New padded weapon design

[John Bentley]

I have been gathering the materials for making the new padded weapon design described on the Arma member's page. This is the design that is based on oak slats and aluminum bars. I have a question about the foam.

I have found a supplier of closed cell foam, but it comes in essentally 2 varieties. One is very firm, but with a "rubbery" feel, called "4 lb EVA foam". The other is very rigid, but light, almost like balsa wood (but I assume much stronger). Which one should I buy to construct the sword? Or should I use the rubbery stuff for the edge, and the rigid stuff for the hilt?

edited to add
I also notice that there is no description of how to attach the hilt to the handle and blade. I've never constructed one of these things before, so if anyone could describe how to construct and attach the crossguard, I would appreciate it.

And as a final question, what is the cloth cover for?

[Shane Smith]

Hi John,
Since I'm not sure exactly what products you have on hand, I can't comment on those beyond saying that the stuff I use on my edges is lightweight white resilient foam and the flat is covered in 1/4" thick black rubber-ish foam. As for the cloth cover,in my opinion and experience,it is not needed. A simple covering of packing tape or even duct-tape running from cross to tip is sufficient in my estimation. Also, the hilt is integral with the blade and handle which are all actually one long composite piece of slats and aluminum. I simply wrap the "hilt" in tennis tape after rounding the slats a bit to make a comfortable shape. Good luck! Let us know how you make out.

[John Bentley]

Hi Shane,
Thanks for the help. I guess I didn't use the correct terminology when asking my questions. I was really asking about the crossguard. How is it attached to the handle? Do you just take 2 strips of foam and bend them around perpendicular to the handle, using adhesive and tape to hold it in place? It would seem that would not allow the crossguard to be used safely as it was intended, but I could be wrong.

[Matthew_Anderson]

You want the EVA foam, it's soft and rubbery feeling and white in color. It's basically the same stuff generally used in sports padding like knee and elbow pads, etc.

[John Bentley]

Mathew,

Thanks. Did you know that there are 3 grades of EVA foam? I didn't until I was about to order some. I'm trying to get samples now of the three grades to evaluate them.

Also, any help on how to attach the cross piece to the handle?

[Shane Smith]

If it is the old leather/foam composite type, you just make a foam guard with a cutout that will allow it to slide up the hilt from the back before the end-cap pommel is installed with a piece of leather cut to the same outline sandwiched on the side nearest the tip.Once it's in position, you can hold it in place by alternating diagonal wraps of duct-tape and wraps up and over the guard and stuck down on both side at the blade and hilt. Be sure to wrap the guard itself in enough tape and compress it to give it at least a bit of ridgidity. Duct-tape is a wonderful invention!

[John Bentley]

Thanks Shane.

[Stacy Clifford]

For making a cross I've found that cutting a length of garden hose, slitting it lengthwise and attaching that to the sides of the foam is a great way to give it some stiffness and resilience without making it too rigid. Just split the hose down one side and wrap one piece around each side of the foam cross like a C-clamp and duct tape thoroughly. You can get garden hose cut to length off a roll at a good hardware store. I usually get about 6 feet at a time, since I don't get to make padded weapons very often.

You can also make a decent cross out of the soles of flip-flops, though I still recommend the garden hose treatment because that foam tends to snap easier.