Belegarth

I have been fighting in Bel for a few weeks now. My ex-GF/roomie is getting involved as well, and I would like to make a couple swords and shields on a tight budget. We have been using realm weapons, but would like to fight outside the realm practices.

I went to Walmart to check out the blue camping pads the other day, and the Ozark blue camping pad was marked at $14.99. This is a far cry from the $6 I have seen mentioned on the forums, and the difference between being able to equip myself and not. I certainly can't afford the number of pads needed to build two coreless punch shields plus swords, which is what I have been using.

Has Walmart simply tripled their prices, or were they mismarked? What is the 2013 price of a Walmart blue camping pad? What is the cheapest way to get us equipped with halfway decent equipment? We are both unemployed, so it would be best if I could keep the project under $25-30, and have been considering skipping the shields for now.

This must be a regional thing - I got mine at $7.50 here in Boise.

Is the foam you're looking at look like this? This is $7.49 in most places. It shouldn't be $14.99 for any reason I can think of.

How much are you wanting to spend on equipment? Do you already have DAP/Tape/Razors/measuring devices? I can help you figure out what you can make on your budget. Also, best thing you can do, if you're a new foamsmith, is to find an established foamsmith in your area and ask them for help. They're usually quite generous as far as use of space, measuring and cutting utensils, and their time.

-Thurat-

Yeah, thats the pad I was looking at. I'll call around the various Walmarts and see if I can find some at the much more reasonable price of $7.50.

I used to build R/C airplanes from scratch out of epp foam, eps, and composites, so I have a ton of random tools to cut foam and such. I think I already own duct tape, strapping tape, hockey tape, parachord, a straightedge and 500 ct razor blades.

I don't have dap, trigger, foam or a core. I would like to spend less than 25-30, and need at least two swords if we are going to practice. It would be really nice if I could do stabbing tips as well.

Are my chances of success low if I don't ask for help? I am new to foam weapons, but not new to foam in general. When I saw how the swords are constructed, I thought "that looks easy enough" and would prefer not to take time out of someone's day if I am perfectly capable of doing it on my own.

Maybe it was just in the wrong spot on the shelf. You could also consider checking out walmart.com and buying it site-to-store so you can get the online price and just pick it up.

Building weapons on your own your first time is difficult, but it isn't impossible. If you have someone that can help, I would recommend it.

If you want to keep under $30, and want just two swords for each of you, you can do that with:

• 1 roll of Blue Foam. $7.49
• 1 can of DAP Original Contact Cement ~$8 (varies highly in price; don't get the green can, by any means)
• 1 roll of strapping tape - $0 You already have this, you said.
• 1/2" schedule 40 or schedule 80 pvc pipe (10ft section ~$1.50)
• 1 yard of Broadcloth - $5/yrd from Jo Anns - $5
• Drawstring Rope (1/8" rope works well for this; shoelaces aren't out of the question).

Total (assuming %8.5 tax, and rounding up): ~$25


If you want to do some coreless shields, then you can make two swords and two 18" punch shields out of the same materials, but with (2) more rolls of foam. I have a diagram drawn up for this design, if you want it.

Hope that helps.

-Thurat-

Thanks for the help.

I ran around town today trying to find materials. The good news is that my local plastics supplier had a .5" solid fiberglass rod remnant, which I snagged. The bad news is that every local Walmart wants $14.99 for their blue Ozark camping pad. When I mentioned to a Walmart manager that they are available out of state for 7.49, he said "Wow, that IS a good deal. Man, I wish our prices were like that around here."

Wal-Mart's online store says the price "shipped to store" varies by location. I spoke to the same manager mentioned above, and he told me that ordering it online in my region will be the same cost. Maybe some of the experienced locals can enlighten me on where they get their blue foam.

I might just have to bite the bullet and order a couple edhellen reblade kits. It will probably be more durable and a similar price to the $15 camp pad. However, then I am left scrounging for pommel material.

Hey, so I did a little experiment - I was like "Dude, I'll just order some at 7.50 for this guy and put in his shipping add. he can paypal me to pay me back." Well, it's in store pick up only... BUT I put in a SanDiego Zip code 92101 and it listed prices for me... $7.47.

I don't know where in Andor you are and I don't know the area... but if you're in SanDiego it SHOULD be $7.50 in store...

Found it! A Walmart up in Kearny Mesa has them for 7.47.

Sweet; glad you were able to figure it out. $15 is waayyy unreasonable for camp-pad.

Also, 1/2" solid fiberglass is a great blue sword core. At a reasonable length, it should last a long, long time. If you have any other questions/issues, please post again!

Thanks to everyone for the help.

I'm swinging some sticks around right now in an attempt to judge my best sword length. I am a large framed guy with even longer arms, so I think I am going to step right up to a 34-36" weapon.

If you do have larger arms, then I would say that you have even less need of a longer weapon. With length, if you are working with solid .5" fiberglass, you're going to start sacrificing mobility. A good 32" sword (Edhellen standard broadswords are around this length) is versatile in that it can deal with some close range fights rather well and, especially in the hands of someone with natural reach, it can also work at many moderate to long range situations.

The general recommendation for newer fighters is a 26-28" round shield, and a 32" flat blade. This combination teaches you proper range, footwork, and technique. When you start using specialized equipment, your other areas, if not trained, will fail and you will be compensating for a loss in skill with your equipment, which is not a favorable situation to be in.

My .02c.

-Thurat-

Bacchus just posted this company in the So Cal area:
http://www.foammart.com/

I'm still tempted to build my sword a little longer than 32"; it only makes sense to me that for the same body mechanics a larger frame should have a proportionately larger sword. However, I will keep this advice in the front of my mind; I don't want to hobble my skill development over a few extra inches of range.

It's good to know about local suppliers. Unfortunately, the one posted is far enough away that it would be cheaper to just pay shipping.

TheOthers wrote:I'm still tempted to build my sword a little longer than 32"; it only makes sense to me that for the same body mechanics a larger frame should have a proportionately larger sword. However, I will keep this advice in the front of my mind; I don't want to hobble my skill development over a few extra inches of range.

It's good to know about local suppliers. Unfortunately, the one posted is far enough away that it would be cheaper to just pay shipping.

I'm going to butcher the quote, but Elwrath once told me, "You're tall, you don't need a sword with crazy reach. Make a solid, light sword and win fights with your natural abilities." I'm 6'5", and going to a shorter sword has helped me a lot. On the other hand, JoeMick is my height and fights with a 48" sword. Personal preference. But a shorter sword will make you a better rounded fighter, in general.

Sounds like one of those situations where I should probably bow to experience here.

I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to make a longer sword in the future.

On the other hand, there are 1000 factors that influence how effective you'll be with a given weapon style. Many of these are physical, such as your size, strength, whether you wear armor, etc., but others are subtle mental qualities, such as aggressiveness, cleverness, decisiveness, and so on.

Everywhere you go in sword fighting, people will attempt to tell you how you should fight. My own opinion is that you should fight with the weapons and style that maximize your enjoyment of the game. That could mean fighting in the way that maximizes your field effectiveness, but it doesn't have to. You might want to recreate a specific historical style, or fight like some fictional character. Remember, you get to define your victory conditions.

There's no way to "win" sword-fighting, so you should try to have fun. Take every piece of advice you're given with a grain of salt. Even this one.

^That pretty * well says it all.

Thanks for the comments.

I am no slave to expert opinion, but when entering a new hobby I have found that it is helpful not to dismiss more experienced advice until I have learned enough to make an informed decision.

I'm in this game to have fun, and my favorite part is "slaughtering" my "enemies." I have to stay alive in order to make that happen more often.

Last I checked it was still $5.88 (plus 6% tax) in both Caldwell and Nampa (near Boise), but last I checked was about a year ago. Sadness.

I just completed the sword blade last night. Due to my picking up the wrong strip at gluing time, the outer layer is about 1/8" thinner than the rest of the blade, but otherwise, I followed the tutorial to the letter.

It feels plenty sturdy, but it seems to hit harder than the loaner swords at practice. What is the best way of handling this? Should I add extra padding, start over, or is there some other method of "softening" it?

Fight with it for a while. Foam softens up with use. Brand-new swords are always gonna hit a bit worse, especially blue foam ones.

If built to the exact specs in the tutorials, you should be fine. Some material defects can cause a weapon to hit harder, such as if the foam was compressed when applying it, or if it has been stored in really cold environments. Fighting with it will break the foam down a bit, which will soften it. You can also hit it on a solid EVEN surface. Never hit it on corners, trees, or anything else that isn't smooth and flat.

Be sure to be mindful when you apply your foam that you don't pull or tug on it. Stretching the foam compresses it, and it will hit harder, which can result in it failing right out of the box.

Good to know it will break in. I wasn't exactly relishing the idea of starting over.

With the exception of the edge being slightly narrower, it was built exactly like the tutorial prescribes. I was careful not to stretch or compress the foam while building.

I guess whoever checks the weapons in Andor will get the final say on its safety.