building a better thrusting tip

[audax]

These things are a real pain. Mine always break. I even spent 20 bux on a Windrose thrusty and it split in half the second time I used it. Granted, it broke on a Ducal Belly and I did get the kill but it's $20 down the drain.

What advice do ya'll have for making durable, legal stabbing tips?

[InsaneIrish]

leather disk on each end of the thrusty.
1" nylon webbing in an "X" pattern over the top and then 2" down the blade. Then tape to re-inforce.

[Agnarr]

I used to work at a movie theater. i would use the film from the movie to tape over the foam on top and tape it down. they last as long as the sword would.

[Glaukos the Athenian]

Audax,

For whatever it is worth, here is how Su Excelencia Baron Miguel Estevan de La Cabra taught me how to build them. (any mistakes below are mine not his) It is very safe, simple, cheap and usually lasts the life of the sword.

Cut forth three disks of fair "blue foam of death" in the right diameter. Stack them forth one on top of the other so as to make a cylinder 3 layers deep, of the correct diameter. Tape them together with fair packing tape of the correct width. Use only one layer around to keep them together and make them a bit more rigid, but not too much. The best size tape wiill leave you with about 1/4 inch tape overlap.
Place the little socket thus created over the tip of the rattan and press the little bit of tape to affix the thrusting tip to the rattan.
Now take three lenghts of packing tape and tape them over the tip and down the rattan. That should cover 6 points around the rattan and down beyond the tip onto the rattan. Use one last circle of packing tape to keep the three strands together.

I have made many swords now and lost never a tip, or damaged one, and they have passed marshall inspection every single time, from a local practice to Pennsic.

As a last note, Halberds gave me the idea of using a short leght of 1.25 in. pipe and sharpening one end all around. With a piece of wood as a cutting board and a hammer, it cuts the little disks in no time and satisfyingly uniform.

I hope this helps at all.

Rowan of Needwood

[Adamo]

What Insane Irish said, though I leave out the leather disks. Nylon webbing is where it's at.

Adam

[Cunian]

Pretty similar to above:
1 blue foam disk. 1 light leather disk. 1 blue foam disk. 1 light leather disk. Strapping tape on. I like to run the filaments of the tape longitudinally on the sword, thus using several pieces of tape. 2 light leather straps, one long - to protect the blade edge of the rattan and go over the thrusting tip. 1 short - going over the thrusting tip and down the flats a couple inches. More strapping tape.

[Cian of Storvik]

Tip for thrusting tips:

Use carpet tape between the foam disks AND betwen the first foam and the weapon tip. Double sided "heavy traffic" duck tape is extreamly adhesive but has some stretch to it since it's fabric. So it keeps the foam disks from sliding around on impacts or sliding off the tip of the weapon. But it doesn't inhibit the foam's squishiness. I also use it similar to others describe by putting a piece up and over the tip and down the other side. Then apply a layer of "extreme" Scotch fiberglass tape over the whole assembly. Since the carpet tape is double sided, the fiberglass tape (which isn't as adhesive as the carpet tape) is now super stuck, no matter how hard I smash the weapon, it won't tear.
The heavy traffic carpet tape is a mesh fabric, and is impossible to tear. It has to be cut with a sharp blade or scissors.
-Cian

[bhaiduk]

The first layer is made of thicker foam (kind of like this stuff http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=96393). I cut it about 1/4 inch bigger than the sword diameter. I tape it on real tight with four pieces of strapping tape that extend about six inches over either side. Pulling it down real tight makes a slight bulge around the edge that covers any hard edges.

Then I cut out three or four circles the same diameter as the sword out of blue camping foam. I tape each one on separately using two pieces of strapping tape. The last one I use four pieces of tape. Then I spiral wrap my sword and cover the tape holding the thrusting tip on.

I have yet to have one of these come off. It also provides a little extra weight on the tip of the sword, which I like.

[Baron Alcyoneus]

What Insane Irish said, though I leave out the leather disks. Nylon webbing is where it's at.

Adam

With my most recent tip, which replaced a Mandrake (I fight at range, so my tip was about 1/2 torn apart), I wrapped a layer completely around the webbing (both sides), and then taped that over the foam and the rattan. I've found that when I tape the foam, it doesn't like to complete decompress.

I think this will hold up quite well.

I'll reserve the Mandrakes for thrust-only weapons (spears, etc) since fight at range.

[Barnet]

Martel,

Maelgwyn showed me a cool way to make them with foam and ribbon (the kind for wrapping presents), next time you see him I'd just ask him. They seem to work well and hold up well also.

-barnet

[audax]

What Insane Irish said, though I leave out the leather disks. Nylon webbing is where it's at.

Adam

With my most recent tip, which replaced a Mandrake (I fight at range, so my tip was about 1/2 torn apart), I wrapped a layer completely around the webbing (both sides), and then taped that over the foam and the rattan. I've found that when I tape the foam, it doesn't like to complete decompress.

I think this will hold up quite well.

I'll reserve the Mandrakes for thrust-only weapons (spears, etc) since fight at range.

Yeah, my mandrake tip tore completely in half in the process of killing Duke Kein.

[audax]

Tip for thrusting tips:

Use carpet tape between the foam disks AND betwen the first foam and the weapon tip. Double sided "heavy traffic" duck tape is extreamly adhesive but has some stretch to it since it's fabric. So it keeps the foam disks from sliding around on impacts or sliding off the tip of the weapon. But it doesn't inhibit the foam's squishiness. I also use it similar to others describe by putting a piece up and over the tip and down the other side. Then apply a layer of "extreme" Scotch fiberglass tape over the whole assembly. Since the carpet tape is double sided, the fiberglass tape (which isn't as adhesive as the carpet tape) is now super stuck, no matter how hard I smash the weapon, it won't tear.
The heavy traffic carpet tape is a mesh fabric, and is impossible to tear. It has to be cut with a sharp blade or scissors.
-Cian

'
That is an excellent tip. I may combine this with Rowans advice. Thanks guys.

[marcus the pale]

I use a 2" wide piece of light leather wrapped around the end of the stick and the foam to keep things in place. I'm not sure how easy it is to visualize this method with my words, but it is only a single layer of leather taped on to the stick, 1" of it is on the rattan side and 1" is on the foam side. I make sure that the foam sticks out about 1/4" to a 1/2" further than the leather to ensure proper compression.

Seems to me that a lot of tips lost are torn at the base of the foam, so the leather makes sure that doesn't happen. I've been fighting with this kind of tip all year and not had a failure. The closest I get is the tape that is covering the tip starts to expose the leather, most tips would have failed by that point, I just throw on another piece of tape if it looks too bad (most of the time it doesn't) and continue on.

I like this method because I end up having to use less tape, and the leather wrap is reusable. Maybe I should take a pic of this process... it really is simpler than I make it sound.


marcus