Do your kids (boys in particular) love swords and/or light sabers? Mine do. In fact everything at our house can be turned into a sword with a little imagination. We saw some of these swords at a craft fair a few years ago and decided to make some on our own. They are super easy.
Here is what you will need to make one:
swim noodle
26 inch length of 1/2 inch PVC pipe
1/2 inch PVC end cap
electrical tape
knife or hacksaw for cutting pipe and swim noodle
Take your PVC pipe and cut a length that measures 26 inches (or adjust according to what will fit your child best). Take one end of the PVC and wrap about 6-7 inches up the pipe with electrical tape. This is optional, but my boys really like the extra grip and the feel it provides. Place the end cap on the end of the pipe with the electrical tape. This is where your kid will hold the sword.
Take your noodle and cut off a 19 inch length. **You will need to use a swim noodle that has a hole down the inside of it. Then simply slide the noodle onto the length of PVC pipe. And there you have it…a sword or light saber.
We have a outdoor use only policy and strict rules about not hitting one another with them. The swords can only touch swords. They are only to be used in pretend combat as they could do some serious damage. My boys have also used them as baseball bats to hit tennis balls around our backyard.
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Chibby says
We use these a lot, but we continue the tape up the whole length of the pool noodle. It makes the noodle last longer, and stops it from flying off in the middle of a sword swing. Sometimes we use different tape colours to designate the edge of the sword. Our rules are no head or groin shots, no unarmed combat and no sneaking up on someone from behind.
Suzanne says
Fantastic idea! I think this would be a great addition to the PVC marshmallow shooters. :-)
Natasha says
love this and so will me son xx
Calli says
Great idea! I love star wars!
Tiff says
My friends little boy had a pirate party and all the kids got these. So when we went home with two I thought the kids would have so much fun. My mischevious little boy always would take the noodle off, and one day while I was busy getting ready for the day my daughter comes in bleeding! My son had split her nose open with the bare PVC pipe. SOO, as much fun as they are, figure a way to GLUE the noodle on so it can’t come off and become a weapon! We had rules too, but apparantly a 2 yr with an awesome imagination and urge to dismantle everything it didn’t work. Better to be safe than sorry!
Mel says
My kids have played with these for 2 years now. My husband just cut a pool noodle in half, and made the handle by wrapping one end in duct tape. Nothing inserted in the middle. Soft and fun! Great because all other plastic swords break easily.
Amy says
That is a great idea Mel!
Beverly says
My grandsons (ages 6 and 7) came up with this on their own last summer. They used the ends of another toy to push into the pool noodle. We cut the noodles in half to make them more user friendly. We didn’t put anything into the noodle, just shoved the ‘handle’ in until it stayed. The PVC pipe sounds a little dangerous to me since the boys are hitting each other with these things.