How to Make a Foam Sword (Part 1 of 2)
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- For information on supplies:
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Learn how to make a foam padded sword that is easy and inexpensive in this video tutorial by James H. Fullmer. For more LDS themed games and activities visit www.BookOfMormo...
in Dagorhir we usually use strips of blue camp pad foam (camping pads sold at wal mart typically) and fiberglass cores so we have a bit more freedom with the shape.
Thank you for telling me what open cell foam is and providing examples!
my friends and i are trying to bring larping back into my town as a way for teens to stay active and creative in order for the teens to be occupied by all means to steer them away from doing drugs. these videos are very helpful and they even are regulated by the dagorhir rule book. thnx
Use grey conduit PVC pipe it's about the same price but it's a thicker wall, it makes it a bit heavier, but you can hit a lot harder before it brakes and it doesn't shatter as much making it much less dangerous.
i made one without the silicon and used hot glue and it worked fine. Can u use spray adhesive to make in stick in the swim noodle
Also, the thicker pipe means you don't need any glue to hold the noodle on, its very stiff.
Home Depot, Lowes. any hardware store basically. the foam pads you can get em at big 5 if you have money 99 cent stores if your lucky or if its summer.
Try using a fiberglass rod (like those introduced in the Level 3 video) inside the 1/2" PVC. I'll send you a link for an example of how to prepare a core that way.
hi thanks for video, i have made a few sparring weapons so far but my students always manage to break them. I too use the plastic tube for the inside.
or take rigid cardboard and cut it into the shape and size you want
after this take thin foam sheets and cut 2 copies of the sword with about 1/4-1/8 inch outward compared to cardboard (foam is bigger than cardboard), make sure that amount of allowance is same throughout both pieces
now hot glue/superglue the foam over the cardboard, using the allowance to cover the edge sides of cardboard. should look all foam
put all decorations/reinforcing cardboard and foam on after drying
I've always wanted to make a boffer that was curved like a katana, and know that PVC is bendable, but have little idea on where to start in making a bent piece of PVC for that type of boffer. Where should I start?
I just made this and it looks and feels great. Thanks for your video :)
Aha good man-best diameter for boffer swords right there! I love it in a spear, the whippiness is good not bad
Is this foam the same kind people use at the beach, or at pools?
I find those grouting/cleanup sponges @ home Depot ($2 per, or 6 for $9) is really good.
that looks beautiful
could i cut the foam in a different way and tape it to the end to make a flanged mace?
I don't really know. I got it as scrap from a commercial upholsterer and it's amazing. I've got to go back and ask them what it's called.
What it be a good idea to use blue camping pad, instead of a fun noodle, for a level one sword? I don't want spend more money and i found the camping pads in my garage.
A good comment. There will be upcoming videos that will examine sculpting the foam and look of the sword.
For those who are watching in 2024: Lowes has Frost King pipe insulation foam with a 1" wall thickness (IIRC 0.25 or so thinner than pool noodle) that is a good alternative (AND can be ordered/shipped rather quickly) and can be ordered in either1/2" OR 3/4" inner diameters.
Remember though, if you use 1/2" PVC go with the 3/4" inner diameter foam (since one thing **nobody** mentions when making weapons with tubular foams is that you need to take the wall thickness into account when measuring the inner diameter of the foam you use, whatever you use)
can i cut down the sides of the foam tube thing to make it look cooler.
If you split the swim noodle down the middle, could you DAP it?
Or, if working off season, sites like poolcenter - that's where I got all my boffer weapon foam since I started making these foam swords last winter.
Hi! How did you perforated the red thing to put the PVC pipe in?
Could you do a how to for a foam axe?
I like all of your base designs, but I wish they had more style to them... Bladed edges being angled or points being tipped to look like one.
Fill the pvc with sand, then heat it. If you don't put sand in, it will just fold over when you try to bend the pipe.
just a question, is this sword sturdy? a person I know is very rough with swords. I'm talking swinging with all the force possible.
i wade one with wood and an old noodle, (wood replaces pvc) and, yes, it will hold out to anything that you can through at it. i only broke when the wood inside broke, (which took forever), and then the foam only broke becouse the two wood shards inside poked through. better noodle/wood or pvc, and yes, it will be reeeeaallly sturdy.
Thanks mate!
np *wink
DO NOT make swords out of wood they are illegal and extremelly dangerous, they can shatter and kill or severly injure
I saw a guy loose an eye because of this once, and I think the guy who did went to jail or had to pay or something
It sure is. Swim noodles are also called, "Aqua noodles," "Fun noodles" and other ridiculous names. You can find them all over around this season.
@Kenforth So the PVC doesn't come through and kill you
@katq4444 There are some flat weapons, more realistic popsicle ones, and even latex
I have received so many requests for videos on other weapons and shields and there will be more coming - thank you for your interest. In the mean time, there are GREAT plans available online for many other weapons. I can't put links in the comments but Google "Belegarth wiki" - go to the site and click "how to build."
Dagorhir also has some great online tutorials.
With what you've learned about materials and techniques here you should be able to build anything.
use blue camp foam and layer and cut to make a broad sword
I'm looking for a full-contact safe foam weapon tutorial, do you know of any?
with cutting and sanding pvc use a dustmask just a safety advice
Sister Lilia Is it too hard?, I mean i want to make one to a little boy, to "fight" with him, I'm afraid, because he cannot control the strength, that he hits me too hard by accident. So maybe with wood would be better :)
@TheDancingNotes yeah thats what i ended up doing. Thanks for making these videos!
First it looks like a club but I think you can shape a more realistic by cutting the foam.
It may break down, but certainly NOT nearly THAT fast. Back at the college where I first got into LARP, I was playing upwards of 4 - 8 hours a week for 15 weeks / semester for 3 consecutive semesters, my first boffer made it through spectacularly... if I hadn't decided to rebuild it, it would have served well for a bit longer [though after that much use, a change in foam will be needed - doesn't help that I used way too much duct tape on that puppy but hey, it was my first boffer weapon].
@technococcus Passing standards for Dagohir etc and being constructed strudily enough to survive that sort of combat are not mutually inclusive you know.
And you also know there is boffer use BESIDES the all out battle heavy Dagohir games, right?
how long is it?
Are these Dagorhir legal?
hey fullmer its mr. neeley
great swords
"This cloth doesn't look clean but it is" lol kool
were can you get pool noodle in the fall?
@GHboy1996 If you made it well then the tip is made for stabbing
isn't that the song from monster hunter freedom, at the beginning?? 0.o lol! love that game!
woudlnt it be eisier just to buy a sword?
...and as soon as I hit "Post Comment" I saw the part where you explained the blue foam :P
....thats beautiful.
the pennies in Canada are too big! WHat else can I use.
yes it is
@altariman err well wat about those cheap 5 dollar swords at k mart?
with correct padding then yea(quarterstaff)
@dakkenly The same thing happened to me, once. They usually check the consistency of the weapons before allowing the wielder to fight, but at last year's Renni fair they did not. Some guy with a badly constructed sword smacked me in the face and the PVC burst through. xD; I went home with one of those cartoonish red marks across my face.
Great, my eyes just got popped out of their sockets. Congrats!
Dagorhir rules say you can only use open cell foam, at least what I read. Just putting this out there.
@mommorobo10 yes it does.
Its so the tip of the pvc doesn't puncture the foam.
What town
In reality, if beating up friends and loved ones with homemade padded weapons seems less than awesome to you... then this likely isn't for you. If, however, you are intrigued, then build a couple for you and your friends and have fun! If you really like it their are many LARP/boffer (google search to learn more) groups around the country that would love to have you aboard. At the very least it is a fun project to work on (I build them with my kids just for fun) and play with friends.
it looks like the sword u fight with in the beginning of kingdom hearts two u know that one in the compatishin
Yes I believe it's allowed.
that's beautiful
its for amtgard a game were you dual someone
and hit em hard so thats why you put foam over it......
@Kenforth Yeah it wouldn't kill you lol. I did however get hit in the face with bare PVC thrown HARD from like 2 feet away, so much blood :D
@0Kasada indeed - the student govt probably would have put up a lot more red tape if we went full contact
well that means your most likely hitting way too hard, but I use 3/4 inch pvc instead, so I never run into this problem.
agreed, for weapon making, dap is the best :)
Yes, it's delicious.
@Endy77Endy where
"That's beautiful."
@travelsonic I wouldn't have said anything if it wasn't (at the time) tagged "DAGORHIR, BELEGARTH". We've had newbs saying "Oh yeah my sword should be fine, I made it using this UA-cam tutorial and it said Dagorhir right in the tags!" and coming out with MAD illegal shit and it's just causing a lot of headaches. I was just trying to warn people ahead of time until the guy who posted these removed the Dag/Bel tags.
No worries. Blue swords are coming!
oh, thanks!
@mommorobo10 yes
Ah so many jokes about the caulk.
+2 duct tape sword of seven storm?
No offense taken Nerdyhedgehog. These tutorials are for those who pretended that a stick was a sword only to have it taken away when they wacked their brother on the head - These are for they that can admit that they never grew out of thinking Medieval battles were awesome! - It's for those young (at heart)women and men who JUST NEED TO POUND SOMETHING SOMETIMES but don't want to hurt anyone! Foam sword (in all their varieties) are for having fun with friends and making new ones!
@katq4444 They're cheap and work well
@Razgriz515 That's true to me /argh
This 'sword' is good for having fun with and everything, but make sure you dont actually bring these things to a Dagorhir or Belegarth meet. My claymore would tear apart this thing xD
This is just one type of weapon, genius.
Flat boffers are big in many U.S Groups, and Latex, not just round boffers. The point is something cheap, easy to build, and easily customizable in construction.
Your elitism is not to be taken seriously if anything.
Larping is stupid, but making swords are fun! ;D
his voice cracked when he said about.
thx, not exactly this season, i'm brazillian actualy....
here this stuff is called spagguetti, like pasta u know
Make me a video or send me info on how you build weapons... and then maybe someone will take YOU seriously;) And I like ice cream!
the high density foam is so expensive don't even bother, i went to joans and the dimensions for price were ridiculous, you could easily spend 60 bucks just for what you need.
2:20 thats what she sed 2:28 thats what she sed
It's always funny when some rich kid complains about people who can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on premium latex weapons. I've LARPed for years, and latex weapons can weapons can really hurt, especially if swung wrong. These level 1 boffers are the safest weapons I've seen fielded. So American LARP is safer.
I have all but the penny :(
Florida lol...My walmart sells em 365
@77794471 Easier, but more expensive.
looks like a lightsaber
Don't pile your caulk into the hole XD LOL
use dap
@katq4444 "and u guys expect someone to take u seriously? ..."
ITs FOR FUN, for a DAMN GAME.
Not everything has to be serious - for me, the more laid back the better ['specially since I spend 12 hours a week in college classes, another 24 outside of that on project, etc - too much seriousness and I'd pop!]
I mean realistic sword.
well that suck 4 me i live in illinois
I like Duct tape! It's the fix all for every situation.. lol
Prence If it moves and isn’t supposed to...
Duct tape