Over the years, we've come up with a pretty good method for making weapons that last. We prefer that weapons donated to us be made using the following technique.

Equipment:

Sharp break-away-blade knife. Get spare blades for it. Get a decent one.
Ruler or tape-measure.
Double sided carpet tape.
Duct tape in silver and black.
PVC or CPVC core of the appropriate diameter. Use the thick walled stuff (schedule 40).
Closed cell foam pipe insulation of the appropriate diameter and thickness.
Tennis racket or hockey stick grip tape.

Making NERO® Weapons:

Step 1: Cut the core to length. See the chart below for recommended core lengths.
Step 2: Put duct tape over the ends.
Step 3: Tape down a small (½ in. thick) chunk of closed-cell (pipe insulation) foam onto each end.
Step 4: Mark where you want the grip on the core.
Step 5: Cut your pipe insulation to length. It should extend about ½" beyond the end of the core for both the pommel and the blade.
Step 6: Put double-sided carpet tape along where the blade and pommel are going to go.
Step 7: Take off the backing on the carpet tape and put the pipe insulation on.
Step 8: Lay a strip of duct tape along the blade, extending 1.5-2" past the ends.
Step 9: Cut the bits of tape that extend past the end into 3 or 4 strips, and stick them down.
Step 10: Repeat steps 8 and 9 until the blade is covered, then repeat again for the pommel.
Step 11: Cut cylinders of open-cell (sofa cushion) foam that are 2-2.5" thick.
Step 12: Attach the open cell foam to the end of the blade and the pommel using duct tape. Use strips like you did in step 9.
Step 13: Wrap the grip with grip tape.

Note 1: If you're making a mace, axe, hammer, or polearm blade, add it after you've done all the above. It'll be heavier, but we'll be able to fix the weapon more easily in the future. Try to avoid sharp points or backwards curves that could trap opponent's weapons.

Note 2: If you're making a polearm, spear, or staff, get some of the thin-walled (3/8ths thick) pipe insulation and pad the exposed grip/haft with it before adding the grip tape. This prevents knuckle-cracking.

Preferred & Recommended lengths (in inches) for donated weapons. We're providing these to take some of the guesswork out of the process. We like to get weapons made with these lengths.