Need Some Advice

[Mason FrostWolf]

Hey yall, I need some advice on how to make a new club over summer.

The club I want to be on the longer side, roughly 3-3 1/2 feet long. 12 inches of striking surface and another 12 inches of courtesy padding and the rest will be handle and pommel. the length is open to change as needed.

Any advice of what materials I should use and how to make it so it works and is legal would be most appreciated! Thanks yall

[Vors Nymphkilla]

for my big club i used a pool noodle over 3/4" pvc then wrapped the noodle in camp pad. Nova has a better way though, it makes a nice long and light club.

[Swordbrother Nova]

The club I made for Izad is made from PVC (though fiberglass core will work just fine or graphite, or whatever other core you prefer) Blue foam, super 77 spray adhesive ( www.atsacoustics.com/media/images/product_detail/3M_Super_77.jpg ), duct tape, carpet tape, and wal-mart nylon stockings.

When using the spray adhesive let it get somewhat tacky before putting your weapon together.

Some things you may want to know when you are making this weapon:
4.1.6 - Two-inch rule: Weapon tips NOT designed for thrusting (non-stabbing sword points, flail haft tip, etc.) shall not easily pass more than 0.5 inch through a 2 inch diameter hole. This measurement shall be conducted by lowering the testing template onto the tip of the weapon perpendicular to the edge or shaft of the weapon. The intent is to test the tip of the weapon, not to search for sword and axe head corners that can pass through the template.

This rule will not be a problem if you use PVC

4.1.8 - Hafts on axes, flails, maces, polearms, and the like must be safely padded except for a reasonable area for a handhold. This means the haft padding on swung weapons must be as safe as their striking surface. The haft on spears (which are thrusting-only weapons) is not required to be as heavily-padded as that of a swung weapon.

which brings me to the next rule:

4.1.9 - No swung weapon may have more than 1/3 of its overall length unpadded, nor have more than 30” unpadded.

Which means, really, you're courtesy padding needs to only meat this requirement. I'll the weapons I use regularly meet this requirement and I don't think I really hit people with the courtesy padding OR the unpadded part (of course this has something to do with my fighting style)

4.1.11.1 - The pommel of a weapon must be padded to prevent injury in the event of an accidental “hit” and must not easily go through a 2 inch-diameter hole.

4.1.11.2 - All bladed weapons must conform to the following:
hide

4.1.11.2.1 - Minimum dimensions of 1.25 inch by 3 inches.

4.1.11.2.2 - Minimum dimensions for single edged bladed weapons are 1.25 by 2.5 inches

4.1.11.2.3 - Blue weapons must weigh a minimum of 12 ounces.

4.1.11.2.5 - Balance above the top of the handle (i.e., blade heavier than handle).

I know you know these but when you plan on making a weapon (I've only made a few myself) make sure you refresh your knowledge of the rules.

[Swordbrother Nova]

NOW! To make the weapon is easy! 36" is a good length! When cutting your core, remember that you will have two layers of blue foam at both ends! so cut your core accordingly (If I recall correctly two layers of blue foam is 1" (maybe?) so for your 36" weapon make the core 34")

Determine what 2/3 of your weapon's length is and cut out a strip of foam that wide AFTER rolling it over your core to see how long it needs to be. (keep in mind there will be one more layer that you will put on as the striking surface, which will be SEPARATE from the piece you just cut out, two layers should do the trick for this first strip) be sure to bevel the edges so that the club is more cylindrical.

Glue this piece to your core lined up with the tip of the core, then do the two layers of blue foam to cover the core and glue those on to the top. Now is where you need to decide whether you want a mace or a club. A club is faster to make, but will be a bit more heavy than a mace. A Mace take a bit longer, but because less foam is used it will be lighter.

Club: Make a final, solid, layer which will be the striking surface, Mason, you wanted yours to be the 12" minimum, which is plenty, and glue the strip on at the tip.

Mace: Cut four strips the length you want for your striking surface, in this case 12". these should cover just a little more than half of the area under the striking surface, but are still legal. Glue the strips onto the weapon running parallel with the core.

Put on whatever type of pommel you like most (I like to just wrap a few layers of foam around it with two layers of the bottom)

I realize that I put a few materials on that list that I didn't explain, I used the carpet tape on the pommel, the nylons for the cover, and the duct tape was used to secure the final layer around the edges as well as securing the tip of the weapon.

you probably didn't want a whole tutorial, but hey, that's just how I did it.

Just a note, you can have the center of balance on the courtesy padding!