I guess I could say that my 12 year old daughter is a chip off the old block.

She began to write fantasy. For a 12 year old it was rather good. I got her permission, took the story and ran with it. It is coming out good, slowly but good. Since she expressed a desire to continue to write fantasy, I thought it good for her to have some background and to understand that to write, one must do some research.

I am always happier when I am making something for some dumb reason or the other, so I downloaded the fundamentals of swordplay off the net and we went to the hardware store to get supplies to make homemade swords. It cost around $20, enough to make two.

First get one 8 foot long stick of 1/2 inch plastic grey water pipe, not the real floppy stuff used for quick connections like Shark Bite. Get (2) 1/2 PVC 4 way unions, 8 small screws, foam pipe padding and a lot of duct tape.

With a hacksaw, cut the tubing. A good rule of thumb is that the blade part should be about as long as the baseball bat that person would use. The pummel should be long enough for two fists or slightly longer. Hand guard you can do what you want, I just went 3 inches. After cutting, insert pieces into 4 way and resist the urge to glue it as it will come apart later. Drill a small hole and put the screws to it.

Next, maybe after a smoke break, slide the foam down the blade part and cut it over length, fold the ends down and tape it. That allows for a cushion while stabbing. Cover the hand guard with foam, and the pummel if you want to.

Wrap the entire thing in duck….duct tape. (Quack). I added more foam to the pummel end to give it a rounded end, also optional.

SAFETY NOTE: Now pay attention. The foam makes them hurt less, BUT YOU CAN HURT YOURSELF WITH THESE OR SOMEONE ELSE. I know there are clubs around that do this, but use your head. Do not use them in the house. If your mom/wife gets mad because you broke the Jack Daniels Elvis Decanter I don’t wanna hear it. I told you. Work on swordplay, knowing the strikes and blocks before you go hitting people, which I wouldn’t suggest you do anyway. Have fun but nobody gets hurt. I am NOT responsible for what you do.