First time Axe plans

[Jimsocom]

So I'm going about trying to make a pair of axes for dual wielding. I've never made axes before, but I've came up with what I think is a pretty solid general plan. What I need to know is:

1. Will this hold up strong/How can I make it stronger?
2. What kind of taping jobs will I need to do on the blade?
3. Anything else you think is important.

Without further ado, here's an MS-Paint version of my plan, the 4 main blade pieces will be cut to shape out of 8.5" by 5.5" slices of camp pad.


Thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer.

[bo1]

there is so much i could say, i will go with asking how many weapons have you made?

[No'Vak]

Use 1/2" solid fiberglass, no pipe insulation use blue foam, and make it a sword.

[Jimsocom]

there is so much i could say, i will go with asking how many weapons have you made?

2 greatswords, a set of dual wield swords, and countless noodleblades.

[Forkbeard]

You should follow the instructions available on our wiki and on the Dag boards. They work.
Designing on your own from scratch is never a good idea for a first time run.

Here's my best weapon making advice:
Cut everything VERY precisely. All of your edges need to line up and be cut straight. This is important to weapon life. Foam is cheap, so if you fiuck up a cut, throw it out and try again.

Do not skimp. Don't use pvc or other * temporay materials. Why make something that will fail later?

Follow the instructions on the glue. EXACTLY.

One last thing, Noodle blades are CRAP. No on here has any respect for those staples of Amtcrap. They don't count as real weapon making experience.
FB

[bo1]

allow me to rephrase what FB said.

welcome. please feel free to read the wiki, it has many tutorials for you veiwing pleasure, most with very good tech in them. they are a resource for newer foam smiths so please review them often.

the more accurate you cut, glue and measure the longer the weapon will last the the more professional it will appear. allowing misshapen or trying to save a scrap to peicve together something isnt the way to go, it will fail faster and look worse.

use quality materials, the better foam, core, glue and tape you use, the longer the weapon will last. it will cost you less in the long run to have good equipment that lasts than a ton of lesser items that fail often.

take great care in mixing glue, following instructions as carefully as possible. remember to rough both surfaces before dapping.

in bel, unfortunatley there is a stigma against noodle bats. they dont use quality foam, usually have a weak, but light, core and in general they dont pass weapons check for very long. so here we dont consider them a valid form of foam smith experience. mainly do to that they are just a tube put over a stick and taped over. it is like saying rugby and football are the similar. they kinda are similar but there is too much difference to use experience form one to the other a lot.

[Jimsocom]

Yeah, I've looked at the wiki but I'm not sure I have enough camp pad foam left over to make them the way the wiki says, this is just a project I wanted to take up with some extra materials I had lying around to see if it would work.

And I know all about how much noodleblades suck, don't worry, I've seen it firsthand.

[Blitz.]

Foam is cheap, so if you fiuck up a cut, throw it out and try again.FB

I'm going to qoute forkbeard here and say that if you dont have the materials you need, then dont go ahead with making the weapon. It'll just fail and cause headaches. Blue Foam is like 6.50$ Max. Buy another roll, Make the axe, then make more swords even? never hurts to have a few extra swords. Or save the foam.

[randy]

One of the tricks I learned from some SCA guys is to use heavy leather sewn/glued to the core to create the base of your blade. This will give you something to glue the foam onto and will provide much needed structure when striking. Without it, you will tend to rip the foam where the core meets the striking edge.

[Tordek]

I suspect what you are trying to accomplish can be found under Fitz's post in this link.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=37627

Also, if your just prototyping, I am in favor of making things from scraps. This way, if it does not turn out like planned, it wasn't any loss to you.

My personal perspective, I've been trying to make a successful axe since I started Foam Smithing, The leather core makes it quite heavy, and since its an axe it will already be by nature top heavy. The design you have I tested and determined it just did not work. On paper, it seems solid, but in practice the foam does not have enough torsional rigidity when laminated like that. I do strongly suggest you pursue Fitz's design, it seems solid and he has reported great success with it.

On note of the top heavy aspect, fighting Florentine with them is going to be different than using regular swords, and a vast difference from speed bats. To get an idea of it, it will be like swinging a sword whose balance point is 12" from the tip, rather than the hilt. I would attach some weights to the tip of one of your spare bats and swing it around at home to get a feel of what its like.

All that being said, have some fun with it if you decide to proceed, and cut out a cardboard blank in the shape of the design you want to see how it will look once finished, a lot of proportions look good on paper but end up needing adjustment once you choose to build.

[Illano]

I would attach some weights to the tip of one of your spare bats and swing it around at home to get a feel of what its like.

i've thought of doing this just so when i switch back to my clubs i swing faster. might be a bad idea, dunno
i was told at skbc they use copper tubes for body mechanics
i just need something to hit other than my son
we have practice 3 times a week but i want to swing every day

[Jimsocom]

I suspect what you are trying to accomplish can be found under Fitz's post in this link.

That looks like a great idea! What kind is that white foam he's using there?

[Tordek]

I suspect what you are trying to accomplish can be found under Fitz's post in this link.

That looks like a great idea! What kind is that white foam he's using there?

Its some stuff he sources, don't know the place, but its 2 lb density poly stuff that can be found on a lot of foam sites.

[Fitz Caliston]

(woot! for getting a password reset, I can post agian!)

Yeah it's a 2lb polyethelene plank foam, same stuff as we use for shields, then I edge it with some lighter weight MC. I've got a new Great Axe finished but can't post pictures of it until this weekend when it is delivered cause I don't want to ruin the surprise (It was commissioned as a Gift) Stay tuned though.