Are LARP SWORDS GOOD from a HEMA perspective?
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- A HEMA person looks at LARP swords and asks, are they good, are they fun, and maybe are they useful for HEMA?
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Imagine going out for a casual LARP and seeing goddamn Matt Easton coming at you with a longsword!
Why do I hear Dark Souls boss music?
An he shall scream : Lindëa Aurëa!!!!
(Matt of the East) in elbian.
And his rightous anger shall fell you like a tree cut down by a to fast larp Axe.
Some years ago I was on the Conquest of Mythodea and faced Arto Fama in a duel :D
He'd be more likely to use a rapier, sabre or sword and buckler. He's not actually a fan of longsword sparring. A foam rapier would be interesting. Be more like a whip. That's a terrifying thought 😆
"Oh wow, it's Matt Ea.......aaaarrgghh" and dead.
I am a LARPer as well as a HEMA-enthusiast, and I train with LARP-weapons about once a week. While I like Calimacil, lately I have gravitated more and more towards weapons by FakeSteel Armoury, a small workshop in Prague. Their weapons are heavier, sturdier, have firm crossgards, grips and pommels, are more realistically balanced and look much more realistic and historic. If you can, give them a try, they are really good for both LARP and light HEMA training.
Fake steel is absolutely where its at love that company
@@kalgrave497thank you ❤
@@fakesteelarmory i gotchu Bae
@fakesteelarmory Greetings to the very real craftsmen of FakeSteel Armory! Are there plans to expand your FakeSteel foam range to include 75 and 80 cm blades like the softer foam? I would leap at the chance to have your Viking style blade with an 80 cm length, very close my 79 cm Albion Huskarl. FakeSteel's in-house foam blades are works of art in the production larp weapon market. If it's possible to special order such a blade for an extra charge, I would consider that as well. Thanks for your time.
@@45calibermedic Hi, we have the 80cm blade in the Long blade variant with round core 10mm and rectangular 16x8.
The reasons why most other blades have a max length of 70cm is our focus primarily on LARP swords and also the durability of the core.
We want the PoB to be closer to the hilt so people can control their strikes well. Our swords are a bit heavier than most other LARP production and with every extra inch the PoB moves towards the tip, with an 80cm blade that's already quite a big difference. We can't and don't want to have heavier hilts. The ability to control the power of the strike well is so crucial to us.
The second reason is the durability of the core. The 70cm blade, with the more durable but slightly heavier FakeSteel foam, has a great durability ratio, especially with our most popular 15x6 core. With longer blades, the risk of the core breaking when the blade is struck flat increases significantly.
Plenty of people in LARP look down on Calimacil weapons, particularly the ‘thrust safe’ swords (which as an event runner, I would only trust in deeply controlled fights and with eye protection - anything with a diameter smaller than the eye socket has the potential to maim, and you don’t want to see what carbon fibre rammed through a human looks like, even non-lethal) but I really like them and suspect that between their methods and 3D printing, the next generation will have amazing contact-safe replica weapons to play with! They do have somewhat different properties to foam-and-latex weapons, but not to the point it makes a huge difference. Some won’t pass the grade at big events for safety, but some foam-and-latex weapons won’t either, it’s all about a safe level of padding. Because there are always mistakes, and people who hit too hard. Particularly with pole arms. Ow.
LARP swords are not real weapons, and the balance of them can vary wildly depending on the manufacturer - and honestly, the cost of having one made custom for you from a good manufacturer is not much more than an off-the rack one - although that said, one of my preferred sabres I picked up from Light Armouries at Empire from a rack, so… whatever works, right?
They don’t bounce like real weapons do, they have a tendency to bounce more if they’re non-latex and to stick if they’re latex and the safety rules pretty much required to get insurance (which in the UK is mostly done by small LARPs under the banner of a single company who do all the work) mean that a lot of the moves that are part of HEMA - binds and grappling being the major part I would raise - are simply disallowed.
LARP fighting is not real fighting. But you can tell someone trained in HEMA by watching them fight at LARP, and… well, decades of experience tell me both do help make you a better fighter, a lot of what I learned about mass melee comes from Empire and practice for it - group coordination is group coordination, regardless of the format.
And in the end, we’re all niche hobbies, all of which are a lot of fun, should we not cross-train and pollinate, learning from others in a respectful manner?
Would you mention where you're from? Are you aware of regional differences in the kinds of manufacturers that are preferred between countries? I'd suspect that Larpers in the EU might favor EU manufacturers, simply because of customs and shipping?
yeah, larps in Sweden actually often recommend calimacil weapons (except one campaign, and it's seen as old fashioned by a lot of the community)
Our school has been debating using LARP weapons for beginners and also for those who just don't want to wear the gear and do some safe sparring. Your wonderful video confirmed everything we were feeling. We are going to be making an order today for some of the higher and LARP weapons from FakeSteel as we've heard a lot of these issues to get dressed already. Will do a full review on it as well and let you know when it's posted keep up the great work Matt and I always love your content.
I'm from sherbrooke (where the calimacil headquarter is) Yet, we use the purpleheart padded swords, same safety as the LARP weapons, and solid quillions allows us to actually do sword fighting techniques. I would recommend them way over LARP stuff
I just love how matt never yucks anyone's yum and doesn't speak condescendingly about anything or anyone. just talks about exactly his expertise in a fun and informative way while always bearing context in mind. no superiority complex. just a guy who loves historical weapons and martial arts.
Sadly people still brand him as an elitist whenever he disagrees with them no matter how polite and reasonable. Some people really cannot handle any form of criticism.
@@mysticmarbles My occasional disagreements with him haven't been due to him being impolite. But that he sometimes have had ingrained biases or subcontious feelings of hema being superior, which has lead him to pretty bad conclusions.
@@Taeerom What specifically did he say that made you feel that way?
@@mysticmarbles It was a few years ago I noticed it clearly when he talked about his experience with the battle reenactment scene. He obviously have very little experience fighting in groups/battles, and the only experience he has is from the UK scene (and as I know that scene is splintered, it is unlikely he has any knowledge about how all the different groups does things. Quality varies).
I wouldn't fault him for not knowing anything about how they fight at HIKG, Sletten/Moesgaard, Vinter, Grosse Slacht or other events. But when you don't know, you should not discount that knowledge based on prejudice, you should be curious.
@@Taeerom What did he say about the reenactment scene that made you feel he was saying that HEMA was superior?
Fakesteel is probably best for being comparable to the real thing.
I second this, you should try these Matt
Thank you 😊💪
@@fakesteelarmory no- thank you for your excellent products!
This!
@@jordansblabbering6303 I aquired an fakesteel gladius. its avery good training weapon. unfortunately in my country we pay more than 100% in taxes for imported equipment, so its very hard to aquire fakesteel in Brazil
I recommend checking out Fakesteel and/or Nemesis larp weapons for stuff with better balance and weight! Calimacil are very good, but they tend to run on the blade heavy side of things.
Yeah. I can remember the guy who helps Fakesteel to make larp flintlocks also has various free tutorials on making larp stuff in English language. What a badass!
My last girlfriend had a son who loved swords. He had quite a collection of rubbish plastic swords that were too short and broke if you actually tried to fight with them. So I bought him some LARP swords. I thought he may as well have swords that are closer in size to the real thing and that you can actually fight with. We had some good fights. If his interest in historical weapons continues, that's a good jumping off point for him. If not, he had more fun with those swords that with the hollow plastic things that broke all the time. I think LARP weapons are a great option for kids with a real interest in historic weapons and martial arts.
We have an Australian brand of LARP weapons called Elysian Forge that make replicas of historical weapons but from larp safe material. Many of the concerns you had with larp swords are addressed with more rigid furniture/guards, safer tips and slimmer profiles. They are still quite light but I think this the unavoidable biproduct of the sport. I personally own a rapier, a parrying dagger and a Scottish basket hilt sword from them and very much adore them.
Other honourable mention is FakeSteel that also has very high quality larp swords and even a line of training weapons.
I've got a custom messer from Elysian Forge (bone shaped handle, black blade) which is just fantastic. Coming from over 10 years of metal re-enactment I highly recommend. Just buying a curved blade from them this weekend as well. Only LARP weapon makers I know of that do curved cores!
Or try FakeSteel Armory weapons, they also have curved fiberglass cores on their sabres.
I would heavily recommend Elysian Forge from Australia, their larp swords are based on historical designs, and they try to match the feel and balance of such. Genuine sword wizardry
Or try FakeSteel Armory from Czech Republic!
@@marinus173 enough people have suggested fakesteel, maybe alternatives are fine to suggest?
@@marinus173 Enough people have said FakeSteel, I think its fine having alternative recommendations :)
Haven’t read through all the comments, but I’m curious to know if you’ve gotten the chance to check out any of the offerings from Fakesteel out of the Czech Republic. I haven’t handled any myself, but they seem to be really dedicated to recreating historical arms as closely as possible in a LARP-safe context, and a lot of their products look just beautiful.
Hi Matt, thank you very much for the great video. I am a LARPer from Germany, and I completely agree with your views. There are now LARP vendors who lean more towards the historical direction, and with these swords, the proportions are more accurate. Some swords are probably a bit shorter to reduce bending during strikes. The longer they are, the more unstable they often become, unfortunately.
P.S. I find your videos fantastic and am absolutely amazed at how much content you produce. Awesome!!!
Calimacil is fine, but I think there are manufacturers with more HEMA appropriate dynamics. We have Elysian Forge over here, and I'm very happy with their work.
Thrusting foam-padded weapons are not an issue. To be safe they have to be built in a way that diminishes their "cool looking" factor . . . the thrusting surface looks like you're looking down at a baseball bat from the side opposite the handle. They will resist core blowouts and, when built right, are even safe to thrust into the face --- THEY DO NOT FEEL GOOD but they are safe. It's like being hit by an unskilled fighter who's wearing boxing gloves. The same style of construction can be adapted to make arrows, crossbow bolts, javelins, and spears that are safe for full-contact thrusting.
For more information look into Belegarth and Dahorhir foam combat sports (which aren't exactly LARPs but their 'weapons' are totally suitable for LARP play).
You should check out Fake Steel. Their LARP swords have better proportions.
I was literally thinking "Eyepro!" when Matt brought up how you wouldn't want the tip(just the tip?) in your eye.
LARPer here and I msut say that I never ever attended a Game, be it small or large, that allowed hits to the head or even swinging your weapon above head height, just to prevent hits to the eyes
Makes it a bit hard if you are an Archer, but LARP isn't about fighting, but playing your character. Fighting just happens to be a part of many storys...
But there are games that are 0 contact fighting and combat mostly is resolved by non-physical means
Ohh no. The Cali Belator. The whippy stick to end them all. haha
If you want weapons that replicate the feel and vibes of HEMA weapons, whilst being functional for nearly every LARP scene you should look into Elysian Forge. They have some truly incredible things to offer.
Or try FakeSteel Armory from Czech Republic!
@marinus173 Fakesteel aren't functional for nearly every LARP there weapons are MUCH to firm.
I did SCA back in the 90's, HEMA wasn't well know in the area I was in at the time. I also did LARP's. My larp required face/eye protection since we allowed strikes to the head. In SCA we required steel helmets with steel face protection.
Separately, why LARP weapons are short:
Because when you remove weight, reach tends to be king, right? You mention it when discussing polearms, but it’s true across the board. This is particularly true in large LARPs or any LARPs with people who are untrained in judging measure.
So systems limit weapon lengths, usually 16” or less is a dagger, 42” or less a 1-handed weapon, 72” or less a two handed and above that is a staff, polearm or the like.
So weapons tend to be made to fit these dimensions, often - for those looking for advantage - the absolute minimum/maximum.
Came here to say this. 😀
Bel/Dag and Amtgard weapons dont have the thrusting issues, but majority of them look like foam bats. They are build for speed and full contact.
Length, at least from Amtgard perspective, is regulated primarily to not give major advantages because how light they are, if memory serves me correctly.
Back when I was in those groups, Amtgard weight limits were only for "red" weapons (things that could "break" shields), so everything else became "how light can it get?"
@Bubben246 Weight limits have been gone from Amtgard for a while and Red weapons went away when version eight (v8) was adopted. No idea which version they are on now.
I've been larping for 15 years now and I used to make weapons making tutorials on my channel. I do own a couple calimacil weapons for personal use. Calimacil does have its pros, it's got a whole lot of cons. The ironic thing is, a lot of LARP groups I've been to in my local area in the US don't actually even allow them and they certainly aren't allowed at most combat groups like Dag, or Bel, or Amtgard. Their dimensions generally don't pass any of the rigorous safety checks for the combat games (which are the ones that go full speed). Their constructions also vary alot from weapon to weapon and some of their weapons actually do hurt quite a bit when swung at full speed.
The LARPs that do allow calimacil weapons are generally ones that are lightest touch only, so you're not really even swinging with them with much force. The group that I run allows them for up to medium contact. Alot of their weapons have "stab" tips so you could stab with them.... but after a while, the stab tip bends away to the side and you end up getting stabbed with core instead. I used to recommend calimacil weapons but after several years of handling them, I recommend using them for cosplay or as part of your costume, but not for too much fighting. They are also quite pricey.
Also, when they do eventually break down after a while of use, they start turning to sticky dust, flakes and break apart in tiny pieces.
When I started LARPing, and for the first couple of decades of it, the only weapons available were self-made from "plumbing supplies". Specifically, CPVC pipe, thick walled closed cell insulation (with a block of open cell for the thrusting tip) and duct/duck tape.
The swords our system used had several requirements based on rational safety and a few bad experiences, including thrusting weapons having a soft tip larger than a typical eye socket.
Only in the last 8-10 years of my participation did I start to see commercially made LARPing swords that looked more like the weapons they represented than round tubes. But those new weapons were disallowed for thrusting, a very few models of axe and warhammer were banned for having 'hooking' projections, and one maker was disallowed (for a couple of years until they fixed things) for their cores too easily ripping free of the foam and hurting people.
I stuck with the plumbing supplies out of budgetary concerns. I could have 3-6 weapons for what people were paying for a longsword.
Calmacils new formulation is fairly decent, very much not for full contact tho unless you have padding and goggles. our larp disallows headshots and groin shots regardless, and no throwing or thrusting with anything that has a core at all. Calmacil was banned back when their stuff was ridiculously heavy and rigid, but their new stuff is allowed on a case by case basis. I can confirm that they get crumbly with age, i had the same issue but they are repairable with a can of plasti dip. Apparently one is supposed to spritz them with a solution of silicone stuff that they sell and it does work if you remember to do it. which i didnt. But plastidip, many coats. Airbrush repaint if you feel the need.
bellators and calimacil swords in general are really terrible handling wise (though they are very safe and durable) Fake Steel and Wyvern Replica ones handle better among the injected foam larp weapons
Yup Fake Steel need to get some stock to the RUclips sword community
@@AdamMclardy and so does the wyvern replica series, that one is even better to my taste though, only the single edged ones. Have both of their messers for years now and that's the closest to a real messer I got in a larp weapon so far.
I'm adding my voice to the people recommending you give FakeSteel Armory a try (I am sure the guys would send you some review samples no problem.) One thing which no one mentioned is that FS offers flat cores for many blades, which solves the flexing issues and reduces the blades bouncing off each other a lot. There's also some steel reinforcing and balancing the handle, which makes it absolutely stable. There are already some HEMA clubs that utilize them and seem quite happy.
Larp spears are already the standard in Ancient Greek reenactment because of the otherwise dangerous style of combat.
While I would never consider stabbing with a larp sword safe under any condition, FS are probably the least dangerous.
As to (cut and) thrust polearms, in our scene, we mount them on wooden poles, which makes them behave pretty much 1:1 with steel. They are still kinda op, granted.
I have to second what others said before: Czech manufacturer FakeSteel Armoury is amazing for training purposes! While depending on where you live, some of their foam weapons might be problematic in certain LARP events (because of the really stiff and hard crossguards some, but not all of them have), I really enjoy using them both for LARP and HEMA. I have a pair of sabers me and my wife use for training, and a couple of other blades and weapons - the Messer even has a wooden grip with metal rivets, but a stiff rubbery hilt and pommel. For LARPing I love Wyvern Crafts from Cologne, they look very realistic, have a good weight distribution and softer crossguards than FakeSteel (but slightly more rigid than Calimacil), but the hilts are partly painted and on two of my weapons the paint rubs off when it becomes sweaty, so I have to repaint some areas on a regular basis. So for me, it's mostly Wyvern for Larping and FakeSteel for training, for which they are perfectly suited. Plus, the stuff both these manufacturers make looks absolutely amazing! I often take them off the shelf, look at them and do a few swings, which I never did before with LARP weapons or other training weapons. So to me, they are as beloved as my "real" replica swords in terms of how I like to look at them and swing them, but in addition, I can safely train with them and also use them for sheer fun in LARP events.
The FakeSteel weapons (we own two sabers, a falchion, a messer, a mace, two daggers and a spear/pike) in my experience even allow for careful stabbing when training HEMA without taking structural damage or endangering my training partner, due to the way they are constructed.
I love them!
Thank you for that interesting video. It is a good overview about pros and cons of these weapons.
I also really appreciate that you don't rant about larp as most of the hema and reenactment guys in germany do.
Once again Mr Easton has answered a burning and important question I did not know I had. Thank you for another interesting discussion. Cheers!
Our fencing school uses calimacil Bellator swords for our kids group training longsword. We also use nylon wasters but the larp swords let them do things they otherwise would need to buy more protection for. It works great
I'm a LARPer in Australia and while I've used calimacil, epic armoury and others I honestly prefer a local group who make weapons called Elysian forge. They make them as close to historically accurate as possible this includes the weight and point of balance
I have a Calamacil longsword with the same hilt as the one Matt's showing with the ball pommel; it's a proper longsword length and has stiffer quillions. Love it!
I have another one, of a different design, that doesn't have stiff quillions and I don't like it as much.
Been a big fan of your channel for years ... and also a "retired" Larper. When I saw this video show up in my stream I thought it must be an April Fools joke. Don't know why you're doing it, but thank you Matt Easton for unearthing some wonderful memories!
Fair review. You mentioned some good points, some of which are why some of us bought custom swords that had extra weight (a bit of copper pipe or similar) in the handle to move the balance point and lower shake on the grip.
I love the bellator and it was my main sword for years and years but it's kind of ancient at this point. There are some truly incredible new designs from Calimacil in the last 3ish years! the Sir Radzig is probably their best longsword (or hand-and-a-half sword) they have right now and really anything newer than Geralt's steel sword is a generational difference from their older models.
Wonderful video, I like the Go Now's a little more than you but it's good to watch poeple have fun with each others takes on whats fun. Right on ya Matt.
Check out Elysian Forge. They have curved swords with internal cores (you can get a 1796 light cavalry sabre...) and they have good hilts that aren't too bendy. Very impressed with them for safer sparring weapons.
Thrust safety can be made like the good old stage daggers; a spring assisted sliding tip on the swords and spears.
I think they have the Kingdom Come Deliverance larp swords, they look pretty good :D
I do LARP, and I've made custom LARP weapon. and me alongside with my LARPing friends have tried experimented making LARP weapon that are closer to reality. we've uses wood handle, we put core in our guards, combination of different types of foam and we've managed to develop a flexible core tip that are safer for thrusting. while of course still maintaining safetey as priority. LARP in our country is still relatively new and I wish to connect with other fellow LARPers around the world.
Matt Easton is a confirmed rave.
Never stopped raving.
Being more on the re-enactor, 'realism' side I've found LARP weapons great for demonstration, if bad for teaching. You can show, display, but you need to know the underlying principle. You need to be able to feel and know the difference in feel.
Great for shows on some level.
I do have some LARP swords at home, and it is so much fun to just do some light hearted sparring with friends. Also I am a big fan of wyverncraft. I do find their handles have more stiffness and feel more less like foam.
The boffer larps do stab tips just fine with a harder foam layer. Doesn't look pointy but works very reliably.
Calimacil has a fencing line called Skirmish which has a lot more flex.
Regarding thrusting, there's also the issue of different safety standards between different games. Some games operate on a "lightest touch" basis where players are expected to use only the minimum amount of force necessary to make contact, some of which allow thrusting attacks with weapons like Calimacils on the understanding that players will be controlling their strikes to begin with. Others want you to use moderate force so that your strikes will more closely resemble realistic fencing, and usually do not want any kind of thrusting except with the heavily padded "pillow spears" I'm sure you've seen.
At any rate, I would love to see more larp content from the channel! It scratches the costuming and roleplaying itch that hema never quite managed to hit for me.
I'm a composites technician building aircraft. You got the difference between carbon fiber and fiberglass exactly correct.
Carbon is stiffer, but fiberglass is stronger and less likely to break, especially in impact.
LARP, SCA, HEMA, formal fencing... it's all people having fun and getting exercise, often out-of-doors.
As long as they approach their activity safely per their sports equipment, it's all fun.
-
Regarding the proportions, many makers are building their LARP weapons to fit the rules of the major game systems rather than historical measurements.
They know their market.
Elysian Forge are really good if you are in Australia
Would love your take on Larp fighting, which mostly prohibit headshots/handshots as well as estoc. I'm always looking at hema content with those constraints in the back of my mind.
You should try FakeSteel Armory next time!❤
Any reason to get out in arms and armor and enjoy this hobby is acceptable. Weather it's Hema, SCA, LARP it doesn't matter. It's all good in the hood.
I only do larp but have pretty much the same observations about the swords, a couple of manufacturers that I prefer are Ateliers nemesis for better balanced swords, and elysian forge for better balance and stiff handguards
I have a larp sword from another manufacturer, that has a weighted hilt. So the point of balance is very close to the hilt. The cross guard, while still only foam, is far more stiff than the one in the video. And the blade with around 70 cm is quite historical for a one handed sword. The weight a little low with just half a kilo. Sadly the manufacturer, Freyhand, seems to had some trouble recently, so I don't think they produce it right now. At least it seems they try to come back.
Excelent review. I'm considering buying one o' these to train with my wife and my daughter.
Me and a really good friend of mine have actually been sparring with homemade boffers for quite a long time. We use PVC cores wrapped in pool noodles as the blades and other squishy bits, all wrapped in duct tape, and they are a lot of fun. While they are certainly not accurate for HEMA practice or any form of legitimate training, they are a ton of fun and cheap to make, repair, and replace.
Matt: Ugh, I’m so old!
Matt and I were literally born on the exact same day.
I did HEMA for about 10 years and LARPed for many more, now the kids are old enough we go to a kids larp, and used a lot of different larp swords. After a few years of HEMA I noticed that I had the tendency to thrust to the face more and more, great for HEMA not so for larping. That was the point where I started playing archers instead of melee oriented characters because when you "freeze" in a fight because you are stopping yourself from really hurting a friend you get hit a lot.
Is like to see a Matt Easton / Calimacil collaboration line made for historical sparring.
If you're looking for systems that sacrifice realistic-looking weapon aesthetics in order to make weapons safe to strike with at full power, you're looking for boffer sports. Amtgard, Dagorhir, and Belegarth, to be specific. Many of the issues you mentioned are solved in various ways by these systems; they've been working on it for decades. For instance, they require the ends and pommels of weapons to exceed a certain radius to not push into eye sockets.
All of these boffer sports and all the LARPs I've seen share a fundamental difference from HEMA: none of them I've seen allow head strikes (in melee) for safety reasons; they're only designed to minimize accidental head strikes.
ahhh i love the belator from calimacil was my first Larp long sword :D
There are two ways to look at this: if you are doing HEMA, LARP weapons have just about one place in your training, that being group fights. When your primary tactic is to flank a guy and smack him in the back of the head, you probably want something that won't take your friend straight to hospital. While synthetics do work for this, peripheral vision is kinda important here and full masks limit that quite a lot.
If you are a HEMA guy, you should definitely go to at least a few LARPs. I've seen some very good HEMA fencers get utterly destroyed in LARPs and reenactment battles because they tunnel-visioned on a single enemy and got caught trying to solo a shield wall, or got shot in the kidneys. You need some place to train these group fighting skills, and unless your club is very large, no place will have as large a group as a LARP.
The above paragraph also applies to re-enactor battles, but LARPs add a strategic layer to the above. A re-enactment fight sees a lot of balls to the wall charges because there will be no tomorrow for whoever you are re-enacting anyway, but a three-day LARP? If you die on day one, it will put a spanner in all your plans, so you tend to see less of that naked aggression. You may well get to use that Dobringer flourish to intimidate someone into leaving you alone.
You should look at fake steel armoury. As they make larp style weapons for hema
6:27 The question is whether this problem is technically impossible to solve... In my opinion it is possible. 9:22 Same. I think it's technically possible to make such a weapon heavy and still safe. Anyway, it's cool that you brought up this topic of LARP swords. 10:41 Well, here's a harder problem, I guess only swords with big "horns" are a solution. They should stop or at least reduce the momentum of the strike before the actual guard. Aside from that, I think the disadvantages you mentioned might be less significant in Japanese martial arts, where steel-on-steel strikes are generally avoided anyway. But my knowledge of this is too weak, so perhaps someone else can evaluate it better. 13:22 I'm very curious about what modifications you want to make. I wonder if they're the same ones I thought of. 14:08 Probably the most difficult thing. It would be necessary to make the end of the sword from a completely different, softer material and connect it to the main part of the sword.
The problem with putting a core in the crossguard is padding the core adds a lot of size to it so you end up with very bulky crossguards that the people who want realistic stuff don't like.
Belegarth larp weapons are my favorite for HEMA. They are weighted and are designed for full force striking. Belegarth pole Weapons are definitely the best way to train pole weapon fighting. Gorg the Blacksmith weapons are the best in my opinion.
I have a big great sword from gorg! Lightest two hander I ever felt. Belegarth is the funnest because of the pure diversity and accessibility of it. And the learning curve of fighting well while paying attention enough to know when to take a hit.
When he said it might come as a shock to us, I thought he was going to say that he wasn't Matt Easton.
you can get larp weapons that have lead in the handle that makes the weapons balance point move down and feels nice in the hand (personal preference).
im one of the weapon safety team at empire and we still get issues with the moulded weapons mainly with the handles being cast in very dense materials which can lead to the cross guard and pommels being too hard to be safe and leads to failures especially on cold events.
there are very few uk larps that allow thrust safe weapons that are not pole arms, thrust safe swords are basically a no for most systems.
I know of hema folks who liked larp weapons for training aids. As by doing so it improved their speed and timing as larp weapons move much faster than steel weapons.
As a result when the. When they went back to fencing hema with steel swords they were anticipating blows landing before they actually did and being able to block their opponents
that always was my point... since bind is really unforgiving with larp weapons... then if you manage to do binding with them... you gonna be able with real swords...
therefor it's a good way of training for it...
Here is an idea for a longer blade/ thrusting problem - Make addon/clip/removable (call it whatever) pure sponge tips that will extend the blade alot / have simulated bend because no core will be there and when you destroy them (cos you will) clip them out and add new one. It can be done, if I can think of a system - someone working in the industry can think of a better one for shure, so I wont even bother ... :)
Well, just so you won't be disappointed: "Hey, Matt! Have you seen the Go Now Sparring Swords?"
I wonder if the proportion problem has something to do with construction technique. Perhaps, with current construction, making a length accurate longsword would put the center of balance much further out the blade?
The Go-Now HEMA boffers are basically primitive LARP weapons. They look like someone saw early 2000's LARP weapons and said "I bet we can use those for HEMA", but missed the 20 subsequent years of LARP weapon evolution.
I find the bind/winding a bit of an issue even with the nylon swords if i'm honest.
P.s i cannot believe i just heard Matt mention happy hardcore haha
Empire larp is the gold standard in the UK, it would be a great joy to many people if you came
Hi ! I'd very much like your full opinion about GoNow training swords ; we use these a lot in our students club, so it would be very interesting for us to hear about why they're bad and how they could be replaced!
Yeah these look pretty good! I have no experience with LARP weapons but nylon and even the blunt steel swords have their own issues compared to actual real sharp swords. So I'm with you that they could be nice training swords for starters or just to have some fun with!
Was just listening while doing chores and got confused when I heard LAP weapons...got "from dusk till dawn" flashbacks.
My American is showing
My LARP mates consider Fake Steel Armoury to be the gold standard. They feel much better in the hand, and look pretty nice (plus you can get them with a scabbard, which is a big plus for looks alone) and they're incredibly reasonable in price. Their hard foam blades are a bit divisive, though I'd say they're no harder than the Calimacil, it's just the weight that gets people. The soft foam doesn't bounce as violently I find and is much easier to get into a bind with. They also kevlar wrap the ends of the fibreglass rods so they're much safer in the thrust. To get much safer, you'd need to get into the Cali "thrust safe" spear mechanisms.
When I was young (If I ever was) SCA swords were foam wrapped around wooden dowels, bound with duct tape. Things have changed since then.
Part of the fun of wielding supposedly heavy LARP weapons such as huge battleaxes comes from play-acting the effort.
Hmm so I'm not 100% on this(ask someone who's more in the scene since this is just guessing) but I can think of a few factors that might have contributed to the relative shortness of Larp blades 1) The influence of media where blades were depicted as unusually chunky relative to their length ie He-Man, Conan the Barbarian, Berserk, etc. 2) Uncored blades of length being more floppy and pool noodle-y as they extended. and 3) Cored blades being more likely to snap based on the amount of leverage you could get from a longer blade.
*flattamastrong!* invoked 🤣
I haven't seen any swords from period time that look like they show any evidence of having been used in an actual battle. Do you have any in your collection or know of any in museums or other collections that I might be able to check out? Thanks for your videos, always very entertaining and educational. Maybe a subject for a future video or if you have done one already, I would defiantly check it out.
The country I live and work in- Czech Republic (or Czechia), we use solid crossguards (wood or steel) and pommels as well. For the core we use laminate and the blades are harder foam. I even remember the time when Larpers in my country used wooden swords without any padding at all. Only dutch tape. (fun times!) It is common that foreign larping swords are ill advised to use in my country because they tend to get damaged from shields- which are not from foam but wood with at least rawhide edge cover. Matt might love some of our "iron Larps" though as there is quite overlap between HEMA and Larp circles, we have even larps with steel weapons (blunted edges of course :) ). And now we are getting "pike and shot" battles (with potato guns) even!
Thanks for the video 👍🏻
I did look into getting a larp greatsword and a few sideswords to do a Figeurado (sp, I can never remember the spelling) class at full speed without the concussions and broken bones.
Also had a similar conclusion regarding the length.
Few years ago I have had a discussion on this with one guy on our trainings and we made a bet he can fix those issues with his own brand of larp weapons.
Since the brand has been mentioned here multiple times as better option, I guess I have lost :-D
First, as an ex-SCAdian, there's similar problem with thrusts with fiberglass spears. We used solid, flat caps on the end to help prevent the shaft from cutting through the padding. This might be something these LARP sword manufacturers could try, assuming they don't already do so.
Second, I think these types of swords _can_ be a useful addition to training. The most obvious being safety. I think, though, that full-on sparing would be of limited use. I think they'd be better for flow drills or just introduction weapons.
Which brings me to my third point and that is invincibility. I've seen far too many people take what is supposed to be a sparring session and turn it into a ridiculous slap-fight. Since the probability is so low that anyone gets hurt, the weapons aren't taken seriously and so people just end up in a chaotic, frenetic slap fest. As a consequence, they learn nothing. For some, this might be exactly the reason to use them. For me, though, I'd rather spend my time developing skill and would consider this a waste of time.
About protection: I've got a scar on my forehead from a laceration I received from a LARP longsword, so don't underestimate these things in this regard 😅
The Spectrum is wide, so everyone can find his or her best fitting piece of it.
I feel that the movie "Role Models" did right by LARP
Hudson, That’s it, man. Game over, man. Game over! What the f*ck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?🗡Matt Easton coming at you.
I came across LARP swords when I replaces my boys wooden swords, those swords (which were quite cheap from a German larp webshop) came with a Kevlar enforced tip to make thrusting save (or saver?). I don't know if this solved you HEMA thrusting problem...
Sir can you please make a video on middle eastern sabers
Have you tried Fakesteel Armory?
Their swords are as close to real ones as foam swords can be with their PoB, look and durabulity
The bit about the length now leads me to believe that Sabersmith is making their swords somewhat based on LARP dimensions.
When I fought, it was schedule 40 pvc pipe, black pipe foam, and about 3 rolls of duct tape for a standard sword.
Depends on the larp and the swords used. I made my own and they were well weighted and balanced.
Would be interested to see your opinions of buhurt and buhurt weapons
Carbon fiber cores are lighter and stiffer. I prefer flex (fiberglass) when trying to not hurt people with proper core engagement .
Matt Easton and Matt Parker are related and no one can convince me otherwise.
The old complane is that latex sticks but doesnt Sharp weapons stick to