New to teaching foamsmithing

[Celtic Christ]

I'm supposed to be teaching my little cousin to build his own weapons since he's shown an interest in Bel. My personal foamsmithing's sound, but unorthodox (see examples https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.265686006897623.64976.100003686779916&type=3 ). I'm wondering what areas, from a more general foamsmithing perspective, I should focus on. I know I need to impress the need for safety above all else upon him. Outside of that though, I'm tempted to show him the basics, give him materials, and tell him to make something interesting and fun. Overall is there anything, in particular to the current building tech, that I should stress more than another?

[Sir Thurat]

Patience. Stress that foamsmithing takes time, and a rushed project is doomed to fail. Stress, as well, knowing your materials. The better he understands what he is working with, the better he will know in what ways he can apply them. This lack of understanding in many new fighters results in 40" 1/2" pvc swords and hammers made of all blue foam that rip from the core before the make it to the field.

[Matthias - Dun Abhon]

While showing him a bit and then telling him to make something he thinks sounds cool isn't necessarily a bad idea, I feel like having him make a blue sword or two will cement in him a solid foundation for how the process of making weapons works in general, and from there it's easy to branch out, altering the "pattern" for different weapons. That's how I learned, and I'm really grateful for it.

I'd also like to second Thurat's patience suggestion. That was one of my main problems when I was first starting, and it's a problem I see consistently in new foamsmiths. You get too excited to have this awesome new thing and you forget that you have to take your time to make things look great. Take your time cutting the foam, making sure as best you can that everything is nice and even; replace your blades when you need to so you get great-looking cuts, etc. Let the glue dry before adding the next layer (one of my biggest problems even now). If you spend a lot of quality time building the sword, it's one you'll enjoy more for a variety of reasons, plus it's a lot less likely to fail.

[Sir Anastasia]

Measure twice and cut straight. Draw the line you are going to cut...no dots! People underestimate how important straight cuts are. When foam separates from the core, it is often because the box is 1/16" too large (a cutting error). A nice tight fit from straight pieces can add many months to the longevity of the weapon.

[Kyrian]

Teach your cousin how to properly use DAP. It can be very tempting to just put all of the strips of foam onto core as soon as the contact cement is applied but it needs to have time to cure (show your cousin how to tell when it's ready) in order to work properly.

[Mint]

When I first council new foamsmiths, I give the these six steps the were taught to me (albeit a tad too late):

Step 1: Make a basic blue sword.

Step 2: Fix it.

Step 3: Build two more.

Step 4: Build another one, this time try a stabbing tip, oblong handle, the works.

Step 5: Try a non-basic blue (mace, axe, flail, etc).

Step 6: Congrats, you now have a fundamental understanding of foamsmithing. Build a red, spear, whatever.