Making a Simple Waster

Introduction

Purpose of this Document

This information is intended for educational purposes only. Only use this information under expert supervision and tutelage.

Credits

1. members of the ARMA Forum,
2. the fine people on the Woodworking.com forums,
3. members of the ARMA Ogden study group, and
4. ARMA members via private e-mail.

What is a Waster?

The word waster fell out of use when the firearm supplanted the sword and polearm as the primary battlefield weapon. Generally people do not know the word outside of historic fencing circles. Thus people incorrectly call wasters by circumlocutory names, such as "wooden mock-up" or extend the meaning of foreign words, such as "bokken" (木剣). As research into the historic European martial arts progresses, I suspect that the correct English terminology will work its way back into use.

For a paper dedicated to wasters, I recommend ARMA Director John Clements' article entitled Get Thee a Waster!.

Finally, do not confuse wasters with toys. Wasters provide relative safety compared to steel weapons. They do not eliminate the risk inherant to martial art training. Only use wasters in conjunction with expert training. For information on historic fencing I recommend the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts, arguably the singular authority on the research and practice of Mediæval and Renaissance fencing.

Wood

Hickory

McLendon wrote, "Hickory wound be the best choice for the type of wood while it may be tight grained It is also a fibrous wood ... That is why it has always been used for Striking tool handles like axes and picks" (Woodworking.com forum, 22 May 2004).

As an alternative, one may try other strong woods, such a maple or birch. I have not used them personally. One fellow in the ARMA Ogden study group has had good results with maple.

Grain

Summary

Discussion

Straight Grain: Safety First

Note that when splitting wood with an axe, one ensures that the axe travels parallel to the wood grain. Thus a well-placed blow can cleave the piece of firewood in one stroke with minimal effort. To cut across the tougher grain, one must repeatedly hack with the axe. Breaking the long, tough cellulose fibers requires more effort than defeating the lignin "glue" that holds them together.

Keep this in mind when one thinks about how a waster receives punishment. The greatest force will come from full-speed cuts. Cuts cause stress across the blade, not along its length. To build a strong blade, the grain must run contrawise to the direction of force. Thus the grain must run along the length of the blade.

Fortunately mills cut boards along the grain, so this part requires no thought. However, the fact that wood does not grow perfectly straight becomes a problem.

Take the following two boards placed side by side (figure 1). Board "A" has grain that generally runs along the length of the board, but its grain goes around a knot in the side. Board "B" has grain that is extremely straight with only slight waviness.

Figure 1. Curved and straight grain.

Figure 2. Breakage along the grain.

Grain and the Cross

Figure 3. Depiction of the high schielhau from Jacob Sutor von Baden's Neu Kunstliches Fechtbuch (New Illustrated Fencing Manual) of 1612. The schielhau (performed by the figure on the left) both defends and strikes. The cross plays an important supplementary defensive role.

Contrary to the sword blade, much of the force that the cross will experience is parallel to the length of the sword. Thus the grain along the cross must be perpendicular to the blade.

Figure 4. Grain direction in the blade and cross.

I have seen people use wasters cut from a single piece of wood, where the grain of the cross is parallel to the grain of the blade. When one catches a sword sliding along the blade with the cross, it will easily snap off. Remember because the force is parallel to the grain, the lignin "glue" readily separates.

Figure 5. Detail of a single-piece waster with break along grain (highlighted in red).

Also note that one aught to secure the cross to the blade with a dowel that passes entirely through the cross and blade. This will relieve strain on the glue, preventing the cross from detaching and injuring the hands.

Figure 6. Large dowel securing cross.

Building the cross as a piece independent of the blade requires additional work, but will allow one to build a long-lasting, durable tool.

Material

1. one (1) piece of hickory with arrow-straight grain, 2" x ¾" x 6'
2. boiled linseed oil¹
3. mineral spirits¹
4. protective gloves¹
5. disposable rag¹
6. disposable metal bowl¹

Directions

1. Cut a four-foot section from the wood that contains the straightest grain along the ¾" edge.
2. Mark one end for the pommel, handle, and cross.
   1. Mark a 2" x 2" square on the end for the pommel.
   2. Mark the handle 1¼" x 9", centred along the length of the board.
   3. Reserve 1" for the cross.

   Figure 7. Mark pommel and handle.

   Figure 8. Mark handle and cross.

3. Mark the blade taper on both sides of the board.
   1. On the other end of the board, mark the ending width of the tapered blade. Make it 1" wide, centred along the length of the board.
   2. Draw a line to the outer edges of the board at the cross.

   Figure 9. Mark blade taper (point end).

   Figure 10. Mark blade taper (handle end).

4. Cut out tapered blade. Personally I use a jack plane to ensure the edges are straight. The end result should look like figure 11.

   Figure 11. Tapered blade.

5. Round the point.

   Figure 12. Rounded point.

6. Cut out the pommel and handle.
   1. A simple shape for the pommel is round. I mark the pommel such as in figure 13.
   2. It may be useful to cut relief notches (figure 14) in the handle to make cutting easier.
   3. Cut out the shapes (figure 15).

   Figure 13. Round pommel marked for cutting.

   Figure 14. Releif notches along handle.

   Figure 15. Handle and pommel cut out.

7. Round sharp edges on the handle, pommel, and blade, and point.

   Do not round the edges where the cross will attach!

   Figure 16. Rounded point.

8. Cut pieces for cross.
   1. From the remaining wood, cut four pieces.

      Quantity	Dimensions
      2	1" x 2" x 3½"
      2	1" x 3/8" x 9"

   2. Round two long edges from each of the 9" pieces (figures 17 and 18).

   Figure 17. Cross pieces, unassembled.

   Figure 18. Cross pieces, showing rounded edges.

9. Assemble the cross. The goal here is to have an assembly that one can work onto the blade. It should be very snug.
   1. Attach the two 3½" pieces to one of the 9" pieces (fig. 19) against the squared (not rounded) edges. Use a piece of the remaining wood to ensure that they are
      1. snug against the scrap, and
      2. not glued to the scrap!
   2. Glue the other 9" piece to the assembly (figures 20 and 21).
   3. Clamp the assembly and let it dry. Again, check with the remaining wood to ensure very snug fig.

      Figure 19. Partially assembled cross.

      Figure 20. Assembled cross.

      Figure 21. Assembled cross. Note that the scrap can be inserted but is very snug.

   4. When the glue has dried, round off the edges (figure 22).

      Figure 22. Assembled cross, finished.

10. Attach and secure the cross.
    1. Glue the cross in place (figure 23).

       Figure 23. Attached cross drying.

    2. Mark the centre of the cross for the dowel to secure it to the blade. The paranoid or overly aggressive may also place dowels along the cross to ensure that the three pieces do not separate. The picture shows five, but in reality three should suffice.

       Figure 24. Cross marked for dowels.

    3. Figure 25 shows ¼" inch dowel used. Use a ¹⁵/₆₄" drill bit to ensure a tight fit.
    4. Sand the dowel ends flush.

       Figure 25. Cross with dowels.

11. Refining
    1. Use sandpaper to refine the shape of the waster. 120 to 150 grit sandpaper should work fine.
    2. Use back and forth motions the same direction as the grain. If one does not sand parallel with the grain, or uses circular motions, one can create difficult-to-remove scratches.
    3. Thus far the illustrations have shown fairly crude edges. Spend time to make the waster as "pretty" as desired.
12. Finishing
    1. One must create a very smooth surface to prevent slivers, especially when practicing draw cuts with force. Take time to do a good job.
    2. One must frequently blow off the sawdust to prevent it from clogging the sandpaper. If sawdust clogs the sandpaper, one will rub more than sand.
    3. Smooth the surface by sanding everything with approximately 120 grit sandpaper.
    4. Smooth the surface by sanding everything with approximately 220 grit sandpaper.
    5. Smooth the surface by sanding everything with approximately 400 grit sandpaper. This should leave the surface with a glassy smooth finish.
13. Treating
    1. One must treat the waster with a finishing oil to ensure that the wood will retain its strength and resilience.
    2. Keep safety foremost in mind during this process.
    3. Buy a small container boiled linseed oil, mineral spirits, and protective gloves. Employees at a hardware store can help identify gloves resistant to mineral spirits and linseed oil.
    4. Obtain a rag or old sock that one may throw out. Beware of storing cloth soaked with boiled linseed oil. Read the container warnings about spontaneous combustion.
    5. Obtain a metal bowl or similar container that one may throw out. Do not use for food, drink, or similar purposes afterwards.
    6. Work in a well-ventilated area.
    7. Read all other warnings and information on the canisters.
    8. Create a 50/50 mixture of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits in the metal bowl. The dilution helps the boiled linseed oil soak into the wood.
    9. Wearing the protective gloves, use the rag to work the mixture into the wood's surface. Ensure that the mixture covers the entire waster.
    10. Set the waster aside in a well-ventilated location to dry. The location should not have a lot of dust. Expect drying to take several hours.
    11. Repeat the coating/drying cycle two or three more times.

    Figure 26. Materials used for treating the waster.