Long kitespar for UL weapons

Also as a side not on the whole weapon cores thing graphite tubing which is the "standard" UL weapon core material especially if you get large orders and then split them between friends often comes to not much more than 8-9 dollars per piece, which can often even make 2 weapons. Is that really massively more expensive than PVC? Not from what I've seen, but maybe I'm mistaken... :?
 
Eh, I get my PVC for ~$1.50 for 8 feet. So yes, that is quite a bit of difference. Especially if we're wanting everyone to have ULs, even monster camp. Going from $50-60 for a dozen of donation weapons to $150-250 is a bit harder to do.
 
If you have a driving range near you, it pays to visit and ask them what they do with broken graphite clubs. You can often pick them up for free or cheap. In TX, I used to pick up maybe a dozen every month or so, and I think Matt has had a good going of it as well.
 
Yeah, that's exactly how I get cheap graphite cores.
Look up the local golf courses/driving ranges in your area and see if they've got a bunch of broken/damaged/unusable clubs. Sometimes they're even perfectly fine, but they just fished them out of their water hazards. Most of them have worn down grips or tiny cracks near the head (which you're just going to cut off anyways). I've never had a 'broken' golf club break on me yet, and I've made dozens and have been using them for years. I have had to come up with some creative stories for what I'm doing with them though, most places don't want to hear that you're going to use them to hit people with.

If you don't have a place like that near you/don't want to deal with the hassle (and it's been a hassle a couple of times I've tried it) your local Goodwill/Value Village/Salvation Army probably has golf clubs. Drivers are the only ones you can make max length longswords out of, but you can get a decent 40" sword out of just about any club. (Which is why our local monster camp has all 40" long swords/claws, paying customers get the drivers. :P ) Clubs can be as cheap as free at the ranges, but usually go for $2-$5 at thrift stores. Cheaper then the fiberglass cores online, and they come with grips already on them. You've still got to go to other cores for long weapons though.
 
Cheap and easy, but they have the two things I don't want in a piece of fiberglass for a weapon. Namely, having already been broken once and thus being more likely to do so again, and being tapered. Tapered cores are more likely to do unpleasant things like punch through a thrusting tip on an overhard thrust. Yes, I know you can epoxy a penny to the tip to help mitigate that, but I don't feel that it's a good risk to take in exchange for saving a couple bucks per core. We don't require armor, so I'm not up for taking the sort of risks in weapon-building that I would in an SCA weapon.
 
It's not like they're tapered like a pencil. Thicken it up a bit with electric tape as backing, and you're golden. I think you're letting unreasonable fears get in the way of overcoming your other objections at this point.
 
correct me if I mis-understood something, but did ya just say that its not worth saving the money to make weapons out of salvaged graphite, but buying graphite online at a bit of a higher price is not worth it either? Because for what its worth it is a fact that in just about every way graphite cores are safer and less likely to shatter or break than pvc. Especially with cold weather in mind... :?

Because it seems like your saying its not worth it to spend less money on what could be compromised graphite, and yet its okay to spend less money on cheaper pvc material which is in some ways a less safe core material, certainly when it comes to bendyness, just saying.
 
Nah, just that it's expensive to do for monster camp weapons. I buy it for my own, when I need to rebuild them, since the alternative risks whippy polearm.
 
Okay I understand what your saying, although respectfully I'll have to agree to disagree. Because I mean if a body has to sink $1000 just to start up a chapter, I guess I don't see that weapon core cost difference as being prohibitive enough to warrant not building with graphite if a body can cough up the start up fee. Not to mention the fact that I will always donate UL's if a chapter will compensate me with higher gobies for the additional cost. And personally I like to see the NPC's I fight equipped with just as much of the latest tech in terms of weapons as anyone else. ;)
 
Dreamingfurther said:
Okay I understand what your saying, although respectfully I'll have to agree to disagree. Because I mean if a body has to sink $1000 just to start up a chapter, I guess I don't see that weapon core cost difference as being prohibitive enough to warrant not building with graphite if a body can cough up the start up fee. Not to mention the fact that I will always donate UL's if a chapter will compensate me with higher gobies for the additional cost. And personally I like to see the NPC's I fight equipped with just as much of the latest tech in terms of weapons as anyone else. ;)
Click to expand...

I'm not talking about a chapter owner funding their NPC camp, but others building donations for gobbies. And even then, it isn't like this is a 'business' that's long on profit, barring things like NERO's build-selling habits.
 
Nothing is stopping people from spending less to make their weapons, and I don't think anything should be in place to stop people from spending more to make them. I still don't really see that UL cores make the game more unsafe or too fast. I still feel these issues, if and when they come up, can be addressed by safety and rules marshals. The difference in core weight I don't feel is game breaking. It certainly makes a difference, but I really don't see it as game altering I guess as some people do. A good stick jock is gonna be a good stick jock with PVC or UL, and those with less skill will struggle more with PVC naturally, but when it's only a few dollars difference in core I don't think it's unreasonable to save up a few extra bucks if you think it's that much of an imbalance. If it's that important you'll find ways to save the extra 7 or 8 bucks or find a friend to buy a core for cheaper from if they do a bulk order.

I think, that while not everyone can afford to play the game at the same level as others whether it be costuming or weapon reps, those that do spend more money help make the game look and feel better. I love to see someone's crazy cool costume or weapon even if it's something I can't afford. Sure, there may be a slight bit of jealousy as I of course wish I could look as cool or BA as the person who can spend more than I can but it just makes me want to be more creative with the budget I have.
 
word.
 
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