Weapons Building will be expanded as SIMFAS members choose to explore various forms of safer fighting.

Belegarth / Dagorhir weapons building:
Members are required to build their own weapons. If there is a more restrictive requirement in either Dagorhir or Belegarth, that is the standard we will be applying in the testing of weapons. The basics require very little skill, and if you have trouble, we make foam smiths available to assist you in completing your build. The act of building your own weapon is an important part of the game. Purchasing weapons, while allowable, is discouraged as learning to tweak a weapon and build better weapons that fit you and your fighting style over time is a part of the art of the sword.

The basic build, a swinging sword, is pretty simple, but requires a few items:

• Core
  • PVC:
    • Cores made of PVC will work, but you are limited in length because they become exponentially floppy the longer they get.
    • Positives:
      • Can be formed with heat to make interesting shapes, including changing the cross-section for more regidity.
      • Is fairly cheap and easily obtainable
      • Is smooth and will not take gluing well without sanding
    • Negatives:
      • Limited in length
      • Can be heavy due to needing thick walls to keep the rigidity of the pipe
  • Fiberglass:
    • Various fiberglass rods can be purchased in various sizes and re-purposed from other available uses.
    • Positives:
      • Rigid at longer lengths, depending on thickness
      • Can make a more streamlined shape for similar lengths
      • Can be purchased in either round or square
      • Does not stretch out
    • Negatives:
      • Can be pricey if buying final dimension pieces
      • Flex direction matters
  • Wood:
    • Wood cores must be completely wrapped with tape to be used, and cannot be checked without destroying the weapon. We will not accept any wood core weapons for foam weapon construction
  • Fiberglass Pole
    • For long weapons, there is no better core medium than marching band fiberglass flag poles.
      • Positives:
        • Light and rigid at great lengths
        • Come in lengths of 5ft – 7 ft
      • Negatives:
        • Pricey and usually must be purchased in bulk orders (buy with friends).
• Glue
  • Contact Cement is the glue of choice. It dries flexible instead of rigid, which is required to keep from having a weapon that hits like a brick.
  • Contact cement requires an adult purchase and needs to be used outside
  • Spray on Glue is used to adhere some items that cannot be easily dapped.
  • The temperature outside makes a difference on drying times, read the directions for proper use
• Foam
  • The right foam will compress in stages.
    • First contact will have a little compression, and as the contact continues, there should be progressive resistance
  • Blue Camp Pad is the bulk foam of choice for striking surfaces and provides a nice compression over a fairly wide area.
  • For stabbing weapons like Daggers and Javelins, Nerf (or offbrand) style foam footballs make a nice material that is soft even when getting stabbed with it
  • For stabbing tips on swords (advanced foam smithing), the narrowness of the sword presents a challenge for making something soft and safe enough to stab with that is progressively resistant, but also doesn’t fold. Many stabbing tip swords fail for this reason.
• Core Caps
  • A rigid cap larger than the OD of the core material is important to keep the core from drilling through the foam and breaking down the weapon until it becomes unsafe
• Tape
  • Cloth tape: Hockey Tape and the like are excellent tapes for creating color and still keeping the outside soft and usable.
  • Gorilla Tape / Duct Tape: Internal use is fine, but because of the slick nature of those tapes, the Glue has trouble binding to it and it must be sanded well to avoid future failure of the weapon.
  • Raquet / Grip Tape: Excellent choice for handles to allow for a more fluid grip on your weapon.
• Cloth of some kind
  • Covering the foam with Cloth Material helps to both hide the construction and still be supple enough to make contact with your friends without causing damage.
    • Duck Cloth: Highly wear-resistant – good overall choice – requires some basic sewing.
    • Ladies Stockings: Come in various colors, are easy to cut to length, and can be doubled up to avoid visual issues and still be thin… but they do tear more easily.

Here are various links to the construction of weapons. If you are having trouble, please feel free to come to a practice and consult with one of our foam smiths, who will consult with you as you build your weapon.

Construction Restrictions as applied in SIMFAS that override other rule-sets:

Weapon Flex: Spears may flex up to 45 degrees only.
Weapon Pass-Through (Tip Safety): 1/2″ through a 2.5-inch hole test applied to all dimensions.
Flail Construction: Flail heads must weigh at least 4 oz and have a 16-inch minimum circumference.
Flail Length: Limited to 40 inches maximum length.
Blade/Head Dimensions: Require minimum blade dimensions (e.g., 1.25″ x 3″ for 2-edge).
Javlines: have a max weight of 24 oz and cannot pass through a 3.5” hole. The base foam that meets the open-cell foam must be 3” in diameter.
Swung weapons must balance above the handle.
All historical & Fantasy Armor is allowed if it would do the job. 29g Steel or equivalent for rigid armor, Mail of any kind is acceptable, knowing that non-historical mail will likely disintegrate on use.
Rocks cannot weight more than 24 oz.
Can layer any number of layers of leather to meet the legal armor requirement.
Blue weapons have a max handle length of ⅓ the overall length of the weapon.
Red weapons have a max handle length of ⅓ the overall length of the weapon and cannot exceed 30”.
Shields cannot be larger than the torso of the user
Back Shields, when allowed, must be functional as a one handed shields
Crossbows have a max draw of 450 inch-pounds and may not be fired at a target within 15 feet.