Glaive - Rough Tutorial

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Commander George
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Re: Glaive - Rough Tutorial

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This is brilliant! Congratulations!
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Darth Skellington
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Re: Glaive - Rough Tutorial

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Thanks! I'm still working on the tutorial.....promise it will be up in a couple weeks.
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Re: Glaive - Rough Tutorial

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Darth Skellington wrote:Thanks! I'm still working on the tutorial.....promise it will be up in a couple weeks.

And...as you can see...that never happened. Since someone on the boards is trying to replicate my glaive, I'm going to post what I have completed of my rough draft tutorial. I would like to post a a complete how-to like my pike tutorial, but I honestly don't know when I will have the free time to properly devote to it. So...here is what I have so far. The idea was to have pictures matched up to each section. Please view my flickr album of my glaive for all the pictures that would be used in such a venture.
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Re: Glaive - Rough Tutorial

Post by Darth Skellington »

Glaive Tutorial - Introduction

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If you are here, than hopefully you know what this is a tutorial for. But, if not, then here is a brief intro. The glaive is a double bladed vibro-weapon used by Royal Guards as depicted in the Crimson Empire comics series. It is the vibro-blade equivalent of Darth Maul’s lightsaber. It consists of a long hilt, out of which extent two sword-like blades. “In-universe,” the blades can retract into the hilt. They also operate like other vibro-blades, in that internal technology creates super fast vibrations through the blades, allowing them to cut through armor, metal, or people very easily, not unlike a hot knife through butter.

The reality of glaives is that the comics use a lot of artistic license, making them cool looking, but not actually workable using our meager 21st century technology. In the majority of the artwork, the blades are depicted as being much bigger than the hilt they come out of. I’d like to think the blades retract inward, becoming narrow, before retracting back into the hilt. The other reality is that the blades should be metal, and, as costumers, we would never be allowed into a convention brandishing real metal blades.

This tutorial will show you how I built my glaive, and will be a good basic pattern for you to build a glaive in your own style. Although some of my parts are found-items or no longer available, you should be able to recreate my glaive very closely if you so desire.

Last, but certainly not least, this tutorial is based mainly on the work of Torso Boy, who posted his own glaive construction progress on the old boards in 2006-2007, that have since been lost. I used many of his ideas, from memory, to create my own glaive and this tutorial.
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Re: Glaive - Rough Tutorial

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Glaive assembly - a quick overview

Just to give you a quick intro on how the glaive will be built, here is a diagram .

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In short, you will need two PVC pipes, two endcaps, two blades, and thumb-screws. The rest is all details. Your hilt will be made out of pvc pipe with endcaps glued to it. Inside will be a smaller PVC pipe with slits cut into either end, not unlike Tinker Toys. The blades will slide into these slots. Then thumbscrews will go through the pipes and blades locking everything in place. The slotted pipes make sure the blades match up and are parallel to each other. The thumbscrews lock the blades into the hilt, but also allow for the blades to be removed.
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Re: Glaive - Rough Tutorial

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Glaive - Before you start

Before you start, you need to determine how you want your glaive to look. The artwork in the comics is extremely inconsistent. Each comic panel looks different, sometimes with unique designs. As a result, there are a number of options to choose from.

You will need to choose:

Overall length of glaive, including blade and hilt lengths.
Hilt thickness
Blade shape
Number of endcap fins
Direction of endcap fins
Optional greeblies


I have a folder of reference images from the comics. It consists of all the cover art, and all the images showing glaive detail from Crimson Empire I, II, Kenix Kil, and the Handbook. There are few images in the early issues of Crimson Empire I that depict the glaive, and those that do are lacking in useful detail. Images can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48811827@N ... 146353824/


Length
According to the most recent CRLs, a glaive (with blades) should be no shorter than: one foot (12”) taller than the costumer. So…..if you are 6 feet tall, your glaive should be about 7 feet long. Based on that, you can create a formula for how long the hilt and blades should be. It really doesn’t matter, except the visible part of your blades should be no longer than the hilt (otherwise they couldn’t fit inside it when supposedly retracted). So, for example, equal lengths: 28” blade, 28” hilt, 28” blade = 84” or 7 feet. You can make the hilt longer and shorten the blades if desired. The artwork varies as far as length is concerned, so pick what looks and feels right to you. If it is too short, it won’t feel comfortable in “battle” when posing with it. If it is too long, it may touch the ground when hanging on your belt.


Hilt Thickness
I chose to use a 1-inch PVC pipe as the hilt. It feels comfortable in your hands, and is about the size of a light saber hilt. A larger PVC pipe will also work, and may provide more options for blade stability, but I found it to be too big to comfortably grip. Whatever size pipe you use for the hilt will effect what size endcaps you will have to get.

Blade Shape
The blades are drawn in many ways in the comics. Dave Dorman’s covers lean more towards large pointy angled blades, with the interior art being a little more conservative and with rounder, scalpel like edges. The Hasbro action figure is a good example of conservative blades. Early on you should start thinking about what blade shape you want, so you can make a test blade out of foam core.

Number of Endcap Fins
Yet, again, this is an inconsistent detail in the comics. Some panels show three fins per endcap, others four. I chose to do four, as it is more symmetrical and easier to line up with the blades and endcap details. Pick whatever you like. You will also need to design the shape of your fins, as they are also shown in many different styles.

Direction of Endcap Fins
The endcaps have fins that are short on one end, and protrude on the other, kinda like a shark fin. I’ve always liked the look of the fins when the extended part is pointing outward, away from the hilt.

Image

They are also shown pointing in.

Image

And, just to add more confusion, they are sometimes shown both pointing in the same direction.

Image

Pick what works for you. I actually counted all the glaive panels and covers in Crimson Empire I, II, the Handbook, and Kenix Kil. It breaks down to the fins pointing out _____ of the time, pointing in____, and both going the same direction____ of the time. (yeah..actual percentages would go here if and when I found my stat sheet).



Optional Greeblies
The blades, endcaps, and grips are all decorated with various greeblies and circuitry in some of the comics panels. You should start thinking about whether you want circuitry, flashing, knobs, or other details on certain parts of your glaive. Remember, the more detail you add, the more Star Warsy your glaive will look.
Last edited by Darth Skellington on Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Glaive - Rough Tutorial

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Glaive Ingredients

Okay, so now that you’ve started thinking about what you want your glaive to look like, here a list of ingredients I used to make mine, along with tools used.

1-inch PVC pipe (hilt)

1/2-inch PVC pipe (inner hilt shaft) (note, I mistakenly posted 3/4" inner pipe earlier, as a half inch pipe literally measures 3/4" across. My apologies for any problems this has caused builders)

2 X PVC reducing bushings (endcaps)

Ă‚ÂĽ-inch thick Plexiglass (blades and fins)(this was a found item, but you can buy plexiglass and have it cut into blade sized strips.)

2 X thumbscrews

2 X tee-nuts

1 or 2 plastic “For Sale” or “Garage Sale” signs (flashing on the grip and blade)

Greeblies like zip ties (x4), pop rivets (x8), possibly small plastic strips, mini wooden dowels, and washers)

Tennis racket tape or other grip (I used a unique plastic placemat from Target to make my grip, that unfortunately is no longer available. However, placemats, fabric, or tennis racket grip can all provide a potentially good grip cover.)


Tools & Supplies:
Hack saw or similar for cutting the pipe
Files and sandpaper (a table belt sander would have been useful)
Drill
Dremel (with cutting wheels) (a table belt saw might have also worked)
Scissors
Pencil and or sharpie

Duct Tape
2-part epoxy (I used 1-minute, but 4-minute might have been better)
Goop
Super-glue
Testor’s filler putty

Spray paints: copper, gold, chrome, clear coat (brass, silver, bronze may also be good options)
Ink wash ( I used some old Citadel black ink wash, but I’ve heard a brown wash works great on gold/copper paint to make it look realistic).

I used a needle and thread to attach my placemat grip.
Last edited by Darth Skellington on Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Glaive - Rough Tutorial

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ASSEMBLY STEPS

Ok, the next few steps can be done in any order, or simultaneously.

- Cut your pvc pipes to size, then notch, tape, and paint.
- Cut your blades out, file, clean, attach circuitry greeblies and painting
- Cut your fins out, file and clean
- Begin endcap assembly, including notching, & drilling
- Painting of thumbscrew parts and endcap greeblies
- Preparation of hilt flashing, including sizing, cutting, and painting


Later steps will include:

- Drilling holes through hilt and blades, test fitting of thumb-screw
- Attaching fins to endcaps, gap filling, and painting, final attachment painted endcap greeblies
- Attaching a grip to the hilt
- Attaching endcaps to the hilt

Additional steps:

- Belt hook and holster loop
- Belt sheathes for blades
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Re: Glaive - Rough Tutorial

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Pipe-Cutting and Notching

Once you have figured out how long you want your hilt to be, you need to cut both of your pipes to that length. I made mine about 29 inches long. You will then need to cut notches or slots in either end of your inner pipe. These notches need to be matching on opposite ends of the pipe, and the end result will look like a wooden Tinker Toy. The purpose is to give a place for the blades to slide into, and will keep them parallel to each other.

I just marked one end with a pencil, then stood the pipe up so it was on a straight line, like a rule, and eye-balled it looking down the pipe to guesstimate that they matched up with each other. I then used the same plexi-glass the blades will be made of to trace the .25-inch witch of the notch. The notches will need to go as deep as the insertable part of the blade is…which on mine is about 4 inches. (The skinny insertable part of the blade is actually 5 inches, but due to the endcaps, only 4 inches will insert into this inner pipe).

I used a cutting wheel on a dremel to cut out the notches on the inner pipe. I tried using a hack saw….but that just makes for uneven lines and a lot of effort. Save yourself the trouble and get a rotary tool of some sort.

So, you’ve got your outer pipe cut to size. The inner pipe cut to size with notches cut out. Now you need to clean up the rough edges, and can begin putting tape on it. You will want to wrap 3-4 strips of duct tape around the inner pipe, as spacers. You will want to wrap it so it is about as thick as the inside of the bigger pipe. You want these spaced evenly across the length of the small pipe, starting at the inside edge of the notches you cut. This will keep the smaller pipe centered inside the larger pipe.

Once you are taped, you can set the pipe aside for awhile. At some point, probably after you test fit the endcaps, blades, and drill holes through all for the thumbscrew, you will want to come back and paint the ends of the inner pipe and possibly put a base coat of black, gray, or some color on the outer pipe. You will be wrapping this pipe with some sort of grip, so you just want to hide the white pvc in case any shows through.
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Re: Glaive - Rough Tutorial

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Blades - Cutting, Drilling, Greeblies, Painting

Measuring and cutting:

You should also have determined your blade length by now. After that, you just need to add about 4-5 inches for the insertable portion of the blade (the unseen part that will be inside the hilt). You will need to come up with your own blade shape, but in short, it will probably look like a large machete, followed by a short, skinny straight piece, followed by an even skinnier portion that inserts into the hilt.

Once again, my blades were made of some pre-cut 2.5 inch wide, .25 inch thick plexi strips I found. You can have plexi cut to this width at Lowes or Home-Depot. You can also choose to use other materials, like wood moulding, perhaps. You will need to modify this tutorial to your own purposes.

My blade measures 2.5 inches at the widest, and just over 31 inches long total. The machete or scalpel shaped part of the blade is 2.5 inches across, and slightly over 29 inches long. The next segment is about 5.25 inches long, and roughly 1.25 inches across. The final portion is 4.75 inches long, and 7/8 inch across (just small enough so it will slide past the endcap).

I made practice run blades using foam core, but cardboard will work too. You just want to see if everything will fit and you are happy with the overall size and shape. Once you are ready, you can trace it out onto your plexiglass. My plexi had a paper coating, so I was able to just use pencil. You may have to use pen or sharpie.

I then carefully cut out the blade using a dremel. Mine was a rechargeable cordless, so it took me patient days to cut out the blades, a little at a time. With a corded dremel, you could probably proceed much faster. Just be careful not to over-cut at your corners due to the round shape of the cutting wheel. I did this on one, but luckily didn’t go so far as to structurally weaken the blade. I filled the partial cut with putty and painted over it.

Drilling Holes:

Once your blades are cut out, you will want probably want to wait to proceed further until you can drill the hole through the hilt pipes and blades. The reason you don’t want to go further is because, if you accidentally shatter the blade where you drill the hole, you will have to cut a hole new blade. No point wasting hours beveling the edges or painting until your hole is properly drilled.

So, in order to drill your holes, you will need to determine where the holes should go. The holes on my blades are centered about 5/8 inch from the end of the blade. With endcaps on, you will need to determine how far down the pvc pipe hilt this is. Then trace it onto the pipe. My thumbscrews were about 3/8 thick, so that’s about how big the holes are. The the inner pipe placed inside the outer pipe, I then drilled the holes straight though all the pipes, making sure we were perpendicular to the blade slot. Once one hole is drilled, place a thumbscrew through it to lock the pipes in place, then drill the hole on the opposite end of the hilt for the other thumbscrew.

You want to try and make sure your holes go straight through and not at an angle, otherwise you may have issues getting your thumbscrews through the pipes and or blades. Also, try and make your measurement exact. Once you are happy with the way the thumbscrews fit with the pipes, insert your blades and trace the holes onto them. I recommend trying each blade in both slots, and in both possible directions (total of 4 possible orientations for each blade), and tracing the holes each time. This way, when you put your blades in on a troop, you won’t have to worry about putting it in the wrong way and them not fitting. Mine aren’t perfect, despite my best efforts. You may have to drill your holes wider to make sure thing fit. Just be careful not to break your plexi-blade….our you start all over again.

Beveling & Filing

Once you are satisfied the blade holes work, you can proceed with the final blade details. As soon as you are done cutting the blades, you should probably file the butt end of the blade to a 45-degree angled point, so it is easier to insert into the PVC pipe slot.

You will do something similar to the length of the blade, so give it a “sharp” appearance, although it will be quite dull and convention-friendly. To achieve this, I drew a line .25 inches in along the entire length of the cutting blade., on both sides. I then used a metal file (it’s what I had) to hand file (or hand-sharpen) the blade to a 45-degree point. I basically just filed either end at an angle down to the pencil line, making it an easy way to stay consistent in appearance. A belt sander or other tools may make this significantly easier. I probably took me 3-4 hours total, over the course of a couple days, to hand file the blads to a sharpened appearance.

Circuitry and greeblies

Once the blade is “sharp,” you can move to the circuitry and greeblies. In the comics, the blades have all sorts of details on them. No two comic panels look alike, so you can shop around the images I have online to see what appeals to you. I ended up cutting out some plastic “For Sale” sign into a shape similar to some circuitry seen in one panel and gluing it to either side of each blade. I then used to plastic pieces I found at work and cut them/affixed them so they resembled circuits. This same look could be achieved using small washers and little pieces of plastic strip or wooden dowel.

I glued all the plastic “For Sale” sign pieces onto the blades first, using a VERY thin layer of Goop glue. it’s gotta be really thin and spread around using a toothpick, or once it dries it will buckle the plastic like too much Elmer’s glue on construction paper. I learned this the hard way and had to redo some of these, still with some buckling. You my want to try super-glue instead. Once these have had time to dry, and you are happy with the appearance, then you can glue your circuitry detail on top with Goop or superglue.


Painting

With everything attached you are now ready to paint. I made sure, prior to any gluing or painting, that I washed the plexiglass with soapy water. I then primed everything. Then I spray painted with chrome spray paint (silver is also an option). Once that was dry, I clear coated everything. The dulls the chrome, but gives it a nice shiny metal appearance. Some Mandos suggested to me that Testor’s make a product called Metallix, or something to that effect, that creates a realistic metal appearance, that may be worth looking into. I personally like the look of the clear-coated chrome, as it matches my Force Pike, and the clear coat helps further secure the greeblies in place and protect the paint job.

At this point your blades are done.
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