How to make a larp spear shoulder strap(works for all polearms)

So, assuming you got a spear or a polearm of some sorts, now comes the question, how to carry it? Swords, knives, maces and sharp sticks are easy - you can tuck them in your belt if have nothing else. A polearm though, is a different deal, and carrying it in your hands all day is not the best option.

So, I'm going to show you how to make a very easy and simple shoulder strap for your larp spears that takes only a few minutes to make.

For this we are going to use some rope, a leftover used duct tape roll, and as tools the scissors and a mini drill(though you can improvise with any of the tools/materials - I'm simply showing you the design)

 First things first - make some holes in the duct tape roll. The roll is made from very hard cardboard, and its juuust a bit bigger than the F-32 pipe which I use in most of my large weapons. A loose fit is important - the duct tape roll will act as a cup in our strap

 After we drilled 4 holes in it, its time to cut out two pieces of the rope.

 One should be big enough - roughly twice the size of a rifle strap, the other small since its only used to block the cup.

 Next insert the rope and tie knots at the end to keep it in place.

 Voila - that's it! Your boffer spear strap is done. That's it! Nothing more to it. So, how it works now...

 I'm testing it with the same boffer spear I made for the larp spear guide.  First we pass the loop through the spear shaft, then we fit the end of the shaft in the cup and just lift...

 There you go, its ready for carrying on your shoulder now. Now your hands can be free during long marches.

 It can work with other polearms too, and if you make a cup that can fit the blade - with great swords as well. Unstrapping it is a mere matter of shaking the cup off. This is another reason why I used such cheap materials - it is possible to lose your spear strap by accident. If you are careful, or tie the strap as part of your armor, feel free to use more expensive stuff - namely leather.

How to make a basic larp boffer spear

Spears, halberds, poleaxes, and so on, are a bit more specific to make than one handed weapons obviously. Main issue is getting a good core for the job. When talking spears there are several types and sizes, that have different approach for them.

 First are short one handed spears.

A short spear would not be much different from the javelins - in fact if you only follow the same guide but make it a bit bigger (f25 core and say 1.2-3sm size) and you will get a nice dual purpose weapon - stabbing spear that you can also throw when needed.


Next are full sized fighting spears - you can use those with either 1 hand or 2 hands but they are usually not suitable for throwing. This guide is about them.

Finally you got pikes - 3 meters+. Pikes are a dedicated formation weapon, making them would be a problematic, let alone finding enough people for a pikemen square. Never encountered it so I got nothing to say about pikes.

So how would you got about making your basic simple spear? First of all materials needed.

BUDGET: around 20$ - the large pipe is a bit expensive.

MATERIALS

Core is an F32 polypropilene pipe, a piece of foam, tapes and some wood textured wall paper to decorate the spear shaft.

Note. The problem with polypropilene for long weapons, is that the longer the core, the more wobbly it becomes, effectively giving the so called spaghetti spear effect. The simplest way to counter that is to use a thicker pipe for a longer weapon and it works to a point. For weapons up to 1 meter something - f20 and f25 pipes are ok, for up to 1.5 meters f 32 is ok, but for bigger, its not enough and the f40 diameter pipe is I'd say a bit too big. The wobbling in spears and polearms can be solved by inserting something else inside the core - basically that's why I postponed making the spear guide, I was looking for something suitable. Alas I found nothing so far so i'll show it in the polearm guides later on.

Tools are the usual for every larp weapon.

A spear is actually remarkably easy to make, finding a suitable core is harder.


First thing to do would be to prepare the spear shaft. The core is 2 meters long and a suitable piece of wallpaper is cut for it.

And then wrapped around....After all it should look like a spear right?

 Here's the shaft in full size. Can't take photos of it elsewhere - its too long.

 The rear end I covered in tape. Some folks might turn it into a spike and thus make both ends of the spear useable, I'll pass on that for now.

Next thing to do is the spear head. NOTE  This is a SPEAR - not a polearm, not a naginata - a SPEAR. Its meant for stabbing only, not cutting and slashing, so don't try to wallop the other guy over the head ok? 

Now that we got that bit out of the way, back to the spearhead. Obviously, since you will be stabbing all the time, not occasionally as with swords, the head needs to be reinforced. You can't get away with something the size and thickness of a sword blade&tip.

 Thus the spearhead will be thicker and with a fortified tip - I got 3 layers of foam on it, and then the final one giving it the pointed shape.

 After the foam layers are placed on, the final two pieces are cut to give it a pointed edge. Not too much since constant use will flatten it anyway, just enough to make it look decent.

 With the spearhead finished you only need to cover it in tape and its done.

There is you basic spear in full size.