Percy's Forge - Latest Inventions

Though I have done a miserable job of chronincling it, Percy has certainly not left his forge idle in the past couple of months. Indeed, quite the opposite, I'm excited to say. I always knew he was one for putting things together and so forth, and this PVC weapon making seems to have taken a firm hold of his imagination and creativity.

I bought him the red tassle from Jo-Ann's.

First he made the spear. It's a fairly easy design, which I have given the dimensions for in the post before this one, but cool noentheless. He and I actually started choreographing a fight scene between a spearman and a swordfighter. At present it is far too hot to go outside and continue it, but I'm sure we'll pick up again at a later date.

Then, a little bit ago we watched the 2002 version of The Count of Monte Cristo. I personally really like that version (minus a couple of scenes for obvious reasons). The acting, cinematography, and especially the swordfights are all great. Soon after watching it, Percy decided he wanted to come up with a PVC Rapier design, and spent quite a bit of time contemplating how to do this before we actually went to Home Depot and bought the pieces he'd decided he needed. I must admit the result impressed me more than I thought it would.

Percy's first rapier.



Blue crusader coloring.

Obviously the basket hilt was the only hilt Percy could make using PVC. At least at the moment, with the tools he has. The one in the picture has the one and a half inch rim on the hilt, but he made another one where he sawed that rim off. Unfortunately, that one sufffered an accident (*cough*Seph.*cough*) and cannot make an appearance at the moment.

So! While we were on vacation, Percy taught Dana how to make some of the basic PVC swords, and in the process forged a broadsword. Since none of us really needed another weapon, he decided to have fun with the duct tape design on it. At the same time, Dana got creative with his sword's coloring, as well. However, I haven't gotten pictures of Dana's sword yet (or the Lance-Blade, another sword variant I'll discuss later), but if I can remember, I'll do it tonight.

And now for my favorite. I was browsing pinterest some while ago when I came across a tutorial for how to make a "Brave Little Miss PVC Bow and Arrow." It consisted of a very small, simple bow made of PVC that fired dowel rods tipped with giant wads of foam in the shape of arrowheads. Yeah. I told Percy about it anyways, he did a very brief perusal of the how-to, then went off and came up with his own design. Once again, I confess to not have had as much faith in his abilities as I should have. The bow he made not only looks awesome, but actually fires. I have an awesome little brother.

He's still figuring out how to make arrows that will fly straight, but I've learned my lesson by now and have no doubt he'll have a working prototype soon. There's a video I found on youtube for how to make functioning arrows for a modern recurve, so he's going to look into that. Plus I need to figure out (or ask Lynn to) how to make a quiver for when he learns how to do the arrows.

Have no fear! If and when he makes another bow, I'm GOING to make a tutorial for it because it's too cool for me not to. I'll do the same thing for the rapier, as well. Promise.

The stack of PVC weaponry in the corner of the boys' chambers is growing in both number and diversity. When we move back up to Illinois near the forest preserve, we are going to have a full arsenal for our Imagination Games.

I can't wait.

Dia duit,
~Penny

Percy's Forge -- Sword Variant Dimensions

So, yeah, I've done an awful job keeping up with chronicling Percy's inventions. But at any rate, here are the dimensions for the sword variants that can be made using the tutorial I posted up here a while ago.

Claymore

Blade - 39"

Hilt - 1'

Crossguard - 6" each

Wanderblade

(large arming sword)

Blade - 32" or 33"

Hilt - 9"

Crossguard - 3" each

Straight Sword

Blade - 26"

Hilt - 5"

Crossguard - 3" each

Short Sword

Blade - 18"

Hilt - 5"

Crossguard - 3" each

Spear

(can be made the same way as a sword)

Blade - 1'

Handle - 5'

Crossguard 2" each

I'll have pictures of the spear in my next post, as well as pictures of some of Percy's latest weaponry inventions.

Dia duit,

~Penny



Introducing Percival Drake

I know I've already technically introduced Percy at the beginning of the PVC Pipe sword tutorial, but I really ought to do it properly. So here he is: Percival Drake, my younger brother by a couple years. As you know, he handles our Forge, making the medieval weaponry we use when we play. As well as that, he likes to fiddle around with duct tape, and has constructed several back sheathes for our swords. He's a bit more reserved, personality wise, which is why he often gets picked to play either the mysterious lone warrior or the villain in our games.

I love him to pieces. He's an awesome brother.

It was Percy's birthday the other day, and I bought him a tunic and belt as presents. Well, they arrived a week late, since I kept forgetting to actually place the order, but oh well. So I bought these items from YourDressmaker.com, the same place Dana got his kilt from. The tunic is a dark blue version of the Tall Lace-Up Shirt No.15.

"This shirt was developed in response to customer requests for a half-lace-up shirt with a longer hem. Like our similar tops, this design fits a wide variety of looks and epochs from pirate to peasant to renaissance poet. The 100% natural cotton is a favorite fabric with customers and provides an authentically rustic look with contemporary ease of care and comfort." [Taken from description of Tall Lace-Up Shirt No.15.]

The belt is the Medieval/Celtic belt No.1. It's real leather, and only cost $26. The tunic cost nearer forty dollars, but both of them are very much worth the money. I didn't get the tunic tailored to Percy's exact measurements -- that would have given away the surprise -- so I guessed and got him a medium. It fits him very well; quite a relief!

The hood he's wearing in the picture is one that I'd made him a while back for a Robin Hood Imagination Game we played a couple years ago. That back sheathe he made is constructed of duct tape, and his claymore is one of our numerous PVC pipe swords he made. As you can see the tunic falls to the lower thigh a little bit above the knees in length, and has a slit on either side that goes to about mid thigh to allow more ease of movement. I didn't manage to get a good shot of the lace up on the front because his back sheathe is in the way, but if you visit the link to this tunic, you'll be able to see it. It's made of lightweight, sturdy material that looks and feels like it will hold up very well even when we move back up to Illinois and play in the forest near our house.

In short, he's happy with it, I'm happy with it.... Percy had a very happy birthday. ^.^

Dia duit,
~Penny

From Percy's Forge -- PVC Broadsword Pt. 2

Okey-doke, here's part two to making a PVC Broadsword. It's been 24hrs., and your sword has set completely. So now what?

Duct tape time!

Materials:
~Silver duct tape
~Colored duct tape (purple, red, pink, green, blue.... whatever color you want/can find.)
~Batting tape

Tools:
~Knife

Step One -- The Tip

Snip an approximately two inch long strip of duct tape from the roll, and stick it to the end of the blade sectio of your sword. Percy has a specific way of taping the caps on the sword, and it's used for all four of the caps on the sword, so remember it.

Step Two -- The Blade Pt. 1

For the blade you'll use strips of duct tape that are approximately six inches in length. Start at the tip, taping around the edges of the cap as seen below.



Now you'll duct tape along the blade, working your way downwards towards the crossguard. Percy overlaps the duct tape a little bit, as well.

Percy's Tip: "In order to have a smoother blade, all of the parts of the sword where the duct tape will be wrinkly should be done before the area is covered. Those places are around the four way connector and the end caps. Afterwards, you can go over the wrinkled parts."

Accidental wrinkles in the duct tape can also be covered over with duct tape, not just the ones that result from taping the parts of the sword that are at odd angles. In the end, you'll have three layers of duct tape along the blade (not the cap), so you have a little leeway there.

Step Three -- Middle Crossguard

As you can see, Percy gets most of the way down the blade, then pauses to start the crossguard. The crossguard is the part that gets the most wrinkled duct tape because of all the angles. Percy's managed to figure out how to keep the wrinkles to a minimum, as mentioned above, so make sure you follow his advice and duct tape all the angles first so that you can cover as much wrinkled duct tape with the duct tape that will be used on the smoother areas. It's a little difficult to explain, but if you give it a shot, it makes a little more sense.

For the middle of the crossguard, you use two inch strip of duct tape and stick it lengthwise against the center of the four way connector. Press it into all the grooves, then get out your knife. Make a slit in each of the corners. This will make the duct tape lay as flat as possible.

Do this on both the front and the back. Afterwards, use slightly smaller strips to cover the corner sides. You will not cut these.

Step Four -- Blade Pt. 2 and Crossguard

Now at this point you'll finish the rest of the blade, staring beneath the middle section of the crossguard you just did. After that, you'll proceed to duct tape both caps on either side of the crossguard in the same way you duct taped the cap on the tip of the blade.

As you can see, you cap the ends, and also cover the end of the four way connector in duct tape first, and then wrap the middle. The left half of the crossguard is finished, and the right is only missing the final middle strip. See the order there?

Step Five -- The Hilt

Colored duct tape time! Take the color you've chosen and cap the end of the hilt with it. This will be your gem. After that, tape the rest of the way down the hilt with silver.

Percy's Tip: "I find that after a time, the jewel will get partially scraped away, revealing the white PVC pipe underneath. For this reason I like to double the colored duct tape for the jewel."

Obviously, this can be done for all of the caps, if you so wish.

Okay, for the next step, you are going to need the batting tape. If you've ever seen the handle of a baseball bat, you know exactly what you're meant to do. Wind the tape from the gem end of the hilt -- starting right under the cap -- all the way up to the four way connector.

Step Six -- The Blade Pt. 3

Finally! Almost done. This is where those two extra layers of duct tape on the blade come in. Using the silver duct tape, cut a strip that runs the length of the blade, starting beneath the cap on the tip of the blade and running all the way to the four way connector. You'll need four strips -- one for each side, twice. Run it once, then run another strip exactly opposite it. This will cover the blade around as well as along. Then tape the blade again, except this time, tape it so that the crease where the two strips you just taped meet runs along the center of the strips you're putting on.

That's it! You're done.

That's an awful picture, but it was all I had time to take before we came inside. It was beginning to get dark by the time Percy finished, as we started a little late in the afternoon. This sword is called Creator of Worlds, and was crafted by Percy to be given to Siani Delaney, or PenWielder, to the PenKnights.

I still have yet one more post to do on the subject of PVC Pipe swords. Percy has two other types of swords he makes, and also some minor customizations he does during the taping process that I'll include. For now, I'm done.

Dia duit,
~Penny

From Percy's Forge -- PVC Pipe Broadsword Pt. 1

I guess I should introduce Percy, first. Percival Drake is my younger brother by a couple years, and has a particular interest in creating practical, useable weapons for our 'games'. Lately we've discovered PVC Pipe swords. For the past few weeks, Percy's been making enough swords to arm a battillion. Since we absolutely adore theses swords, I figured I'd make a tutorial for them.

First of all, they're proving to be extremely durable. Me, Percy, and my other brother, Ben Fletcher, who's younger than both Percy and I, have been dueling with our own respective PVC weapons for a while now. They've held up very well, and believe me, Percy and Ben don't pull punches when it comes to fighting with swords, especially with each other. PVC works far better than wood does because of the slight flexibility that will absorb the shock of impacts and not dent, shatter, or snap. Obviously these things aren't invincible, but we have yet to find out how to break them in combat. If/when we do, I'll be sure to post and say how it happened.

Okay, so here are the tools and materials needed to make a PVC Pipe Broadsword.

Materials:
~One 53" (or more) length of Charlotte Pipe 3/4" PVC
~Four PVC Pipe caps
~One four way connector
~Cement, and cement primer
(You also need silver duct tape, black duct tape, and batting tape, but the process that includes those will be covered in a later post.)

Tools:
~Hack saw
~Measuring tape
~Permanent marker

Step One

Measuring and Marking

The dimensions for a Broadsword are thus:

Blade: 3'

Hilt: 9.5"

Crossguard: 9"

First, measure from one end of the PVC to three feet down its length, and make a mark with the marker. This will be the blade.

Now, starting from the mark you just made, measure out 9.5" for the hilt.
The crossguard is a little trickier to explain. Each half of the crossguard will be 4" in length, so you can either measure four and four, or else measure eight, and just make a mark at the halfway mark, however you want to do it. Now, I'm not that good at math, but I do know that four plus four equels eight and not nine. So why does the dimensions have the crossguard at nine inches? Well, the four way connector used to attach both halves of the crossguard to the rest of the sword adds about an inch. Eight plus one is nine. Aha!

Step Two

Cutting

The next step is easy. Hacksaw! Now, here's a tip from Percy... Do not saw beginning from the middle and working your way down. That will make it much harder for you. Begin from the end, and saw on every line you marked out on the PVC. Don't try to saw the crossguard in half after you've cut it out. Attempt to cut as straight as possible.

Because we do not have a very good hack saw, Percy had to use the wood saw you see pictured in the first photo after starting with the little red pipsqueak pictured here. Another tip? Get a good hack saw.

Step Three

Capping and Priming

 Time to stick it all together! Here we have all the pieces that you've cut out, plus the four way connector, and the caps. There's the blade on the far right, then the hilt and the connector, then the caps, and then the two halves of the crossguard.

First of all, put the caps on the end of each of your sword pieces.

Once you've done that, get your cement primer out and put primer on the inside rim of each hole in the four way connector...

.....and around the outside rim of each of the non-capped ends of the blade, hilt, and crossguard halves.

Step Four

Cementing

Let the primer dry (which takes about five or so minutes), and then get out the cement. The cement is going to go on each place where you put primer, but this time instead of applying the cement all at once, you'll do each section one at a time. Percy does it in this order: crossguard half, crossguard half, hilt, blade. Cover the inside hole of the four way connector on the proper side (depending on which section you're doing), then apply cement to the outside of the respective section, then insert the section into the connector. Make sure you get the section all the way into the connector, tapping it on the ground if you have to. Do the same thing for every section until youv'e gotten them all in, and try not to drip cement everywhere.

Step Five

Waiting

Now you have a lovely almost finished broadsword. This is the end of Pt. 1. The cement holding your new weapon together must be left to set for 24 hrs. Leave it somewhere where your little siblings won't be tempted to give it a go and either whack something important, or pull the sword apart before the cement takes hold. That would be bad. Yeah.

Percy's going to duct tape bind one of my sisters' swords tonight, and I'll take pictures of it, so Pt.2 should be up soon. Forge away!

Dia duit,
~Penny