Curved Weapons

I

Izlude_Oranes

Adept
OK, so I'm stumped guys. I'm trying to curve this tube of Kitesbar that I planned on making a sword out of... but um... I dont really know how... >_>

I THOUGHT I could just heat it up and bend it... but the stove didnt work so well. So um, any suggestions?

BTW, yes I've already filled it with sand. ((cat litter))
 
Soaking it in a tub of really hot water?

/shrug
 
Simple answer: You can't bend Kitespar.

Complex answer for those dying to know: Kitespar is a kind of fiberglass. Fiberglass is a composite material made quite literally of fibers of glass. It is held together by a resin so that when it dries, becomes very firm and difficult to bend. Whereas yes, you can flex it, it will always attempt to return to it's shape. You shape fiberglass once, and then you don't get a second shot. The tools nessicary to actually do so are difficult and often expensive to use, and create hazordous materials. So, as a side note, don't attempt to bend fiberglass, because the best you'll do is splinter it, just like bamboo.

~Matt
 
well, that clears up my wondering as well..
Allow me to pose another question though:

Is there a better core to make curved weapons out of aside from PVC?, or does anyone know of a place one could possibly order curved kitespar?
 
Kerjal Obcidian said:
Simple answer: You can't bend Kitespar.

Complex answer for those dying to know: Kitespar is a kind of fiberglass. Fiberglass is a composite material made quite literally of fibers of glass. It is held together by a resin so that when it dries, becomes very firm and difficult to bend. Whereas yes, you can flex it, it will always attempt to return to it's shape. You shape fiberglass once, and then you don't get a second shot. The tools nessicary to actually do so are difficult and often expensive to use, and create hazordous materials. So, as a side note, don't attempt to bend fiberglass, because the best you'll do is splinter it, just like bamboo.

~Matt
Click to expand...

Thanks, that does fix my problem (at least in the sense that I no longer have to wonder how to do it... >_>). I guess the sword gets to be straight!
 
Matt pretty well covered that one. Kitespar cannot be ordered in curved shapes, to the best of my knowledge. No kite makers, tmk, have decided to make curved frame kites. If you don't want to use curved PVC, then your options are pretty limited. It is possible to make curvey flat blades using a straight kitespar piece, however, NERO's reqs for safety make doing so rather tedious. Essentially, you make five-layer flats, then use a dremel to turn the blades into edged shapes (to cut down on weight).

Back in the day, I built some scimitars out of straight PVC and then used open cell on the closed in order to shape it into a curvy blade. The resulting blade was heavy. I had to counterweight the blade with about five pounds of lead in the grip. Fighting turned into a weight lifting class overall. Great for blocking, but harsh for offense. If you swung faster enough to hit, people got bowled over.

Best bet is still bent PVC. If you're looking to reduce weight, go with a wider piece (3/4" or even 1"), and use Schedule 20 pvc rather than Schedule 40. Then, use liquid latex or rip-stop tape in place of duct tape. Nylon covers tend to look weird, although cloth sleeves can look good if they're properly form-fitting.
 
Bent Swords... ARGH pt 47

I'll agree with JP and Matt. PVC is about it concerning curved weapons.

If you have a lot of time on your hands you can soak bamboo or rattan and curve it, however doing so takes several weeks to produce a curved sword (it takes about a day per 1 inch bend in bamboo/rattan for drying) unless you have an oven large enough to dry heat the sticks, which can shorten it down to about an hour per inch of bend.

I used to have a kiln large enough to do this but I am not aware of anyone in our group who has an oven and/or metalworking or pottery kiln of this size to work with.

Barry
 
actually

you canbend fiber glass but it is a touchy situation at best. it is akin to bending rattan and bamboo with one major difference. cane you bend by getting it absoflogging lutley soaked and putting it into a specialy built bending rack similar to what luthiers use for creating musical insturments. this is a long process as you need to bend and wet several times and in the process the cane might crack and then its start all over again.

working with a composit material like fiber glass is similar cept you heat the damn thing up and you need to bend it in one shot because re-heating it willmake it brittle and it will break. It can be done with an oven, you need a blow torch and a bending fram that can withstand the heat. Dont do it alone either, have one person using a torch and the other bending the rod with some serious oven mits on. . preferably fire proof gloves or firemens gloves.

Keep in mind that to have a curved blade you dont need to have an extreme curve in your core material. Also you are going to need to reinforce the tip slightly differently then you normally would. You can pull the same trick with pvc and if you are worried about it becoming too noodly after you can add a core of smaller pvc pipe inside say. .from the pommel of the weapon to about half again the length of the riccasso. . . you end up with a heavier weapon but it works.

i havent tried bending the golf club shafts i have got right now but i am thinking that the nylon may take heating and bending better then the fiberglass kitespar. i dont know how much kitespar costs, but if you roam the thrift stores you can get nylon and fiber glass golf clubs for as little as 60 cents a pop and the most pricey ihave seen in a thrift store is $3. these make great boffer cores and have a built in handle that can be wrapped with leather. if you want them new you cangoto someplace like nevada bobs or golf smith and buy just the shafts for like $5 a piece (the low end shafts) the draw back being they are only so long.

as far as treting the tips goes i prefer to use a leather cap, cut to size and flapped, taped down then covered in tool dip. never had a tip poke through yet.
 
Pirewyn said:
as far as treting the tips goes i prefer to use a leather cap, cut to size and flapped, taped down then covered in tool dip. never had a tip poke through yet.
Click to expand...

I like the idea of using leather to cap tips. It would provide a nice thick and soft cover to keep the pipe from ever cutting into the foam and help it be a little more long lived.
 
Pirewyn said:
working with a composit material like fiber glass is similar cept you heat the damn thing up and you need to bend it in one shot because re-heating it willmake it brittle and it will break.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately heating fiberglass rod up once really destroys the rod as well. The only way you can avoid the breakdown is to use a chemical heat agent specifically designed for the resin in the rod you are using. It generally isn't worth the cost and time involved.

Using a heat bend method on fiberglass core can produce a very breakable and jagged core material. The SCA banned it because if done wrong it really creates a fragile/breakable material (which unless you've done it dozens of times and have a steady hand and eye, only takes one weak spot being overheated)

If you do opt to bend it using heat, have someone who has done it many times before do it. It'll save you time, money, and perhaps a trip to the emergency room.

~B
 
my point exactly

although not as well stated. . .

The SCA does still let people use fiberglass just not for small weapons. Granted a 12 ft fiberglass pike gets your attention plenty well. . .less bend then cane and a whole lot of ouch.

i do wish i ahd more space to work right now as i would love to try bending one of these nylon shafts.
 
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