Construction
A lot has changed in live-action roleplaying and re-enactment since the 1990s, when most costumes and kits were crudely homemade, and foam weapons were constructed from bamboo sticks, foam sleeping pads, and duct tape. Fast-forward to today, where we offer a variety of products from foam, metal, leather and textile.
If you aren't sure what sword line fits your requirements best, we recommend taking a look at Living Anachronism's sword review video.
More in-depth construction information about each of our various product lines can be found below.
FOAM WEAPONS
Most live-action role-playing foam weapons have a core enclosed in shock-absorbent padding, often covered by a thin protective layer. Our designs follow the same principle, but with precise material combinations and construction methods that greatly affect quality and performance.
Epic Armoury foam weapons include both flexible core and coreless models. The padding is made from either closed-cell ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), polyurethane (PU), or a mix of the two. Some weapon types and tent accessories also use compact constructions that save valuable space when travelling between events.
Foam materials used in our weapon production:
- EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate): closed-cell foam used for flexibility and impact absorption.
- PU (polyurethane): solid foam used for durability and detailed surfaces.
- EVA/PU combinations: applied where both material strengths are required.
EVA-BASED WEAPONS
Our EVA-based weapons use a closed-cell ethylene-vinyl acetate foam developed and refined by Epic Armoury since 2007. This material, known as Epic Foam, forms the complete padding of both blade and grip. Each weapon is finished with a layer of pigmented latex and a silicone coating that protects the surface and enhances durability.
EVA foam is used across several Epic Armoury collections, with differences in how the foam is processed and shaped:
- Block-carved EVA foam: Used in Epic Armoury Classic and Ready for Battle weapons. Large foam blocks are manually cut and shaped into the final design.
- Injection-moulded EVA foam: Used in Stronghold and Stronghold Master collections. The foam is formed through moulds, creating consistent density and a smooth surface texture.
PU-BASED WEAPONS
Our PU-based weapons use padding made entirely from polyurethane (PU), a dense and durable material known for its solid structure and fine surface detail. Unlike latex-covered foam weapons, PU constructions do not require an outer coating, resulting in long-lasting surfaces with minimal maintenance.
The Epic Armoury Vanguard line is built using this PU-based construction, giving each weapon a more substantial weight and a highly detailed finish. In addition, several coreless models in our range, such as the Woodsman Knife, Stone Knife, and Black Shuriken, are also fully moulded from polyurethane.
PU foam applications within Epic Armoury:
- Vanguard weapons: solid PU padding for strength and defined detailing.
- Coreless weapons: fully moulded PU designs for compact, lightweight functionality.
HYBRID WEAPONS
Our hybrid weapons combine the soft, lightweight qualities of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) with the sturdy, detail-rich qualities of polyurethane (PU). This construction method allows each component to perform at its best, balancing flexibility, durability, and visual quality.
Several Epic Armoury collections use hybrid construction, each with its own approach to material combination:
- Epic Armoury Hybrid: combines a block-carved EVA blade with a PU grip.
- Stronghold: uses an injection-moulded EVA blade paired with a PU handle, producing a smooth surface without the need for latex coating.
- Stronghold Master Collection: follows the same injection-moulded EVA blade design, but with an added weighted handle to improve balance and weapon control.
FLEXIBLE CORE WEAPONS
Most of our foam weapons feature a robust, flexible core, which acts as the backbone, ensuring the weapon’s overall structural integrity. Our weapon cores are meticulously crafted from top-grade glass fibre, renowned for its exceptional durability and resistance to fracture and deformation. Depending on the product type and brand, we offer a variety of five different core shapes for our weapons:
1. Round Core: The round glass fibre cores, a timeless design, have been a steadfast choice for decades. They are the go-to for most Epic Armoury, Dark Moon, Ready for Battle and Stronghold melee weapons, offering a careful balance between strength and flexibility. Examples of weapons with round cores include the Wood Elf Dagger, Warlord Sword and Soldier Halberd.
2. Oval Core: These cores are applied in weapons aiming for a higher technical precision due to uneven distribution of resistance under kinetic pressure. The products in the Stronghold Master Collection feature this technology. Examples of weapons with oval cores are the Arming Sword, Dreki Sword and Marauder Sword.
3. Flat Core: These cores aren’t often applied, but they have a stabilising effect on the overall structural integrity of smaller melee weapons. A good example is our Ranger Knife, available in both a flat-cored and coreless version, depending on whether it is meant as a close-range melee weapon or a throwing weapon.
4. Tube Core: Unlike our other core types, the tube cores are made of PU rather than glass fibre, and are applied to foam weapons with a decentralised weight distribution, where added weight and increased flexibility are required. Although tube cores aren’t strictly solid, they are filled with high-density rubber granules to ensure a more stable swing. Examples of weapons with tube cores are the Woodsman Throwing Axe and Hirdsman Throwing Axe.
5. Curved Core: First released in 2022, these are essentially round, solid glass fibre cores that have been reshaped with advanced techniques to maintain the same structural integrity as straight, round cores. Examples of weapons with curved cores are the Curved Sabre, Cavalry Sabre and Falchion.
CORELESS WEAPONS
Although most of our foam weapons feature a solid glass fibre core, our throwing weapons are the exceptions to this rule, as the added weight can pose a safety risk.
For this reason, our coreless thrown weapons are usually significantly smaller than our cored melee weapons.
Examples of coreless weapons are the Franciscan, Assassin Unity Knives and Hand Bomb.
COMPACT PRODUCTS
We acknowledge that a cumbersome challenge to venturing forth lies in logistics.
A single sword may have a lightweight quality, but armour, tents, equipment and camp supplies – especially that king-sized keg of dwarven mead! – will all add up to a bulky and weighty ordeal.
To ensure that you can bring a spear on the back of a jet-driven dragon or that your adventuring party can load an epic canvas tent into your mana-maneuvrable carriage, we have designed a range of products to be conveniently compact on the road.
Most of these products are foam weapons that can be disassembled with an M12 screw thread, such as he Eventide Spear, Long Battle Scythe or Double-Headed Chaos Axe, or with an M10 screw thread, such as the Heroic Laser Sword or Villainous Laser Sword.
Note that we strongly encourage these weapons only to be used when securely assembled!
Last but not least, we also offer tent wall poles, centre poles, and ridge poles in a compact version, allowing your tent to be transported in a regular-sized trunk.
METAL PRODUCTS
Our metal products mainly consist of various styles of body armour, such as helmets, pauldrons, cuirasses, vambraces, gauntlets, belt shields and greaves. Each metal product design is hammered and shaped by hand from mild steel.
Most of our armour products are designed as costume pieces with a hardness of gauge 19 and therefore do not comply with existing armour protection standards.
Examples of metal products are the Alaric Chainmail Hood, Renegade Complete Feminine Armour Set, Renegade Complete Masculine Armour Set, and the Marauder Complete Armour Set.
LEATHER PRODUCTS
Our leather products cover armour, bags, belts, boots, scabbards and quivers.
To ensure that these products are safe to use with regular skin contact, we carefully comply with regulations regarding the maximum content of hexavalent chrome, antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, lead, mercury and selenium in materials that may come in contact with skin.
Examples of leather products are the Shadow Complete Armour Set, Ranger Complete Armour Set and Woodsman Armour.
TEXTILE PRODUCTS
Our textile products cover dresses, pants, shirts, tabards, tunics, leg wraps, capes and gambesons. Many of our products consist of 100% cotton, but we also offer a wide variety of products made from various blends between cotton, wool, polyester, nylon, satin and velvet.
To ensure the quality of our apparel, we apply the following four-step in-house check approach to all textile designs:
- A size check: All product designs are tested to see if the different sizes match the wanted fit and look.
- A wash check: All product designs are washed at 30 °C to check for discolouration.
- A stitching quality check: All seams on the product designs are carefully checked for thread quality, stitching finish and matching colour to the fabric.
- A fabric quality test: All product designs are checked to ensure the correct weight, feel and appearance for design, composition and expression.
Examples of textile products are the Imperial Gambeson, Ignis Pants, Aramis Cape, Estrid Dress and Lucrezia Dress.