War Hammer LARP Weapon

LARP (Live Action Role Playing) is quickly growing and more people are becoming interested in joining in on these real live events.

The first LARPs were run in the late 70′s and were inspired by table-top role playing games.  They spread world-wide during the 80′s.  Today, LARPs have evolved in such a way that events can be more private and last a few hours to a public event with thousands of players which lasts over a period of days.  With increasing interest, new groups keep popping up with very diverse genres including historical, medieval, and even futuristic.

In my opinion, the clothing and the weapons are the most interesting part about these events.  Sure, it’s fun to be a part of a story and play a character and fight in a battle.  But, getting yourself into character by dressing up and wielding your favorite weapon is the best part!  Finding the perfect outfit and really immersing yourself into the character just adds to the overall experience of getting prepped for an event.

LARP weapons come in all different styles too.  They are made of latex, so you can deliver a decent blow without severely injuring your opponent.  The swords are pretty cool, but I must say, there are lots of other awesome weapons that are available.

Some LARPs, usually the historical ones, use replica weaponry that doesn’t actually fire, such as guns and rifles.  It’s pretty exhilarating to be involved in a battle and actually feel like you’re gunning down your enemies!

If you find LARP to be intriguing, you should definitely check it out.  You can go online and find a local group to join or you could even start one up yourself!  Either way, you’re bound to have a good time.

When you order a new piece of armor and it finally arrives in the mail, all you want to do is rip the box open and get your hands on it!  Be forewarned that your hands will come out quite oily.

This is normal.  In fact, I would be worried if I received any armor without a light coating of oil on it.  Companies ship armor, which includes swords and weaponry as well, in a coating of oil to prevent rust from building up during it’s travel.  It’s a good idea to wipe off the oil with a clean cloth and some mineral spirits and reapply a coat yourself.  This will ensure even coverage to further prevent rust.

Even when a piece of armor is simply on display, you have to take care of it to maintain its appearance.  It’s a good idea to oil it about once a month.  This will help keep it dust and rust free.

Rust isn’t the only thing you need to be careful of.  For your sword hilt and scabbard or body armor with straps, you will need to tend to those as well.  For leather, it’s best to use wax to keep them flexible and looking their best.  For any wooden parts, such as a sword handle, it’s good to use lemon oil.  This will help replenish the wood and keep cracks at bay.

So, go ahead and enjoy your newly aquired armor!  Put it up for display for all to see and keep it looking fresh with these simple tips.

Admit it.  Medieval flails are pretty awesome.  Granted, it wouldn’t be so cool to be on the receiving end of one, they are really interesting weapons.  There are many different variations of flails and maces, and their history is pretty neat.

The use of a flail in the Middle Ages was brought about by peasant farmers.  These agricultural flails were sometimes used by the peasants to defend themselves in an uprising.  This evolved into a weapon, and the appearance changed.  The new weapons had studs or spikes embedded in the end.  These flails were used in the German Peasants War in the 16th Century.

Later on, the long handled flail gained popularity in India.  Not so much as a weapon, but as a status symbol.  There is an example of a mace with two iron spiked balls, attached with separate chains in the Royal Armouries collection.

The story of the Sword in the Stone is one of my favorite medieval tales.  I think I probably like it so much because Disney made a cartoon movie about it which I found to be really entertaining.  To sum it up with a quote, “Who so Pulleth Out This Sword of this Stone and Anvil, is Rightwise King Born of England.”

How cool is it, that if you can pull this sword out, you will become King?!  Of course, it’s not a matter of strength, but of honor and royalty, but it’s still a neat idea.  The original novel, The Once and Future King, was written by T.H. White and published in 1963.  Of course, there have been many revisions through different stories, movie adaptations, and radio programs, but the basic theme is the same throughout.

Excalibur is a pretty powerful sword, and I find it to be pretty interesting that it’s gained so much of its glory from this tale.  Whoever wields this sword becomes the King and has power over England, plus has bragging rights for being able to haul it out of stone.  The sword itself has been replicated and there are a number of different versions of it.  Some are simple plain versions, while others are intricated detailed with stones and etching on the blade.

As there are different versions of the sword, there are also many different versions of King Arthur and Excalibur.  In other tales, Excalibur was not pulled from the stone, but given to Arthur by the Lady in the Lake after he already began his reign.  Another story is that Arthur does in fact pull the sword from the stone, but he later breaks it.  Then, the Lady in the Lake repairs the sword for him.

There are so many stories regarding Arthur and the famed Excalibur that sometimes it’s hard to keep them straight!  The fact that people are still intrigued by these stories truly shows just how powerful this sword can be.