It’s a little different than the heavy boffer focus we normally have here at foamsmithing.com, but this should be of interest to anyone seeking a Star Wars game or cosplay. Also suitable for magical glowing blades for fantasy, steampunk, and other settings!
New page on Stab Tips now up!
Today we posted a guide on creating Stab Tips! You can also find it through the menu at the top of each page.
The guide details how to use Yoga Mat foam to create a stab tip for flat bladed boffer weapons. This method results in durable, safe, and attractive stab tips, with minimal material and labor costs. Go check it out!
Wear and Tear: Swords
We play a rough and tumble game, so no boffer weapon can stay pristine forever. Knowing how to repair a weapon is a useful talent, which will prolong the life of your equipment and keep your wallet happy. Lets run down some common problems you’ll see, and how to repair them. Continue reading “Wear and Tear: Swords”
Eye Safety with Boffer Weapons
I think boffer weapons are pretty safe, which may surprise you since one did this to me the other day. It looks a little gruesome, but I can assure you it would have been significantly worse if the weapon that struck me wasn’t properly “eye safe”. As it was, I came away with just a small cut to the eyelid and no real damage. Not even a black eye. This seems like a good opportunity to talk about the importance of eye safety when building boffer weapons. An eye safe weapon saved my eye, and they may save more in the future. Continue reading “Eye Safety with Boffer Weapons”
New page up on Fiberglass Cores
Solid fiberglass rods are the go-to core technology for boffer swords. They are affordable, easy to use, and durable. We heartily recommend them, and detail their usage in our latest component guide.
How to make Hilt Guards-Two Basic Guides Posted!
A basic guard can turn a good sword into a masterpiece. There are two (similar) methods we use to make guards. You can embellish the basic process to create tsubas, crossguards, or even a basket hilt (with the Stack Method). Both methods are durable and easy to construct. The Box Sandwich method is slightly less reliable (less foam contact with the core) and can only be used with 1/2″ fiberglass.
Two more tutorials online
We’ve put up two more tutorials this week:
Both are basic skills that every foamsmith should know. You can find them through the component menu item, or through specific weapons guides. For example, the article on pommels is linked in the guide for blue swords, red swords, and spears.
Expect more articles up before this week is out.
New tutorials on Handle Shaping and Bar Stock Counterweighting
We’ve got a string of new tutorials coming down the pipe. There are some good tutorials on blade construction out there, but not enough for hilts and other details. We’ve taken it upon our selves to detail multiple ways to construct a hilt. Pick and choose which methods work for you, and create a personalized weapon! Expect to see articles on pommels, guards, and grip wrapping soon, but today you can check out our instructions for:
We’ve also re-organized the site. Our general build pages (example: blue swords) contains a list of components (example: pommel) and different methods (example: wrap pommel) to construct those components. You can also jump directly to those components through the menu tab at the top.
Expect more tutorials up soon!
5 Steps to a More Realistic Weapon
Fantasy is fun, but much joy can be derived from embracing realism. Creating an authentic persona, garb, and armor can be fairly straightforward. Find what types of pants they wore during your time period, and acquire a pair. Easy.
Things are not so simple when it comes to weapons. For safety’s sake, the steel of true weapons has been replaced with foam and fiberglass. This creates limitations that a seeker of realism must work around. Continue reading “5 Steps to a More Realistic Weapon”