But for real, when was the last time you maintained your larp weapons? 😉 I appreciate tips and donations towards things like the materials used in this video~! ko-fi.com/marisarmoury
It was definitely painful to watch my old blade be tortured like that. 😅 For some context on that dagger, in case people were worried that that kind of thing might happen if you don't pay attention to a weapon for five minutes, it was purchased at the start of my larp career around 13 years ago. Initially it was a weapon that went with me to practically every event I attended, but around 2017/18 or so I ended up buying a new knife, and this one became my spare. This meant it also slipped in my maintainance priorities. Then, when for obvious reasons there were no events for almost 2,5 years, the already ailing weapon got left in the corner of the cupboard unattended for an extended period of time and was eventually beyond salvaging, short of stripping and completely refurbishing it.
I don't LARP myself... but now I am tempted to find a foam frying pan... I keep contemplating taking a real one into armoured combat but they're heavier than I want to swing around while also wearing 30 kg/65 lb of steel plate armour... and yeah, never swing your LARP weapon at metal armour, even chain mail can have sharp edges that could snag your latex finish... We do have one fighter in our group who has used a rubber chicken as a parry object against steel swords (they're dull, but they'll still easily go through a pumpkin or watermelon without hesitation). Haha, makes sense that it might smell the same, some of the chemicals that foam offgasses might be used in preservation of specimens and I remember my first dissection they'd injected the veins and arteries with latex for easier differentiation!
Interesting mention on the latex injection! I don't think I had any classes with specimens prepared in that way, but wouldn't be surprised if other offgasses were similar 😅. And armour specifically meant for larp should have mostly rounded edges so you can use them in latex weapon combat. Which is also one of the most important things to look out for when making any bit of armour yourself.
@@MarisArmoury Yeah, definitely things to keep in mind. We always try to keep the sharp bits away from the squishy bits in live steel fighting but that generally means gambesons and padding to protect the wearer, not the weapons :) I do know a couple of people who've tried to wear real armour to LARP events. It's probably OK if you're wearing a cloth tabard over all your metal armour.
I recommend "Plasti Dip" instead of latex. You can get it in clear and pigment it with auto body pigment pants. This can be found at your local auto body repair shop or auto body paint dealer.
Yes! I can definitely recommend plastip! Unfortunately it can be a bit difficult to get here, especially the clear one as it is hazardous enough that only companies can buy it.
I'm kind of surprised you didn't go into things like the silicone spray and similar that is for maintaining a lot of weapons like that rather than just repair
It may sound stupid, but what if the dirt is really engrained in the weapon? Can I pass a slightly humid cloth or is it a big no no? I've done it before, but I'm not sure if it's ok...
My son is really into making weapons. We have done the various rounds of duct tape + core before. How did you make these weapons, or are they from somewhere? I tried searching your older videos and didn't find it yet. It's also ok if you like sell them and don't want to share everything. I was considering possibly designing some type of mold, inserting a solid core and then using a industrial PE foam mix to create the exterior. However the issue I'm worried about is how to prevent a solid core from shearing away at the softer material on the exterior? I'm sure this is a common LARPing issue. Let me know your thoughts. I was wondering if I could: A. put some kind of Oobleck between the solid core and the foam B. cast a mold first with a denser foam, then a lighter foam on the exterior (not sure if they would bind to each other though)
The weirdest weapon I've seen has to be the hulk hands an orc chief had to rip people in half. The funniest being the throwable rocks my friend made. They only do one damage, but it's funny to see him ping a big bad with them. One time I was a monster, and while the other "heroes" were cowering in the tavern, he ran out another door to start hucking rocks at us. When it got our attention, someone leaned out the tavern door shouting, "What are you doing?" He responded, "SOMETHING!" Certified Bad Ass moment.
Silly throwables are the best weapons! At the larp I just ended my character at we have a group of people playing a royal household. The maids are trying to 'help' by throwing foam carrots at bad guys. The faces of new NPC's who go 'was that a carrot just now!?' never get old 😂
As the new proud owner of my first own weapon, this is just exactly what I needed. 😊 Do you have experience with making scabbards? I wouldn't mind a video on it if it was so. I gave my lil friend one, but for budget reasons, it is made from a soft suede except for the structure near the handle that holds it as of now. So it will only be rigid and look the part as long as the blade is in it. I guess on the other hand, as long as that's the case, it does not add much to the bulkiness of the weapon that way. I heard that there's people who wrap the blade and then cover that wrapping in layers of stuff soaked in glue. In my case, that wasn't feasible because the thickest part of the blade is towards the tip. Oh, but if I was feeling really brave, I could cover my suede sheath in a coat of paper & wallpaper glue, and then top that off with something pretty again...? Wonder if that would work.
Thanks! And indeed suede scabbards can have pros and cons. Upside is that they are flexible so will be less in the way during combat. I personally have not made any scabbards yet but, not entirely the same, I am getting started on a knife holster that you might be able to see a video about soon 😉. And I asked around on if the laminated scabbards have a name, but unfortunately they don't seem to have one. I do have a feeling that paper and wallpaper glue won't really hold up well, weapons with wide tips are indeed difficult to get something nice for.
The LARP I play is Amtgard, and our weapon construction rules require cloth covering. The most memorable weapon I have seen is a flail constructed with the ball made from a foam dodgeball covered in yellow cloth...with a smiley face on it! Obviously made for humor not believability, but one of my favorites!
Boffer type gear also tend to be far easier to maintain...and to make yourself. I've known some more serious RP side LARPs that use them and most tended to swipe the rules from amtgard rather than creating their own for safety side. The view being that while costuming and gear is great, the weaponry is better to go on the side of safety...though there is also a lot of potential in them for still making them look good.
It really depends on where you are from, I can recommend websites here in the Netherlands, but those are useless if you are US based. I'd recommend googling 'buy larp weapons' or 'buy larp armour' and your location, there should be websites in most places. Otherwise you can try and ask on the r/larp subreddit, but in that case do add what kind of style you are looking for as well.
Your best bet is to contact the people involved in the LARP first, unlike pnp games, you pretty much want to have some knowledge of the weapons before ordering because things like length and weight differ a lot. Several LARPs also have some loaner weapons for new players. There is also the major thing where a lot of LARPs have their own requirements for weapons that might also restrict what vendors or types of weapons are available for use. If there's a RenFaire or similar near you, they also tend to have vendors and similar that can let you pick them up and feel them to find something that you'll be comfortable using...a friend of mine, when he first started, got a really cool looking sword...and found out during the event that there was contact issues with the shape of the grip vs his hand where he ended up having sores developing due to rubbing and he had to find a new sword afterwards because of it...there is also a girl who got a weapon to find out that it wasn't comfortable or easy to grip as it was to wide for her hand.
