Martin is teaching me how to make weapons (like the ones above), not the dangerous metal kind, the slightly squidgy plastazote kind. Obviously I have used plastazote before to make the armour for my Valkyrie costume, but this is different. He makes them for live role-play events, so they have to be strong enough to withstand the fights, but soft enough not to actually hurt anyone.
Start with a pole a few inches shorter than you want the sword. I’m not sure what the poles made of, but they are used mainly in ship building. File the rough ends slightly, and glue (contact adhesive throughout) a strip of leather over the top.
Make a blank out of 9mm plastazote a few inches wider and longer than you want the sword, cut a slit down the middle, wide enough for the pole at one end.
Glue the pole into the slot and then glue a small patch of leather over the ends on both sides (below).
The cores are made of either Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) or Carbon Fibre and can be found here http://www.woolmer.co.uk/
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