How to Make HFS Weapons

HFS Weapons

Sword (Old Way)
Sword (New Way)
Even Better Way!
Spell Balls

So you want to make a weapon before your first battle game, and you don’t have to use leftovers from the loaner weapons, huh? Well, it’s not difficult to do. Just follow these simple instructions and you can make a sword or club. The same basic instructions are used for maces, staves, spears, and pole axes. The difference is how much padding you put and where you put it. I recommend a sword first, then you can “graduate” to more exotic weapons. Note there are three ways to make swords: The OLD way, the new way, and the better way. I have made weapons all three ways. The new way results in a lighter, faster weapon. The better way makes an even faster and lighter weapon. While some people seem to prefer a heavy weapon, very few of them have any success in figthing with them. Generally, lighter is better.

The Old Way
Materials:

1/2" thick wall (Sch 40) PVC pipe, obtainable at home improvement stores like Home Depot. It comes in 10 foot sticks you’ll have to cut down to size.
Duct tape, obtainable at home improvement stores like Home Depot.
Clear packing tape, obtainable from The Container Store.
3/16 inch thick sheet padding (12"x12" squares) obtainable from The Container Store. You’ll need enough for a rectangle the length of your blade x three feet. Note I do NOT recommend using the "old way" to make weapons longer than 60 inches (five feet). They are too heavy and “droopy” to be really effective, ESPECIALLY great weapons.
Cloth (we recommend grey for swords, brown for clubs) obtainable from fabric stores like Hancock Fabrics. I don’t recommend that you buy fabric online for this. Go to a store and browse their remnants table. You’ll get better prices for this sort of project. You’ll need to make the rest of your sword before you know how much you’ll need. You will need a piece about four inches longer than your blade and about three inches wider the the diameter of your padded blade. Another option is tights. Yes, tights, as in wear-them-under-a-skirt tights. If your blade is not too long, you can cut a leg off and stretch it over your blade for a cover. It’s easy, it’s fairly cheap, and it looks good. Especially if you get a pair of cool tights with a rose or a sword or something that would look really cool on your blade.
Leather for grip wrap (optional): I got mine from Hobby Lobby.

First you’ll need to decide the size of your sword. The available lengths according to the “size” sword can be found in the online rule book .
You’ll need enough sheet padding to have a square three feet in width by the length of the blade. The length of the blade is from the tip of the blade to the top end of the grip.
Cut a strip of sheet padding 2"x 8" and another 1"x8". Roll these so you have two cylinders about 1/2" in diameter and 1" and 2" long each. Use clear tape to hold these in cylinder shape.
Cut your PVC pipe 3" shorter than your final desired length.
Attach your two rolled of padding to the ends of the PCV pipe so it “extends” the pipe. Use clear tape to attach these. The long pad will be the point of the sword, the short end the pommel.
Place clear tape across both ends .
Cut a 2"x18" strip of padding. Align one edge with bottom of the pommel pad. Tape and wrap around the pommel pad. Should end up about 2" in diameter. Use clear tape to hold wrap.
Decide how long you want your hand grip to be (usually 6" to 12"). Measure this distance from the top of the pommel padding. Mark this spot on the PVC. Then measure from this point to the end of the point pad. This is your blade length.
Measure and cut sheet padding 36" x blade length. Tape it together as needed to form a single sheet. Use duct tape to tape one edge to the blade end of the PVC. Ensure it is lined up with the end of the point pad.
Roll padding tightly around PVC pipe, and hold in place with clear tape. Place 1" wide strips of duct tape over point and pommel until ends are covered. Point strips should extend 1"-2" on the surface of the blade on BOTH sides. This protects the tip and the pommel from damage.
Starting from the point, wrap entire blade in clear tape in a spiral manner. Do the same with the pommel.
low for instructions).
Measure the diameter of the blade. Cut a cloth 1/2" to 3/4" wider than this and 4" longer than the blade length. Fold this in half, lengthwise. Sew on end and the length (surging is highly recommended for durability.)
Turn cloth inside out so the seam is on the inside. Pull this over the blade like a sock. It should fit snugly. Then end should hang down past the blade. Tape the cloth around the hand grip with duct tape. If you put quillions on, you will have to cut your cloth so it can wrap around the hand grip past the quillions.
If you have leather or wire grip wrap, attach it to one end of the hang grip and spiral wrap it to the other end. If you do not have grip wrap, use duct tape.

There you have it!

The New Way
The new method is the same as the old method, except for one thing, the padding used. Instead of using padding from the container store, use a “Funnoodle” obtainable for Wal-Mart or Toys-R-Us. This is a long foam floatation device that has a hollow core. Run your PVC through this hollow core. Make sure you have some padding on the end of your PVC pipe (at least 1 inch) and the end of the Funnoodle should be even with this. You will need to attach it somehow (duct taping the hilt end of the blade works) It will still need to be cloth covered. Attach quillions the same way as above. You can use the Funnoodle for the pommel the same way, but it will be much larger than pommels made with sheet padding.

An Even Better Way!
An even better way is the same as the “new way” listed above but with a different core material: Kite spar. Kite spar is a fiberglass tubing used in making kites. To the best of my knowledge you cannot buy it in San Antonio. There is a kite shop in Austin that sells it, and you can order it on the internet. The advantage is that kite spar is VERY light. Used with Funnoodle, you can make fairly lengthy swords that feel much lighter, especially more so than the sheet padding method. The downside is expense. Kite spar is much more expensive than PVC pipe. I’ve been told a six foot stick of kite spar will run about $12.00. This is about 2000% more than PVC. But if you want a light and FAST sword, kite spar is the way to go. You will want spar with a .404 inch diameter for most swords and .505 for a great sword.

Spell Balls
Spell Balls can be made several ways. All of them are easy! You’ll need some cloth of the appropriate color and something to stuff the spell ball with. You can use “teddy bear guts,” the stuffing found in stuffed animals, or perhaps scraps of fabric left over from other projects. You may need some string or leather thong. The simplest is to cut a square of cloth about 8-12 inches on a side. The take your stuffing and place it in the center of your cloth. pull the edges of the cloth up so that the cloth forms a “tail” and the stuffing forms a “head.” Tie a string or thong around the bottom of the head to hold the stuffing in place. I've recently started making spell balls from old socks. They work very well. Take an old tube sock two old shorter socks. Lay them down flat and starting at the toe, roll them. Roll them all the way to the top, then fold the top down around the roll of the sock. Place that in your cloth and close as before. These spell balls are a little firmer than those made with polypro fill (ie teddy-bear guts) and they fly very well, but they are harder and they hurt more, so be a little more gentle with them.