Sparring spears from IG 2007?

[CalebChow]

Currently our study group uses some pretty bulky plastic tubes with foam on top...but the diameter of the tube is waayyy too thick for a spear and is overall a bit too unwieldy my my liking.

Mr. Sheetz said that in the 2007 IG prize-playing spars there were spears used...and I'm wondering what was used and how I could get/make some for myself.

Thanks!

[Jaron Bernstein]

Currently our study group uses some pretty bulky plastic tubes with foam on top...but the diameter of the tube is waayyy too thick for a spear and is overall a bit too unwieldy my my liking.

Mr. Sheetz said that in the 2007 IG prize-playing spars there were spears used...and I'm wondering what was used and how I could get/make some for myself.

Thanks!

I don't think it has to be anything special. I have sparred with just plain wooden staves. As long as you use good heavy face protection (a must) and the same control you would with blunts or wasters it is perfectly safe.

[Jason Taylor]

Currently our study group uses some pretty bulky plastic tubes with foam on top...but the diameter of the tube is waayyy too thick for a spear and is overall a bit too unwieldy my my liking.

Mr. Sheetz said that in the 2007 IG prize-playing spars there were spears used...and I'm wondering what was used and how I could get/make some for myself.

Thanks!

The one I got hit with didn't use the right kind of foam, so it was actually pretty dangerous. It was a pine closet rod with foam insulation on it, with a little space left at the top with some chips of additional pipe insulation at the top. When I got hit on the point of the adam's apple, it took me out for that day, and I wasn't okay for another four or five. I had to go get a checkup at my ENT to make sure there was no internal throat injury.

If I may recommend: don't use pine, because broken pine can make sharp tips (it tends to split lengthwise). PVC sucks and is too floppy, though, so use a hardwood stick, about 1" thick maybe, and pad the living crap out of the tip. Though not fully realistic, I recommend widening the tip a bit for safety (spreads out the impact).

Of course, I'm assuming you mean for mass combat. Jaron's right for one on one, but the chaos of group battles is a bit wacky for straight hardwood.

Also, WEAR THROAT PROTECTION! Head protection is good, but it's only complete if you add in throat. I use a hockey helmet with one of those goalie throat protectors (the clear plastic kind).

Jason

[Greg Coffman]

I wasn't there for the prize playing, but the spears that I saw during the group melee were all of similar construction. They were made with a pine dowel core, covered with pipe insulation foam with 6-10 inches of foam past the core, and wrapped in duct tape. These were from the DFW group of which I am a satellite member.

We treat these like wooden wasters (and most of the sparring we do is with wood nowadays). They can hit harder that a padded sword and require about as much control as a waster. We have not had any problems with the pine core breaking in dangerous ways. A thrust to the neck can be dangerous, but not really any more than a waster would be. It is deceptive how hard a 6ft or 9ft staff can hit with either a thrust or a strike. I would recommend this construction, but it is certainly not the only way to build a sparring staff. A simpler approach is to mount a tennis ball on the end of a hard wood staff.

[Jason Taylor]

I wasn't there for the prize playing, but the spears that I saw during the group melee were all of similar construction. They were made with a pine dowel core, covered with pipe insulation foam with 6-10 inches of foam past the core, and wrapped in duct tape. These were from the DFW group of which I am a satellite member.

We treat these like wooden wasters (and most of the sparring we do is with wood nowadays). They can hit harder that a padded sword and require about as much control as a waster. We have not had any problems with the pine core breaking in dangerous ways. A thrust to the neck can be dangerous, but not really any more than a waster would be. It is deceptive how hard a 6ft or 9ft staff can hit with either a thrust or a strike. I would recommend this construction, but it is certainly not the only way to build a sparring staff. A simpler approach is to mount a tennis ball on the end of a hard wood staff.

To be fair, I don't believe the spear I encountered was being used by someone who was aware of its construction--I think it was just picked up in the fray. So they may not have been aware of the control required.

Tennis ball seems like a good option offhand, though.

Jason

[Sal Bertucci]

There are also rubber spear tip for sale from revival.us that can be attached to the shafts.

[CalebChow]

Hm, I guess I've been overthinking this a bit.

How much should an accurate spear weigh?

Say, for 6-foot spears and 8-foot spears?

(If historically they used other lengths, let's go with that then...but personally I feel like I prefer a spear on the shorter side.)

[Cooper Braun]

Hm, I guess I've been overthinking this a bit.

How much should an accurate spear weigh?

Say, for 6-foot spears and 8-foot spears?

Most historical spears used 1inch ash poles. So the weight of the pole plus about a pound of head. You could look you the weight of veracious spear heads, but most are about a pound.

[Matt Bryant]

Here's how I make my sparring staves/spears. I originally got this from the South Florida guys.

Materials:

1 inch diameter pine rod of desired length

pipe foam

duct tape

Construction:

Put the pipe foam around the dowel. Leave about 4-6 inches off both ends.
(Note: Experience shows that the dowel will eventually start sliding around inside the insulation. This causes the padding at one end to be reduced while the other end gets really padded. There is an easy way to prevent this: when you are putting the foam on the dowel, you will need to use at least two pieces of the foam. At the point where you butt to two pieces of foam together you should tape one of the pieces to the dowel then tape the other piece of foam to the previous one.)

Tear up some foam into little chips and stuff them into the ends.

Tape up the ends. Then, tape up the rest of the staff.

Fight with it.

I suggest that you check the tips often while sparring to make sure that the padding hasn't worn down and the tips haven't bent over. The tips may need re-taping every now and then and when the padding chips wear out, they will need to be replaced.

As has been previously stated, these require a lot of control. I treat them more like a blunt sword than a waster, even. They generate a deceiving amount of force and you don't get the same feedback that you get with a waster. You can nail someone very hard with it and to you it seems like you just barley tapped them.

Hope this helps.

[CalebChow]

Thanks; how long are spears, usually?

[Benjamin Smith]

Spears vary a lot. Most are between 7-9' (2.5-3 meters) long. Pikes on the other hand can be much longer 14-16' long, maybe longer, you can see some staffs in German manuals that are probably pike staffs. George Silver's length for a short staff seems to be about right for most historical spears, hold the staff against the armpit of the opposite side, reach up as high as you can with your other arm, and there should still be a foot or two of staff above your hand. This typically results in 8-9 feet.

[Matt Bryant]

I sort staves into three length ranges.
5-7 feet (shorter staves, spears and what not)
7-11 feet (Silver's short staff, halb stang in German materials. My favorite length. Great for spears and pole weapons with lighter heads.)
11-18 (pikes)