Padded swords to be tested

[TimSheetz]

Yeah, Shane! Did you hit with the flats or the edges?

I would bet that perhaps you hit with more intent than average, but certainly not so outrageously hard to break weapons that quickly without a fault in materials or design.

My strongest ones have hickory for the core... but nobody wants a piece of that action.

Tim

[JeanryChandler]

I got a question for yea when you cut the hole in the PVC for the gaurd on your padded sword what do you use? A jigsaw or dremel tool or what, i tried drilling the with a 1" paddle bit it worked, They just seem too loose so i was thinking a jigsaw might work better to cut out the hole to insert the blade/hilt.

What exactly are you drilling holes for? This would seem to weaken the core!

Jeanry

[JeffGentry]

Hey Jeanry

What exactly are you drilling holes for? This would seem to weaken the core!

You need a hole in the PVC you are using for the gaurd, puting a hole on the core would destroy the core.

Jeff

[JeanryChandler]

You guys are still sandwiching wood inside of PVC?

I still have to maintain, a single piece of Sch 80 PVC will hold up very well without breaking. I believe the messer I made for Jake and the longsword I originally gave to Jay (which was actually a reject) have both held up to heavy use since Southern Knights last February, as have all of the weapons I made for myself. In fact I've only had one weapon break in the last year, out of maybe 12 or so that we regularly use in our Saturday practices here in New Orleans.

Jr

[JeffGentry]

Hey Jeanry

You guys are still sandwiching wood inside of PVC?

I still have to maintain, a single piece of Sch 80 PVC will hold up very well without breaking.

Unless i'm totaly ignorant, I am using one piece of PVC for the blade/hilt, then using a seperate piece of PVC for the cross gaurd, the cross gaurd need's a whole cut in it to put it on the blade/hilt, i am not sandwiching wood into it.

Weight seem's about right for were i am in the construction once I counter ballance it i should be fine.


Jeff

[Matthew_Anderson]

Yeah, that was kind of shocking, but actually Shane, I believe YOU broke both of those weapons, and one of mine made with similar construction <img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" /> I think you're just the "Sword Destroyer" Serously, I didn't notice anything you did that was out of the ordinary. One weapon broke with a hard blow to my hand, another broke on a zorn to zorn blow where you would probably have set my blade aside and cracked me in the head had your weapon not broken, and the third broke when you struck my sword across the strong as I was in hengen. The last one was a really hard impact, it tweaked my wrist a little, but I was still surprised the sword broke. I'm really frustrated with the whole sparring weapon issue. So far, the only ones that have held up for us are two of the generation 2.2 version I made about two years ago with wood/aluminum cores. They are tough but heavy and poorly balanced and feel like fighting with padded 2X4's. I was really hoping the flattened PVC cores were going to hold up as the weapons felt really agile and well balanced. I'm going to try some of the type Jeanry is making with the sch 80 PVC as soon as I can find some.

[Shane Smith]

You're not kidding about the frustration Matt! How many of these things have we broken over one another over the years? The odd thing is that the two old-school weapons that have been holding up have outlived several of the same design made by both of us at different times. Do you suppose you used magic hickory in those last two work-horses!LOL! <img src="/forum/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" /> I don't know what's holding them together. <img src="/forum/images/icons/crazy.gif" alt="" />

[Shane Smith]

Yeah, Shane! Did you hit with the flats or the edges?

I would bet that perhaps you hit with more intent than average, but certainly not so outrageously hard to break weapons that quickly without a fault in materials or design.

My strongest ones have hickory for the core... but nobody wants a piece of that action.

Tim

I was striking with the edge near the pointy-end <img src="/forum/images/icons/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" />

As for hitting with intent, when you and I fenced for hours on end here in VAB a while back,I had to hit with intent in order to delay your running literal circles around me! That said, I think we do hit a bit stout in VAB,but certainly no more than some of our good friends to the south(We will call them the "X" brothers to protect the innocent LOL! <img src="/forum/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" /> )

As for your hickory cores, who among us could withstand such a flogging?!

PS; Hurry back to VAB...and bring the hickory cores <img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/icons/cool.gif" alt="" />

[JeanryChandler]

can you diagram that? Why insert pvc together, why not just tape something?

Jr

[david welch]

A heads up on these. I broke my two new weapons from Tenn. within 30 seconds of beginning bouting.The prototypes I used at the Event with Jake last summer held up fine but Matt Anderson and I destroyed the two padded weapons I recently received upon landing the first telling blows.

Well that's just crap-tacular. <img src="/forum/images/icons/frown.gif" alt="" />

Sorry about that. I am going to see if we can make one out of sch:80 like Jean's.

Question. Was the sword cold?

Jean:
I have just gotten back from the inauguration. Now that we are done with that (it has taken about all our free time the last few months) I'll get back on making a few cores for you. See above though. It might take a little while to get it sorted out.

Jean:
We are making the cross' solid to try and see if we can make one strong but "slim" enough to do the techniques correctly with.

JeffGentry:
We don't drill holes in the cross. We heat it up and punch a hole in it, then drift it to increase it's size. We want to keep all the material we can for strength.

[JeanryChandler]

Jean:
I have just gotten back from the inauguration. Now that we are done with that (it has taken about all our free time the last few months) I'll get back on making a few cores for you. See above though. It might take a little while to get it sorted out.

Great I would love to get my hands on one!

Jean:
We are making the cross' solid to try and see if we can make one strong but "slim" enough to do the techniques correctly with.

Can you explain? I thnk if you are attatching the cross directly to the core that is a recipe for disaster. You have to have some shock absorption between...

The crosses made from the shelf brackets come out pretty thin even with the extra safety padding around them...

Jeanry

[Shane Smith]

Hi David,
We were training outside that day, so yes,it was pretty darn chilly! I'd guess mid thirties or so. Matt and myself were going at it with our usual level of intensity. All weapons broke on the first hit. The one sent to me broke on Matts hands during a void and counter. The other sent to Cat broke when I struck a zorn into Matts blade to set him aside. Matt made one of PVC also,it broke on his first parry of my zorn with a hengen.I know Matt did not use sch 80 pipe but I have not disected the others yet so I can't comment on that.

I can send you pics for reference later of it will help in any way. <img src="/forum/images/icons/cool.gif" alt="" />

[JeffGentry]

Hey David

We don't drill holes in the cross. We heat it up and punch a hole in it, then drift it to increase it's size. We want to keep all the material we can for strength.

Ok that make's sense i did consider that, just wanted to double check.

Jeff

[JeffGentry]

Hey David

I just snapped the one i was working on, all i did was swing it real hard back and forth and it snapped at the gaurd, it appear's on mine that the PVC clue is the culprit, i was concerned about this because the pvc clue does degrade the pvc a small amount, it is like welding metal, it is strong were ther weld is, just a little too strong.

Jeanry is right with schedule 80, and taping the cross in place.


Ok Jeanry this is were you say "i told you so". lol

Jeff

[Brian Hunt]

I hold the pvc guard on my cores in place with some strapping tape wrapped around it and the core in the form of an X. I don't use any glue and they are very solid. I make a small slot in the pvc for the cross, then drift the core through that slot. I have only broken one cross, and that was a really hard shot that I tryed to stop with a kron. I have two single handed swords of the flattened pvc variety that I haven't had any troubles with, but I have broken one longsword of this type, but the other one is just fine. One thing I noticed on the longsword that broke was that it broke at a point where the thickness of the core was thicker than thinner, then thicker than thinner. Consistency appears to be important with these.

hope this helps.

Brian Hunt
GFS.