New player on creating weapons

Hi, i'm fairly new to LARP and a few friends and I are planing on attending the may event, and I am planing on making the weapons. So I was wondering how many layers of pipe insulation should be used to make a good looking long sword while also keeping it safe.
--Michael T.

Hi Michael,

For a good boffer longsword you want at at least 5/8" thickness of foam on all striking surfaces. Here's a link for proper boffer construction on the website: www.knightrealms.com/game-play/weapons-a...-boffer-weapons.html The foam you can easily pick up from a home depot or a Lowes.

*NOT A RULES MARSHAL... BUT*

Know that all weapons - boffer, latex, or otherwise - must be inspected at sign it to make sure they are combat safe!

A good way to test at home; hand the completed boffer to someone and ask them to hit you. *ALWAYS* have it tested on yourself, that way you know exactly how hard it hits. If you wouldn't want to be hit with your own sword, then no body else will either.

If your weapons don't meet the safety standard, no worries, you will probably be able to borrow latex weapons from logistics for your first event. To keep your bases covered, you can also make a post in the character forums to see if anyone would be willing to lend out an already approved sword to you

Also, keep in mind, you *cannot* thrust with weapons at this game no matter how squishyfoamy you make the tip.

AGAIN I AM NOT A RULES MARSHAL BUT HERE ARE SOME TIPS.

*throws confetti, flys away*

I made this basic longsword. I was wondering would this be ok aesthetically? Also any ideas to make it look better?

Hi, Michael!

Welcome to Knight Realms. I'm Jeff, one of the New Player Marshals here at game. Aesthetically, I'd say your sword looks good. If you wanted to improve upon it, go ahead and find pictures of swords you like and see what you can do to make yours look more like them, whether that be changing the color of the guard or whatever else.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask them. Also, there are some things to keep in mind for May event and events beyond:

Black shirt and pants for NPC duty
White and blue headbands or ribbon (which you'll learn more about in May)
Socks. Lots and lots of socks.

Other than that, see you in May!

A few people to ask would be the Logistic's Marshals, as they are the people who are going to be checking your boffer for safety.

Jason M. or Matt D. are both pretty solid sources as Jason is the Logistics Officer and Matt makes boffers really frequently.

You can find Jason through the user name Daniel McKraegar
You can find Matt through the user name Matt D

Thanks everyone, can't wait for the may event!