thealmightyguru.freeforums.org

I'm trying to make a katana boffer, and I need some help.

To get the curve of the blade, I need to heat my core up. I'm not sure if I should use PVC or fiberglass, because I want it to look fairly realistic. I'm not going to spend money on a latex katana, I know that.
Does anyone have tips on getting the camp foam pads to follow the curve? (also, would the half inch or 3/8th work better?)
Lastly, is a pommel necessary for a boffer? I know it's there for safety reasons and if you want to bash someone with the butt of your sword, but I don't plan on getting that close with my boffer ever, and it'd look weird and interfere with my swordplay.

P.S.
The group that I boffer fight with don't really care about padding all that much, we do full contact hitting. If we aren't bruised and sore at the end of the day, we weren't playing hard enough As long as I'm not hitting them with the core itself, any padding should be fine, I just want it sturdy.


Thanks for any help.

all you really need to do is one bend in the center of the pipe.

I know for a nodachi, 3 inches is pretty good.

look at the post "Mah Greatsword" to see what it looks like.

dude, your places rules are your places rules. we don't have universal rules (yet), so I'm not the guy to say, no pommels are necessary. NO WEAPON IS EXEMPT FROM CLOSE FIGHTING (except bows in many groups)
so if you do go sans pommel, you will end up hitting someone with it, but it sounds like you guys wouldn't notice it that much. I'd also like to mention that katanas did have pommels, they where just flush with the handle.

unless you make your own fiberglass core (which is pretty high on the unrecommended list) it will not be bent. use pvc. either 1/2 or 3/4 should do fine. (so long as you aren't one of the ones who think sephiroth's phantasy sword is a katana) I don't know how the core material effects the realism of the sword, however...
and with most Japanese swords, they had a flat handle. you can emulate this with a half pipe of core or some foam on your handle.

lastly, either cut padding in the shape of the sword or cut small wedges out of the side of a straight piece of padding in the direction you wish to bend it.

Oh, but I DID bend the fiberglass!
Ish.
I used a vice grip and a clamp to bend it, then I drill holes and pinned the rods in place. There's nails, safety wire, and duct tape holding it in a slight bend.

The PVC was easy, heat gun inside a box.

Here's a pic of the finished products. Top is pvc, bottom is fiberglass.



I used rubber pipe insulation + duct tape for the blade on both.
Can't see it well, but the PVC has rope for the hilt with stripes of red electrical tape for decor and the fiberglass is rope with hockey tape over it.

you are going to hurt someone with the fiberglass covered in rubber insulation covered in...is that gorilla tape?. and in the end their realism is next to nill

congratz