Anderson]

They definatly work. From a comfort standpoint I'd rather get poked with one of the floppy flexi things but the fiberglass ones work better from every other standpoint.

Have you thought about some other sort of covering? Last time we did anything I ended up with a tape cut from the aluminum tape.

SPA

[Stacy Clifford]

Just a thought, but has anybody ever tried stripping a deep-sea fishing pole to make into a rapier? (Admittedly, those are probably not widely available in Utah or Kansas.) Some of them at least are solid fiberglass, tapered, relatively short, and quite stiff. Seems almost ideal for the purpose.

[Jonathan Scott]

hmm...fishing poles! <img src="/forum/images/icons/tongue.gif" alt="" />
I made a couple of rapier thingies (Well neither are the right length, but I wasn't thinking rapiers at the time) by cutting a golf flag in half, and I think that was made of fiberglass. Or something similar to that. They are really durable though, and pretty stiff. And you can draw them from pvc pipes to act as a sheath (and I've also had some fun shooting the "sheath" pvc's around like projectiles). <img src="/forum/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Jeffrey Hull]

Snazzy idea!

[Rod-Thornton]

Stacy:

Interesting idea. Here in the Outer Banks of NC we have old deep sea poles out da' wazoo! (or at least under every single rental house on the beach). And with an interest in rapier, I'd be keen on your thoughts for padding them for contact sparring as well. ?Just cap 'em with a rubber furniture protector? Any ideas?

[Stacy Clifford]

I haven't had a chance to try this idea myself, but yeah, rubber furniture protectors or other forms of rubber tips seem to be the way to go. I'm not sure leaving the last eyelet on the pole would make a serviceable "button" or not, though it would certainly weigh it down less and probably hurt more. I think what would be tougher is converting the fishing pole handle to a rapier hilt, but a little ingenuity can probably cure that too.

[Rod-Thornton]

Has anyone made or seen a "sleeve" of lightweight metal or plastic that includes a sufficient false (foiled) tip that can be slid over or otherwise attached to an existing rapier for training/fence. My thoughts, if the design and structural integrity were adequate, were that a metal sleeve with a hardened "plate" at the end of the socket could be fashioned to slid over an existing rapier to give correct weight, etc. (the sleeve is a nominal weight. ALTERNATIVELY, what about a plastic film/or sleeve shrink-wrapped over one with a steel and rubber cap or button over the tip...the heat-shrink-wrapped film being used to securely attach a made-to-fit cover over the point to foil it. Has anyone heard of or seen such a conversion that would allow a decent replica blade to be safely foiled and yet still be able to eventually be converted back without a permanent ruination of the point? Can it be safely done?