How to Make a combat safe Foam Axe

Рет қаралды 45,633

10 жыл бұрын

Due to popular request, I have completed a quick an easy tutorial on how to make a foam axe that is safe and will pass in all kinds of different LARP groups from light to heavy combat. The materials are:
DAP Contact Cement (red can)
Walmart Ozark trail camping pad
.5 sch 40 PVC pip (or .5 inch fiberglass rod)
.5 inch open cell foam
small amount of cloth
small amount of craft foam
PlastiDip both black and clear

Пікірлер: 49

@hunterfindon1018 9 жыл бұрын

A problem I have with this is that the head of the axe will inevitably be sheered of. It doesn't matter if there is leather on the bottom. If you try to hook something, the head will be ripped off. After multiple axe head failures, I realized that you can use a heat gun to make the PVC pliable. Eventually when you get one point of the PVC pliable enough, you bend it. As an example, let's say that the axe head is 10 inches long and the PVC is 17 inches long. Starting from the bottom of the PVC, you go up 10 inches and mark the spot you are to heat up. Once the spot is pliable after heating, you bend the 7 inch protrusion downward 90 degrees. This will make an L shape. You can make your axe head around this protrusion, making sheering next to impossible. (You can also go the extra mile to form the protrusion into a triangle shape--- The base at the shaft--- and then form the axe head around it to make a more realistic look.)

@hunterfindon1018 7 жыл бұрын

DO NOT DO THIS! THE JOINT OF THE PVC WILL BREAK! I came back years after posting this. I totally forgot I posted this. Anyway, a long time ago, I made this bent PVC core axe and it broke not too long after I started using it. Very bad idea! Instead, what you should do is sandwich pieces of plastic within the layers of the axe head. This will 100% prevent the axe head from ripping off.

@windspast 6 жыл бұрын

None of my axes have broken that way. It definitely depends on the design of your axe, your material and your craftsmanship. If you are a good crafter and are careful, then the axe will last over a year. If it breaks after a year, then that is more than long enough for the expected life spam of a foam axe

@schaventalakimungous4855 4 жыл бұрын

You can also use piping cement and cut the PVC to length, and use elbow joints to shape a "skeleton" for the axe. From there, you can pad it the same way you would a sword, using camping pad to fill in corners more efficiently. Also, using this method allows for the back end to be open, leaving a grip behind the head of the axe, make it easier to wield.

@Gisiebob 4 жыл бұрын

@@schaventalakimungous4855 pvc joints are also inadvisable, as they choke the vibrations when the weapon is struck. for example if you have a joint in the crossguard of a 4' sword then you have the leaver length of the full 4' but the resonance length of 3 1/2' after which all the force goes through the 1-2" connection instead of your hands which are good dampeners. when making an away from core structure like this you should take into consideration that it will fail, and if it does fail, will it do so safely? for these axes they seem not very well anchored to the core, although it would have been nice to see some photos of the process as well as the animation, and that is not strictly a design flaw, it just means that it would fail in detaching from the core before failing by shearing the axe foam.

@davidbell2535 5 жыл бұрын

Love the yield sign!

@nrman66 10 жыл бұрын

I like how you did the animations. It made it a whole lot easier to see what to do. Thanks for the great tutorial!

@mountainsongexpeditions9146 9 жыл бұрын

You are awesome! Thanks for sharing this we-organized teaching.

@AbooRasta 9 жыл бұрын

Cool tutorial man. Very clear and to the point, but not on the expense of detailed explanation - And the end product is pretty damn nice. Thumbs up dude you can't really say that about so many KZfaq tutorials. And of course keep em' coming ;)

@schaventalakimungous4855 4 жыл бұрын

I've found that while it slightly increases the cost of materials, the option of purchasing the super thin 98 cent noodle and spending the 10 minutes of ram-packing into the tube is more efficient at preventing any risk of dig-out with the pbc and bamboo cores. Cardboard is very weak, while foam isn't exactly incredibly strong, when jts condensed into the piping it becomes quite solid, adds next to no weight, and provides a semi solid back.with next to no gove, and offers stinginess to help prevent dig-out

@Burgerslayerman 9 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing this DIY I loved how you went through and gave us a product listing at the beginning and why you were using it. Keep up with the bids if you can. also I you can, could you do a diy for making a shield. Buckler, medium, large, tower?

@joseph2604 7 жыл бұрын

that is an awesome street sigh axe.

@SamP-th3pb 8 жыл бұрын

I am making a warhammer so thank you for the tutorial:)

@MishyKatt 7 жыл бұрын

what are the dimensions of the camping pad for the head of the axe? I want to make an axe next and I love your tutorial.

@eiredrake 8 жыл бұрын

How did you make the square part of the handle? Did you glue long rectangular strips to the pool noodle to square it off?

@cybertwingo 10 жыл бұрын

Nice!

@rowanlaurie4443 6 жыл бұрын

Cool vid thx

@p0ss3ss21 8 жыл бұрын

Can you make a little one that is made for throwing??

@talorlansky4902 9 жыл бұрын

how do you decorate it to look like a real axe?

@chriskurth 10 жыл бұрын

Nice use of animation ;-)

@windspast 10 жыл бұрын

thank you! it's a quick an easy way to make a tutorial and clearly shows the steps

@chuckfaber7521 7 жыл бұрын

It seems like just using a straight PVC pipe would lead to the pipe coming unattached from the axe through combat where you are using the axe to hook shields or swords. Can you use PVC joints and create an L or hook shape to reinforce the design, but still keep it fully padded?

@windspast 7 жыл бұрын

fortunately I have not have any weapons break on me after years of battle. But you can try using the joint if you can figure out a way to surround it by foam still. The joints are pretty fat so you will have an uneven surface to work with

@thomasbolton2121 9 жыл бұрын

What did you use to glue the cloth to the axe??

@ahel4523 7 жыл бұрын

instead of a little disk over the pommel can you you put more foam and cloth over it like a striking surface?

@windspast 7 жыл бұрын

You certainly can! All my video does is show one possibility of what you can accomplish. You can certainly customize it anyway you want as long as you can make it safe

@draykaun 6 жыл бұрын

Do you do Belegarth or Dag?

@dare_devil_kidgaming5313 7 жыл бұрын

is the axe amptgard legal

@GoldenMermaid 8 жыл бұрын

oh thats cool a street sign

@falldamagesucks2879 8 жыл бұрын

1000th subscriber :D

@han269 5 жыл бұрын

I like it, may I share this video to another website? i will mark the original creator and website

@dicediscussions7497 7 жыл бұрын

you sold use electrical conduit it is the same price but is a lot stronger and thiner

@LarpMix 7 жыл бұрын

The videos are good! Too bad you don't make them anymore.

@windspast 7 жыл бұрын

thanks for your compliment! I kind of stopped making them for a while because they would take a lot of time to film and make. Plus I have no yet made any major new discoveries or new techniques. But I'm still around to answer any questions someone may have

@nerfhunter1860 10 жыл бұрын

Cool

@elliottkozel4207 7 жыл бұрын

how do you make a foam crossbow ?

@Tropingenie 6 жыл бұрын

You don't. You make foam bolts and arrows (at least, I think. The ballista at my larp seem to use PVC and tennis balls from what I remember)

@connorcorcoran523 9 жыл бұрын

were do you get fiberglass rods?

@PhoenixGC89 9 жыл бұрын

I get mine from Lowes and Home Depot. Orange Driveway markers, 48 in long. Like $2 apiece.

@LightningEagle14 9 жыл бұрын

Good video, but try to cut down on length. Im not trying to be critical, just constructive feedback.

@williamgandy5191 8 жыл бұрын

spear?

@Son_of_Storms 7 ай бұрын

Don't use PVC for a core. Ever. It's heavy, it's brittle, and if it breaks it often ends up having a pointy tip. We knew this 9 years ago when this video was made and it's even more relevant today.

@windspast 7 ай бұрын

PVC is still perfectly fine as a first starter weapon. It's cheaper, more readily available in larger quantities and I still highly recommend it as a weapon for new crafters who's just trying to get into crafting. It takes alot of force to actually break a pvc pipe. After battling for 15 years I have not yet actually broken one in a battle. If you are breaking pvc core through the weapon, I can assure you the problem is on your end and your construction or using them for non recommended length. And even if a pvc weapon does break, a it is cheap and available to just remake it. Nothing is easier than pool noodle + pvc pipe.

@Son_of_Storms 7 ай бұрын

Solid fiberglass is comparably priced, stronger, lighter, and safer. Telling people to use PVC is teaching people incorrectly.

@windspast 7 ай бұрын

@@Son_of_Storms and again, not as easily available than just PVC pipe. It is also way more expensive to buy plus ship. I don't know what you are talking about. You can get a 12 feet pvc pipe for 5 dollars at a local hardware store. It can cost 30 dollars to get a single fiberglass rod online. That's alot of money up front for something that is still a trial and error period of someone's hobby. You are also commenting on a video that is 9 years old. Obviously things were different 9 years ago. But even now, I still recommend PVC pipe as their first build just so they can get the hang of crafting first. You are free to your opinions, regardless of how incorrect it is. PVC too heavy? /shrug. Build muscles

@Son_of_Storms 7 ай бұрын

You can find fiberglass at any Lowe's or Home Depot. You only have to ship carbon fiber.

@mitchellloney4829 3 ай бұрын

The camp pad is $15 now

@jodylance1767 7 жыл бұрын

barge is better and sells on amazon

@imapseudonym1403 7 жыл бұрын

What IS the fascination with covering larp weapons with cloth anyway? It looks stupid and serves no actual purpose. Roof repair spray, and then plasti-dip works and looks SO much better. If your local larp insists on this idiotic practice, find another game.