Thurat wrote: I was wondering was if anyone had used a layer of foam on the outside that already has a skin, such as blue foam, or PE?
This is a a tried and true method of giving MC a skin. All my reds have a routed 4# fry, a 2# MC fry, and a this layer of volera that is both softer than blue and has it's own skin. Some things I've noticed with my reds:
The stab tip "edges" will rip the foam, as will the edge of any tape used in the stab tip construction.
If your cover is too stretchy or too loose, particularly meaty hits to the tip (i.e. swinging for a shield just out of range) will pop the foam skin own like a hotdog in the microwave. Be sure to have a very tight fitting cover out of sturdy material like canvas or duckcloth.
My main concern is how this affects the hit of the weapon, while still keeping it lightweight and lower in profile. Would, for example, building a 32" blue sword with a 4# box, a 1/2" layer of MC, and a top layer of 1/2" blue foam, still hit in an acceptable range? I've gotten away, as have many others, with swords that have 1" of 2# foam, but seeing as blue foam is, roughly, 2.7#, how would this affect the hit of the weapon?
My I've built reds with a 4# fry, 3 layers of blue and zero problems on hit. I've built reds with a 4# fry, 2#MC fry, and a single layer of blue with zero problems. I've taken my reds all over the country and never had one fail. Will will say again that putting a single layer of strapping tape over the entire striking surface increases my sword life extensively. With no tape, I get probably 3 months out of a red, while with tape I can get up to a year.
Furthermore, would it be worth it, considering the lower durability of the blue foam, to build in such a manner, or does the difficulty of properly applying packing tape outweigh the decreased longevity of the blue foam?
Once you learn the trick to adding strapping tape to foam, it's not difficult at all. The best way I can describe it is like this:
Put the sword on the ground, laying on one of it's striking surfaces
Hold the roll of tape with one hand, with the other, pull out a little bit of tape and secure it to the base of the weapon. Place your thumb on the secured tape
As you unroll the tape down the blade, your thumb should glide along the tape as you are securing it to the weapon. The only difference is you're putting a LOT of pressure on your thumb so as you're securing the tape, you're compressing the foam. It sounds complicated but it's actually quite simple.
Basically, instead of just smoothing tape flat like you normally do when putting tape on anything, you're pushing as hard as you can as the tape comes into contact with the foam.
While we're at it, does clear strapping tape on the blades work better than strapping tape with vertical fiberglass reinforcement? Does it affect the hit of the weapon, and the durability of the foam?
Stay away from the clear packing tape, or any tape without the fibers. You want strapping tape. Fiberglass filament. That's the real strength of the tape, not the wimpy plastic or the stupid adhesive that gets brittle in the cold and gooey in the heat. The filaments are what keep the tape in one piece. Every time I've seen someone use the clear, filament-less stuff, it ends up popping open near the tip like an overcooked sausage. Don't waste time or money on anything but strapping tape.
Hope this helps! Add me on facebook if you want to talk further. Maybe I should make a video and post it on here.