Pole arm question

[Alajos]

Hi everyone,

So I heard that there is actually a limit to how long your handle can be on a pole arm. I looked through the rule book for this so if the answer is "rule book" then I'm sorry for missing it, but what is the max length of the handle (non padded part) of a pole arm?

Or could it be that there is a minimum blade length? what about the piece of foam that we put on the "handle side" of the polearm? Does that have a minimum length?

Also, I carved a dragons head out of open cell foam and made my pole arm look like the blade is coming out of the dragons mouth. The dragons jaw or neck area is about an inch long (meaning there is about an inch of my polearm's core right before the 5/8" thick pipe insulation starts that is only covered in open cell foam. Will the weapons marshal count that part as part of the handle or part of the blade?

I ask that last question to make sure I get my measurements legal when I find out how long the max handle length on a polearm is. Thank all of you who have any advice. See you in 8 days!

 

[Alkalin3]

The Max length of a polearm is 72 inches.

There isn't a limit to how long the handle can be on a polearm. But, if it's so long that you're risking hitting people with pipe the weapon will probably be deemed illegal. You'll probably want at the very minimum 12 inches of padded foam, I'd actually probably expect closer to 15.

Also, I carved a dragons head out of open cell foam and made my pole arm look like the blade is coming out of the dragons mouth. The dragons jaw or neck area is about an inch long (meaning there is about an inch of my polearm's core right before the 5/8" thick pipe insulation starts that is only covered in open cell foam. Will the weapons marshal count that part as part of the handle or part of the blade?

Since there aren't rules about it should be fine. Do you have a picture? I'm having a hard time picturing it, and I want to make sure that your core isn't exposed in a way that will hit someone.

 

[jwconvery]

Also, I carved a dragons head out of open cell foam and made my pole arm look like the blade is coming out of the dragons mouth.

That sounds AWESOME!

Not a marshal, can't answer your question.

 

[Zymm]

In the PDF version I am looking at, the weapon measurements chart is on page 80 (book page, not pdf page). Grip Max is listed as 30". Also of note is that there must be 18" minimum of padded "shaft" between the head/blade and the handle.

That said, whatever your local Marshals' say is safe is what you can play with.

 

[Alkalin3]

The current version of the rule book has the chart on page 82. Page 80 has rules for Armor.

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Here's the polearm part from page 83 that includes more talk about polearms.

Blunt weapons, axes, one handed spears and pole arms must have a padded head that is shaped appropriate to the weapon type. This padded head must be made out of foam and it must be placed over the 5/8" pipe insulation that covers the core. The head must be notice- ably thicker than the pipe insulation and should squash easily. Everything above the grip area must be padded—like all weapons, any part that might come into contact with your opponents should have foam padding. Note that blunt weapons may never be used to thrust.

 

[Alliance SoMI]

In the PDF version I am looking at, the weapon measurements chart is on page 80 (book page, not pdf page). Grip Max is listed as 30". Also of note is that there must be 18" minimum of padded "shaft" between the head/blade and the handle.

For your reference, you can find a pdf of the current Rulebook at this link.

 

[Alkalin3]

The rules about specific blade lengths were removed a while ago.

 

[Alajos]

Thank you all very much for the responses! Yes, Alkalin3, I didn't see anything about specific blade lengths. I think I'll go with 15" or a bit more as you suggested. Thanks again for all of your input!