Weapons

=Finger Lakes Adventure Gaming weapon safety guide=

Safe weapons are essential in boffer style combat LARPs. This is a guide for FLAG weapon physreps. Following this guide will give you the best chance of creating a safe physrep. This by no means guarantees that a weapon will pass, and the final say goes to the inspection marshal at the event.

Melee weapons
A melee weapon is held in a players hand, is used to deflect other weapons and is swung at opponents during combat. They should be soft enough so as not to cause harm to players, but also must be durable, so as not to break down during an event. Expect weapons to frequently need maintenance, and keep your weapons in good order. Melee weapons can be broken down into five components, the core, shell, tips, grip and accessories.

Core
The core of a weapon gives the weapon its form and structure. Most come in the shape of tubes or rods. It needs to be firm, but flexible, and must resist breakage. Further, lighter core yields lighter weapons, which are easier to wield, and carry less force upon impact. The most flexible core materials are too flexible for long weapons.


 * 1) - Acceptable materials include: PVC and cPVC (each best used for shorter weapons), bamboo, fiberglass, and graphite (each best for the longest weapons).
 * 2) - Definitely unacceptable materials include: any wood other than bamboo, any metals.
 * 3) - All corners and edges of your core need to be smoothed off.  Edges will accelerate wear on your shell, and are more dangerous if the core ever protrudes.
 * 4) - The only portion of the core that should be felt is the grip.  Each end must be recessed so as not to protrude through the end of the shell.
 * 5) - Each end of the core must be covered with a protective cap of some sort, typically several layers of duct tape.
 * 6) - Weapon core should not be any smaller than ½ inch in diameter, or any larger than 1½ inches in diameter.

Shell
The shell of the weapon protects players from your core, and protects your weapon from damage and wear. It typically consists of closed cell (like pipe insulation) foam covered in a single layer of duct tape. This is the part of your weapon that is most prone to wear, and must be checked regularly for weaknesses. This portion is also frequently rebuilt.


 * 1) - The shell must be secured to the core with adhesive.  Without proper securing, the core may slip out of the shell, causing damage to your physrep and potential harm to other players.  Even a partial slip of an inch or two can be enough to fail safety.
 * 2) - Minimum thickness of the closed cell foam is 5/8 of an inch on all potential striking surfaces.
 * 3) - The closed cell foam must extend beyond the core on both ends.  This should be at least one inch, but may be more.  A longer extension (no more than 3 inches) will lead to quicker wear.  This gap must be filled with shock absorbing material (eg closed cell foam scraps), preferably attached to the core.
 * 4) - Seams in pipe insulation are frequent weak spots for weapons.  Additional reinforcement may be necessary to prevent your core from protruding through these areas, especially near the tip.
 * 5) - Shell must firmly contact with the core (tight fit ideal).  Any free play between the shell and core can cause weapon failure.
 * 6) - The shell must be covered with one layer of duct tape.  The tape must be applied lengthwise (from grip to tip, not in bands around the the shell) and should not constrict the shell or thrusting tip in any way. Ideally, one length of duct tape is applied to the core at the grip, and is run along the shell over the far end of the thrusting tip, and back to the grip on the opposing side of the shell.

Tips
The tips on a weapon protect your targets when you thrust. They are made of open cell foam (like in old couch cushions) covered by a single layer of duct tape.


 * 1) - The thickness of open cell foam must be at least 2 inches on the thrusting tip (longer on longer weapons is preferred), and at least 1 ½ inches on the waylay (handle end) tip.
 * 2) - All physreps must have open cell at each tip, even if contact with the end is unlikely (eg. butt end of a claw physrep, butt of a great sword).
 * 3) - The width of the open cell must be equal to the width of the shell at either end, and the open cell must cover the ends completely with minimal overhang.

Grip
The grip is the part of the weapon that is held by the wielder. This is typically the hardest part of the weapon, and is not padded. For this reason, the grip should be well distanced from the striking surfaces, and no one should ever strike with the grip of a weapon.


 * 1) - Grips must not be placed too close to the end of a physrep, as the weapon will become unwieldy, and construction of a safe waylay tip will be more difficult.
 * 2) - The grip may be wrapped with many types of materials to improve feel and look.
 * 3) - The grip of a single handed weapon must be long enough to accommodate a typical player’s hand.
 * 4) - The grip of a two handed weapon must be at least 12 inches long to accommodate two hands with some space left over.
 * 5) - Avoid metal covered grips, as should they become damaged, they are likely to become dangerous.

Accessories
Accessories include decorations, crossguards, basket hilts, and customized striking surfaces (such as an axe blade, or hammer head).


 * 1) - Any accessories on a striking surface must be made entirely of open cell foam and duct tape.  Designs that may catch on opponents or their physreps during combat (hooks, large spikes, etc) are not allowed.
 * 2) - Accessories on a non striking surface (basket hilt, cross guards) must be made entirely of open or closed cell foam.
 * 3) - Decorations on weapon blades are allowed on weapon blades with the following restrictions:
 * 4) - Avoid excessive layers of tape, as they make the weapons heavier, and harder.
 * 5) - Do not decorate any weapon with the following colors at or within 6 inches the tip: (blue, white, red, yellow).  These colors are reserved for weapons with special properties (tag required).

Thrown weapons
Thrown weapons are thrown at other players during combat. As such, they must be very safe. Thrown weapons are typically made in the following manner:
 * 1) - Open cell foam is primarily used for most thrown weapons.  The foam is cut to shape and covered in a single layer of duct tape.
 * 2) - Weapons must be at least 6 inches in the longest dimension, and no less than one inch in any dimension
 * 3) - Javelins are made of closed cell tubes with no core, tipped with at least 2 inches of open cell foam.
 * 4) - A single safety approved spell packet may be used as ballast for thrown weapons that have no dimensions less than 2 inches.

Spackets
Ranged attacks are often represented by small bean bags called spackets. These are thrown at players during combat.
 * 1) - The outer material of a spacket must be soft cloth.
 * 2) - The packing material within a spacket must be bird seed or cracked corn (no sunflower seed).
 * 3) - Spackets must be at least 1 ½  inches in diameter and less than 2 ½ inches.
 * 4) - Spackets may be closed with duct tape, or sewn shut.
 * 5) - Using a 6 inch by 6  inch fabric with a 35mm film canister full of seed works best.

Bows and crossbows
Bows and crossbows are typically only physreps used as a prop in combination with spackets to deliver ranged attacks. Bows and crossbows are not to be used in melee in any way to attack or block strikes. If a player has passed the FLAG archery safety, they may be able to use foam projectiles fired from bows and crossbows. A separate safety guide will be issued to govern these projectiles.

Latex Weapons
Latex weapons may be acceptable, but must be approved by a weapons marshal.

=Weapon inspection checklist=


 * Measure weapon to determine size category.


 * Check core composition and flexibility. Is the material legal?  Does the weapon flex too much, or not enough?


 * Check shell foam thickness along the striking surfaces. The marshal should not be able to feel any core through the shell.


 * Check the shell to ensure that excessive tape has not been used. Tape should be attached lengthwise, not crosswise or ‘candy cane’ style.


 * With one hand on the grip, and one hand on the shell, move hands in opposing directions to test shell adherence to the core. Perform for the striking surface as well as the waylay end, if appropriate.


 * Compress thrusting and waylay tips. The open cell foam must rebound readily.  This can be achieved by poking small holes in the tape.  Excessive tape on these ends must be avoided (1 layer of tape is optimal).


 * By pressing firmly on thrusting and waylay tips, check for protrusion of core beyond the shell at either end. The core must be recessed at least one inch from the edge of the shell.


 * Check weapon for accessories that may catch on something during combat. They must be removed.


 * All protruding accessories on the striking surfaces must be open cell foam construction.

=Weapon Size Specifications=