In order to prep for Les Beltaines next weekend, and after coming home from Murder Melee this morning (yes, that has been the name of this weekend’s local SCA event for the last 40 years), I re-waterproofed our boots and de-rusted/re-taped my steel swords. I took a couple pictures but not as many as would’ve been helpful to actually communicate how to do anything, and also some of them were taken in our bathroom in front of a mottled gray sink, which was not particularly helpful. I tried to use AI to select the swords but it gave me a picture of the sink with nothing in front of it instead, so I did a real hacky crop job with GNU Image Manipulation Program’s fuzzy select tool. It’s my blog and comments are not enabled, so you all will just have to deal with my lack of photography or image editing skills. As they used to say: don’t like, don’t read.

Re-waterproofing my boots

Boots from Pennsic 2022. Not reeeeally persona appropriate for me but they’re SCA passable, and at that time in my life I needed closed toed leather shoes to avoid the cactus so the period Roman sandals weren’t it, and Bohemond was willing to cut down the tops for me same-day so I could put them on around my wide calves. The soles are pretty worn down so I wear these only when fighting outdoors these days, there’s not enough traction on them for a gym floor. I have modern cork insoles from REI inside too. https://boots-by-bohemond.myshopify.com/collections/viking-footwear/products/rus-boots

Pair of brown leather boots with white background. The one on the right is slightly darker and shinier

Retaping my dagger tip

I took pictures in hope that I could write a “How I tape a rapier tip” blog post, but then looking at the photos now I realized the tape I’m using doesn’t photograph well for this. Mistakes were made and lessons were learned!

My dagger is one of the shorter (14”?) open ring guard models from Darkwood Armory, from Pennsic 2018. It’s pretty but I am constantly having to sand out burrs after using it to parry, which I do with a block of sandpaper - I think 250 grit, it’s pretty beat up by now so I’m due to replace the sand block. I only use the sandpaper for burrs on the edge of the blade, not sanding out small rust spots. For small rust spots I use a gray “rust eraser” which puts off more shavings but takes less metal off the blade. After rust removal I coat the metal (blade, guard too if I’m being patient) in a thin layer of wax, also from Darkwood https://rapiers.darkwoodarmory.com/product/max-wax/. It’s not affiliate content, it’s just niche tips. On that note…

How I tape a rapier tip

Materials:

  1. Rapier or dagger with rounded or spatulated tip (spatulated means there’s a wider blob on the end, it is better if you’re ordering new. I heard at practice recently that putting a washer in the tip is optional for spatulated tips.)
  2. The tiniest washer you can find, like a #6 or so, or a hex nut of about that size
  3. Rubber safety tip/blunt (I have some now-discontinued ones from Castille - the new generation has the washer built in, nice upgrade since getting the washer in the tip is the worst part. Recently one ordered from Amazon failed at our practice within two months of being put on so I’d go with a tip not from Amazon. The ones I have look kind of like these https://www.swordshop.ca/product/Rubber-Safety-Tip/71?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=6)
  4. Hockey tape in a different color than the safety tip (which is usually black but some brands can be red) or blade (which is silver). I used to use electrical tape since it’s easier to find and less sticky on the outside, but it also gets destroyed faster in heat and doesn’t stick as well in humidity. The East Kingdom no longer permits electrical taped tips so I am going to stop using it too: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1929015644095555/?multi_permalinks=3890740457923054

Steps:

  1. Put the washer inside the tip of the tip. It must be parallel to the flat end of the blunt. I use a chopstick. It is extremely annoying. Sometimes soaking the tip in hot water can loosen it enough to get an otherwise too-big washer in (this has never worked for me but I was told it once). I have a hex nut in place of washer in one of my tips because you can shove it in with a bolt attached and then unscrew the bolt with less likelihood of the nut twisting.
  2. Put the tip on the end of the blade. If it wiggles when otherwise in place, take it off, wrap the blade tip with a single layer of tape, then put the tip on. Ensure the tip is on as deeply as it can be, and that the washer has not slipped. The blade and the washer should be perpendicular to each other. Dagger with black rubber tip, layer of rainbow tape under tip only
  3. Wrap tape around the tip, working from the tip of the tip, down over the opening where the tip meets the blade, down over the blade. Each new wrap of tape should cover about half of the previous wrap. Do not cover the top of the tip, there should be a rubber circle with tape around the edge. This is in the rules so we can more easily check for cracks or blow-through from the blade. Dagger tip with black rubber tip, wrapped in rainbow tape, first wrap
  4. When you reach 2-4” of sword wrapped beneath the bottom of the tip, change the angle of the wrap overlap to start wrapping back up towards the tip again. When you reach the starting point, cut the tape. You are done! Tug the tip gently to ensure it does not wiggle. Dagger tip with black rubber tip, wrapped in rainbow tape, second wrap

Retaping my katana tip

I parry a LOT with the last inch or two of the katana and the old tape provides environmental storytelling of that fact.

Taped rapier and katana tips, on a white background. The tape is battered and the edge of the katana blade is visible through it.

The tsuba of my katana is also quite beat up from parries. I had to sand this down with a file and it’s still not that smooth.

Rounded edge of katana tsuba with lots of nicks in it

Product placement yet again - I have a “light flex” katana from Purpleheart Armory. https://www.woodenswords.com/product_p/vb.katana.flex.htm. It was under US$300 when I bought it in late 2023 – prices have gone up, I guess. It meets crossover flex standards if you eyeball it but the local Ealdormere rapier marshal tested it with a weight and it is only allowed for cut and thrust here, probably because it’s so short – it’s flexier than some rapiers, but those rapiers are longer, and we’re looking for more than 0.5” deformation from hilt to tip with the weight test. The katana is 29” long, it just doesn’t have as much distance to deform along. It does have a spatulated tip, and I cover it with a rubber tip from Akado Armory. https://www.akadoarmory.com/product/protective-sword-tips/

Katana tip wrapped in rainbow hockey tape

One last pic for the sickos (affectionate)

Big blob of old tape, hand for scale