How to Make Foam Swords. Cosplay Prop Ideas With Templates! -Not Intended for LARP or Combat.

** This is a costume sword, not intended for LARP or combat, serious injury could result**
Get the pattern➜ www.lostwaxoz....
Amazing new technique for making costume swords from EVA foam and PVC pipe!
I think this technique creates a good balance of strength and safety without becoming too thick to look good.
In this video, I show you how I alter a piece of PVC pipe to create a strong core for a foam costume weapon.
Paints used in this video are courtesy of DecoArt through their helping artists program.
More Patterns ➜www.lostwaxoz.c...
Supplies links➜ www.lostwaxoz.c...
Subscribe➜ goo.gl/v5clos
Website➜www.lostwaxoz.com
Camera Gear and other tools I use (affiliate link) ➜ www.amazon.com...
Transcribe my videos➜ / 238945810172587

[@theonlymayhew_2070]

I have a new found respect for people who make these items. I never knew it took this much work to create larp weps. So cool.

[@rockinHurley777]

Who cares about who's first? Why not comment about the build? Chris you did a great job! Love your work buddy!

[@usele22_reptile69]

AmasonCreations I couldn't agree more!

[@DaniMakes]

Sorta funny how Canadians assume everyone has hockey tape laying around... :P

[@LostWax]

Hehe, I knew that would come up- I just had to put it out there though because it is really handy if you can get it. I must say, I rediscovered the usefulness of hockey tape when I moved back to Canada being away for 15 years.

[@DaniMakes]

@@LostWax yeah, I have used it before a long time ago and it was pretty useful. Being from STL where a hockey team resides, it is pretty easy to get, but I figured in Canada you are given a roll of it when you are born.

[@LostWax]

Yep, and a hockey stick.

[@Kuba1974]

Daniel, are you trying to tell me that you have no hockey tape at home? In which barbaric country you live in? :)

[@DaniMakes]

@@Kuba1974 Some Canadians can refer to us as South Canada. And yes, things seem a bit barbaric right now.

[@hieizolo]

Just bought my material. Friends are lending me tools for this weekend. Cant wait to make myself a sword for my cosplay! :D

[@WitteArtistry]

The techniques and the materials you come up with blow my mind. I would have never thought of flattening a PVC pipe in a million years. This is SO cool and looks real! Brilliant work Chris 👍

[@kazs6529]

"I'm Chris from LostWax"... it's a great beginning for an adventure book/videogame, you know?.... besides, we knew you weren't from this land, so you just confirmed our assumptions lol... cool sword, nice job as usual... Could it be too much to ask for a video on Elvish swords or weapons? That would be amazing! Thanks for your hard work!

[@honnemochi]

Pile of leather you’ve had for a few years resonated strongly with me 😂😂

[@ikazuchioni]

I'm a cosplay crafter myself and I'm super glad that I found this tutorial very enlightening, specifically when you flattened the pvc pipe, because my technique is far less superior than yours. Your way will definitely make my crafting much better. Thank you for posting this.

[@LostWax]

I was hoping it would help someone out! Having the holes in there makes a huge difference.

[@Emimi33able]

Hi, Chris! Fantastic work as always! I've been struggling on how to tackle Valkyrie's sword from Thor Ragnarok, so thank you for this! Cosplayer normally use plastidip, flexidip or some other vinylized spray to seal up foam pores - cosplay shops sell very specific sprays and paints like Flexipaint. But hand painting with the acrylics does work too! Even so, you can always seal foam with watered down wood glue, white glue and I know someone who uses floor wax 🤣 Hope this helps!

[@LostWax]

Thanks, I hope your sword comes out amazing! I have tried a few of the things you mention for sealing, and so far, I always come back to the acrylics. I do have a can of plastidip I am waiting to try, but I think I missed my window- it's too cold outside now and I am not game to spray that stuff inside unless I have a spray booth:)

[@craigmushens4789]

The big thing with plastidip is to warm up the can in hot water first so that it comes out as a fine spray... a key in our canadian climate regardless!

[@ker0shan37]

The best tutorial I found on yt! Thank You!!!

[@jellygoaway1219]

Lol that intro was great

[@Khether0001]

I know it sounds weird, but sharpen your disposable blades, for crafting like yours it works and does pay off in several levels.

[@LostWax]

I totally agree! I normally have a stone beside me while I work and sharpen my scalpel blade as I go. Saves a lot of $$$ and causes less waste.

[@danielfaktorovich7697]

Why not try and heat-seal the foam? It's good for painting, the surface will be smoother and easyer to paint with everything,plus that makes the foam sturder for the long shot

[@LostWax]

Yep, totally, as long as it is in a well ventilated space.

[@megalodoniacosplay]

Heat sealed and prime with plasti dip thats how i made it at my ginjinka cosplay and it works so good and i can wear it and bend it as much i want🤣 and the paint still good

[@mementosamael]

I find that if I have a fuzzy surface texture from sanding those thick mats of EVA foam, I can lightly go over the surface of the foam with a heatgun (in a well ventilated area with a respirator of course) and that will smooth it back out.

[@LostWax]

Nice!

[@TealCheetah]

I was about to ask this!

[@anniemorris5855]

OMG Chris, you are such a dag 😂😂😂😂. That intro. This is so timely, as I had to 😳 buy🤭 a toy plastic sword in an emergency situation. Yech. I will definately be trying this! Thank you so much for your wonderful videos and for sharing the mastery of your craft.

[@LostWax]

Love that you called me a dag😁

[@anniemorris5855]

I was hoping you would remember your time in Australia 😉

[@LostWax]

Yep, it totally brought me back. Ahhh, it would be good to be there right now......

[@willsuttie3683]

You can use pine dowel for the core if you don't like PVC fumes. It's a good idea to make pool cue tip of hot glue on the end of your core to protect the foam.

[@originaltrilogy1]

I stuck mine in a vice instead of the clamps and it worked pretty well. I also tried using heat lamps to get the PVC pipe soft, and that also worked. (The same lamps they use in spray booths to heat up the metal and help paint dry). Also hitting the blade with a heathen at the end gets rid of any fuzzies.

[@originaltrilogy1]

Heatgun autocorrected to Heathen, but try both and see which works better. This also helps seal the surface better for painting.

[@LostWax]

😆

[@lovesleepingwolf3352]

This helped alot compared to others thank you!!!

[@carlmyhill]

totally brilliant!

[@dennisjohansen8490]

You deserve more subscribers. I love your channel.

[@Bionicbabyy]

This is very cool. Can you make one without the PVC? The comic cons I go to check your weapons and I don't think it will pass with this inside.

[@camarillasmith]

Awesome as always! Great tutorial, Chris! 😁

[@DxCrepp738]

My utility/craft knife blade probably wasn't anywhere near sharp as yours, but I made a grid pattern with the blade in the area where I wanted my pipe. Then slowly from the bottom of my foam pieces, held the knife at an angle and gradually chipped the square pieces off. This took probably 45 minutes to an hour total, but I recommend this for a beginner; because this is the first time I've foamsmithed something. ^_^ Also, if you know someone with a hydraulic press, PVC is malleable and soft enough in it's natural state to be flattened by the press without breaking or cracking; the gentleman in our fab shop and myself were both surprised at this discovery. I imagine it will also work to flatten PVC if the pipe were clamped tightly in a vise, no heat or drilling necessary.

[@LostWax]

Cool, those are some great tips. I had to leave my hydraulic press in Australia, but I’ll give it a try with my vice!

[@reaganpreshong7486]

What?? No “Hi my name is Chris, and I like to make things”? Great tutorial as usual!

[@LostWax]

Changing it up a bit just to keep you on your toes :)

[@christaylor9480]

This is ingenious! I want to get some swords for my kids but most of the ones on Amazon are total junk! This is so much cooler imo! Seems a lot more durable too!

[@acexkeikai]

You can use Wood glue to seal it but if you are going to use the sword for LARP I would recommend Plasti-dip or another coating which will make it more resistant to scrtches

[@saulhurtado3680]

This is so awesome I need it

[@Cheeky_Chelsea]

Yay thanks so much for this tutorial, this will be great for getting dressed up for conventions and mediaeval faires ☺️

[@LostWax]

You’re welcome 😊

[@DebbieBuckland]

thanks so much ---- Im about to make Lagerthas sword from the vikings tv show. season 3 ;)

[@Goblintails]

Using a Golf Club core and Contact cement would make this - stronger and lighter - Plasti dip will make it weather resistant.

[@vigilant3263]

thinking of making this, but painting it with a florescent blue. gonna be like a real-life arkhalis model!

[@LostWax]

Fantastic!!

[@suzannedown6691]

i love your videos

[@CharlottaLatte]

That's the best tutorial for making a Sword!!! Also is there someway we can donate to you to improve your awesome channel ? :D I enjoy your steampunk videos!

[@LostWax]

Glad you liked it! And, yes, there's a couple of ways you could donate- You can choose to pay more than free when you get the sword pattern from the link. Just type in any dollar ammount. I also have a Patreon Page where you could support me as well right here: www.patreon.com/LostWax/ Thanks so much for your support, even commenting and sharing my videos is a HUGE help! Have an amazing day:)

[@LostWax]

Just added the sword to the Ultimate Bundle, thanks for the reminder 😁

[@westonhall2089]

I love this tutorial! Unfortunately I don’t have a heat gun. Would a hair dryer work if I just used it for longer? Or will I need to bust out the butane blowtorch?

[@justinanderson1706]

Weston Hall Don’t use a blowtorch, might burn the PVC which releases those toxins. If you have a Harbour Freight near you then they have a very affordable range of heat guns! I always buy my cosplay tools from them since the wear and tear isn’t as bad with prop building.

[@OnlyinUrMind]

Nice, thanks for the free download. That was really nice of you. 😉

[@LostWax]

You're welcome, thanks for watching!

[@VanK782]

Great project, but do you maybe have an idea on what could I use instead of the PVC? I don't have a heat gun nor a mask to heat it up and flatten

[@LostWax]

I have seen some people use carbon fibre golf club shafts.- You'd just want to be reallly careful to just use it as a prop and nothing else because the end would be quite narrow and dangerous if someone accidentally got poked with. it.

[@katykey4755]

That so AWESOME! ¿Can you make a attack on titan swords? Greeeeeeettttings from México!!! ;)

[@megalodoniacosplay]

A really cool sword ! But why you are using hot glue instead of contact glue?🤔 i would never miss my contact glue

[@LostWax]

Just so I don't have to breathe the nasty fumes of the contact cement.

[@crafty_prop]

It's a lot easier to use contact adhesive when sandwiching both sides of the blade together since you have to apply the glue all over the surface evenly and you also will have a lot of time to wait it to be tacky. I am not against the hot glue, but the problem for this particular application, it might fail over time. Just my personal preference.

[@LostWax]

Totally, contact cement works great for this application. I just tend to stick with hot glue because it is easily accessible for most people and you don't need to worry as much about the fumes.

[@medium.kahuna]

this sword's guard could be modified into a sword for a medieval batman quite easily

[@gsilcoful]

Thank you.

[@tsk5328]

Dude, great work! Wish i could like this video a 100times. Awesome!!! Would like to have a list of types foam that would be best? Also, i imagine that acrylic starts cracking eventually, but befor i buy a fabric paint would this work or are there better types of paint to use?

[@LostWax]

It's hard for me to recommend specific foam, but definitely EVA and you want it to be at least reasonably dense. The acrylic can end up cracking a bit, there are other specialized paints out there, hexflex, flexipaint, plaid FX are some of the ones I know about, I am sure there are more......

[@tsk5328]

@@LostWax thanks for the pointers, the less money wasted the better the swords made 😁

[@husk79]

cool techniques!!

[@Twizzforsberg]

Thanks great video

[@ted_van_loon]

this is the first video where they bend pvs where they tell about the poisonous fumes. the only other video where they told about those fumes was a video where they wanted them in order to pump them through water to get hydrochloric acid

[@LostWax]

Safety first!

[@marlans.4731]

Dope video man

[@LostWax]

Cheers!

[@MartijnCalkhoven]

The sword looks great! I usually sand the edges of the blade with a sander or dremel, but watching you cut it by hand makes me want to try that again. Some general stuff I learned the hard way: If you want to have a more durable weapon, use contact glue (I too hate the smell) and a different core (fibreglass or graphite, I've used both). Mixing your acryllics with some liquid latex (smelly stuff no. 2) will make it less likely to crack (NEVER use spray paint!). A lot of people use clear Plastidip to seal their foam weapons, but since Plastidip is really expensive in Europe, I tend to use Isoflex (smelly stuff no.3, this one actually recuires protection). I have used both and the Isoflex weapons hold up way better, but perhaps I didn't apply enough layers with the former. Lastly: If you're a cheapskate like me and you don't want to buy tonnes of replacement blades, you can buy a sharpener and resharpen the dull blades over and over again. I was skeptical at first, but it works amazingly well! PS: I wish I had a collection of leather scraps like that. Hot damn!

[@LostWax]

Great info, thanks for sharing! I agree with having a way to sharpen your own blades- takes a couple seconds, but saves blades like crazy.

[@Eddie-wn8tu]

Nice. Guard looks like it's backwards. But looks cool.

[@LostWax]

Thanks, and good point about the guard.

[@adnanpercemli517]

Guard is very impractical

[@user-eo3oo4qc7r]

Nice video. So, next tutor will be a lightsaber one?

[@LostWax]

Yep, I'll be doing it at the same time as also filming making winter Wonder Woman costume.

[@mgbrowning]

Any thoughts, suggestions on enlarging this pattern for a 12 foot skeleton? :) I know total length needs to be 9 feet.

[@NazFXStudios]

I feel personally called out with the leather hoard hahahah

[@LostWax]

Hehe, at least I'm not the only one!

[@modelbaumok9210]

I know that is very old video but... Why You don't cure foam with hot gun or temperature before painting? Why You dont use wood glue for surface before painting for extra smooth surface and more harder?

[@LostWax]

Hi there, so, the reason that I don't use wood glue, or anything as a primer for that matter, is that wood glue has a tendency to crack when it gets really dry. Because foam is a soft material, anything you coat it with needs to be flexible as well, otherwise it's gonna crack when the foam flexes. I don't heat seal my foam either, as I actually want the tiny little holes in the foam to stay there, so that the paint I apply will lock into those holes which will keep the paint well stuck on and not flaking off. I can't remember off hand what paint I used for this video, but I now like to use Plaid fx paints- they are more flexible than regular artists acrylics. Hope that explains it! Have a great day:)

[@panagiotiskokkaliaris9047]

You are an exelent foam cutter . But.. why did you open holes on pvc !@? :P You are killing the core durability

[@christopherburse1167]

What grit sandpaper would you recommend using to sand the back of the foam to get rid of the "bumps"? Also what grit for sanding the middle part to make it smooth before adding the plastic piece in the middle?

[@LostWax]

I'd say around 150grit would work for both

[@wanderingdreams]

Question, do you think this method could be adapted but with a wooden core instead of a flattened PVC one? I don't have the space/materials on hand to do the PVC method and I can't immediately think of any reasons why a flat wooden stick (like, a yardstick even, something I could easily buy pre-cut from a hardware store) couldn't also do the trick.

[@LostWax]

Yes, I think there are probably lots of different things you could use as a core. Give it a try and see how it works.

[@ValyTDG]

what if it is a thicker sword, what do i put inside of it?

[@xezion5190]

This is amazing. Too bad I don't have the ability to soften the PVC.

[@eallga2037]

Hello. Pourriez vous mettre des sous titre français sous toutes vos vidéos please? Thank you.

[@littleharunosakura]

Now that you did a sword pattern, are you going to make a sheath?

[@LostWax]

Probably not in a the near future. But thanks for the idea, I always want to hear what people want me to make.

[@YopiYop04]

Nice tuto! And for LARP? :D

[@Khether0001]

when should we use hot glue and when should we use contact cement?

[@LostWax]

That's a bit hard to answer in a comment, but they both work in similar situations, with different strengths and weaknesses. Hot glue is non toxic, easily accessible, and reversible, but isn't quite as strong, and you have to be careful not to get your costume too hot. Contact cement is generally quite a bit more toxic, can be hard to find stuff that works well, and can't be taken apart once bonded, but will last forever with a good strong bond.

[@mikegrossberg8624]

A note: There are different types of contact cement, with different uses. I use it in doing my leatherwork. I bought a quart-sized can, and discovered it was the type for use on things like thin veneer, where extra strength is not required. The best contact cement is what shoe repairers use, usually Barge

[@andreavalero1326]

Why is it not intended for LARP or Combat? I want to make a sword for combat and I don't know what should I change in the sword that you are showing in order to make it functional and safe. Please help!

[@LostWax]

I just can't guarantee that it meets whatever standards your LARP has. Check with them and then see if this construction is O.K.

[@thewitch7342]

i didn't get why you had to drill the pvc tube flattening it without making those precise holes isn't faster and less frustrating?

[@LostWax]

I found that without the holes, it was much harder to get even heating on the PVC when it was sandwiched between the wood. This way the hot air can go through the holes and heat the PVC from both inside and outside,​ making for much better results. At least that's what I found.

[@thewitch7342]

Lost Wax thanks for your response I thought that it made no difference

[@DarthShadie]

Have you ever created a training dummy for sword work? I'm thinking of making one. I'm thinking I should get my hands on one of those cloth based manequins that seamstresses use, the ones with a bust, a neck, shoulders but no arms and usually these go to the waist. I'm wondering how to make the arms, how to fix the in and what to use to make them, and when I say arms, I mean not just arms, but also arms at other areas, for those other sword cuts and parries positions. I'm also not sure how to get it to be able to turn. Let me know if you have any ideas/tutorials for that.

[@LostWax]

No, I have never done anything like that, I don't know anything about actual swordy stuff🤔

[@DarthShadie]

@@LostWax Ok cool. Well, I guess I'll have to try things out then. 😉

[@LostWax]

Actually, funny, probably my next video I will be making a duct tape dummy- maybe you could use that technique.....

[@DarthShadie]

@@LostWax Nice. It could prove inspirational 😉

[@MJS-kg1cd]

I watch a lot of these prop/foam sword tutorials and something has always puzzled me, something you actually do in your tutorial that I never see anyone else do. You flattened the "blade" part of your PVC pipe, which makes sense to me, but I never see anyone making prop/foam sword do this. They always cut into the foam itself, which to me seems odd because it thins the foam and would prevent being able to create various types of fullers on the sword.

[@LostWax]

I guess, the thing is that it's a bit tricky flattening the blade evenly without it getting bent out of shape, so it's much easier to use it as it comes. That's why I wanted to figure out a way to flatten the tubing that could be repeatable and produce a good result.

[@hillianozuckado3616]

He put the guard up side down, its going to hinder moviment with the sword because you hand or wrist can hit the guards fang, overall good sword, not a greatsword cause it's a lot shorter than one, if you know what I mean kkkkkkk,

[@sophiaroth1930]

So I was hoping to make one of these for my little brother (12yrs) and it says. “Not intended for combat” does that include just playing/play combat?

[@FelixMerivel]

If you are gonna give it to a kid, I'd recommend rounding the tip.

[@sophiaroth1930]

thanks!

[@TyGamer0426]

Howd you get your arm back from the intro? LOL

[@LostWax]

😁

[@NateNook]

What thickness was the pvc?

[@LostWax]

Hmm, I don't have any here right now to measure, my guess is that the wall thickness was about 2mm.

[@crickyh9691]

Can you make iron sword form Skyrim

[@crickyh9691]

From Skyrim

[@gomes7066]

Uh yeah great sword. Now tell how to do the same thing with tools that I own 😂

[@LostWax]

What tools do you own?

[@gomes7066]

@@LostWax It was a joke u don't need to actually tell me how to do it. My only question is how can I smoothen out the foam without a sander?

[@LostWax]

@@gomes7066 Hmm, without a sander, it's probably best just to buy foam with two flat sides.

[@gomes7066]

@@LostWax ok thank you

[@carldagroundskeeper]

8:40 I see a foam sword and I want it painted black. No colors anymore I.. I'll see myself out now

[@Jack-mm2be]

Runescape godsword please ?

[@suenosdecolores3180]

Subtitulos spañol please!!!

[@LostWax]

Coming soon! Anyone who would like to help out can check out the link in the description and join our team!!

[@gravityrain4683]

Can’t I just buy a pvc panel?

[@LostWax]

I think if you buy flat pvc, it is going to be too flexible.

[@TealCheetah]

10:17 don't call me out like that! D:

[@LostWax]

😁

[@cjtheprop-maker]

Sooooo, just because THIS METHOD is unsafe for LARP or combat, does that mean this DESIGN can be made LARP safe? Also, WHAT about this sword is unsafe for LARP?

[@LostWax]

I have no experience with LARP, and what regulations are for weapons, hence I have made that disclaimer, as I don't want someone getting injured because they made a sword according to my pattern and then whacked someone with it. I would love to hear any knowledgeble LARPers comment on what makes a foam weapon safe vs unsafe.

[@cjtheprop-maker]

@@LostWax I'm a lARPer. I can say, I don't see much unsafe about it. Typically one would use contact glue in place of hot glue and would reinforce the tip with a piece of kevlar, leather or cloth to prevent it poking through the foam but I honestly don't see anything unsafe about it... Nice work, keep it up👏👍

[@Arlondev]

It looks like something from the first zelda

[@Arlondev]

Did you make it, or did some old man in a cave give it to you?

[@swingingbunny3550]

it's only a scratch!

[@18632ewa8]

I don't want to be negative because I liked your video however and I apologize for being negative. You didn't need to see clamp your PVC the problem with PVC is if you put it in a PVC heater it will burn so you need to turn the PVC it will collapse naturally you don't need to drill holes in it to make it flat and you can use a blowtorch if the Scorch marks on the PVC are not important if you want to be more particular with it you can put it in a oven all you need to melt PVC is heat. You don't need to drill holes to get the heat out it will naturally do that from the ends. There's another fellow on KZbin called Monster tutorials this guy does some really incredible stuff check him out if you get a moment.

[@LostWax]

You don't need to apologize, I appreciate the input! That way people can try many different options. The reason that I did it the way I did, is that I didn't want to put it in the oven that I cook food in, because of the fumes that PVC releases when heated. For the same reason, I didn't want to use a torch, because it is too easy to burn the PVC and again release more fumes. That left me with the heat gun, which doesn't produce enough heat to soften the entire tube at once, which is why I used the process I did. But I agree, there are many different ways to achieve the same result. I Just to make sure people are aware of the potential dangers of heating PVC before they do any of this.

[@shadsie1451]

WHERE THE HELL DO YOU GET INTERLOCKING FOAM MATS H E L P

[@LostWax]

They are pretty common where I live- at the local big box stores. If you can't find anything, you can Google "cosplay supplies" for wherever you live and you will probably find someone who sells EVA foam.

[@MrKirby365]

As a frustrated person😊

[@freepotato3121]

"Safe", this sword don't pass the security control of any larp

[@LostWax]

Yeah, this is a cosplay prop, not intended for larp.

[@sambiskynis1348]

Maybe, but it won't cut off limbs in practice combat.

[@Fr33domrunn3r21]

Or, just a though here, learn to use a sword, lol

[@potatomaster6544]

Second

[@javier7w710]

First