Howdy all, so this spring I'm putting together a party for some friends and customers of mine, a little shindig for those of us who appreciate sword culture. I have almost 20 weapons in the mix and everyone has the opportunity to bring their own. This party will run the gamut of toys from katanas, long swords, maces, war hammers and well anything else I can make/come up with in the meantime, so my question is what would be good for cutting material? I usually go with pool noodles, but I want something more. There will be the obligatory 2 litre bottles of water, and a few melons to smash. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

straw beach mats, a challanging cuting media is a thick role of wet newspaper
another is cardboard mailing tubes

Whatever you use, make sure the material is at least slightly moist.
Do NOT use cardboard tubes and such - they are not only extremely abrasive but also generate a tremendous amount of heat. The blade will be dulled rather quickly.

Usual materials are:
watered beach mats
watered straw mats (tatamis)
fruits and vegetables - preferably pumpkins
rolled and soaked newspaper
clay
lead
fresh and green bamboo
fresh and green saplings or branches (not too thick though)
bundles of straw or reed

I am sure there are other things I haven't thought of…

Herbert

May I suggest pork arms? :P

thanks for the suggestions, the pork however will be applied directly to open flames for our consumption. Does anyone have any pics of target setups? stands and the like, I need to build a couple of different ones and was wondering what everyone used.....

many thanks kind sir

Has anyone ever tried one of those big round hay bales? Seems they cost $25-$30, and would do well with thrusting or impact weapons. I don't know about cutting weapons. For a back yard "to do" or a meet it might be worth the price.