This mace has flanges made of EVA foam which means it is strong but soft enough for some boffing and hitting fun. If you want a mace for cosplay and some actual hitting and fighting this is good choice for you.

Note: This tutorial is a companion piece to the more extensive Flanged Mace tutorial here.

ABOUT EVA FOAM: If you are not familiar with it here is an explanation. Think of the kind of stuff that is on the floor of a gym or dojo. It is a thick foam that is soft yet durable. It does come in different colors and different thicknesses. For this weapon we use eva foam that is 3/8 inch thick (10mm).

On amazon.com this is the exact foam that I bought for this project (And for some other projects): Interlocking Anti-Fatigue EVA Foam Floor Mat

For the Handle of the Mace I used 3/4 inch PVC Pipe about 24 inches in length. The official size of it is 3/4 inch. That is because in plumbing they measure the inside diameter of the pipe. But the actual outside diameter of this pipe is 1 inch.

About buying PVC Pipe. You can get it any any hardware store like Lowes or Home Depot. If that is not available to you amazon.com has it right here. It is actually pretty reasonably priced on amazon and this 2 foot length is perfect for a mace:

PVC PIPE 3/4" X 2'

Let's Build it!

Materials and Tools

• A Sheet of EVA Foam
• A length of PVC Pipe (24 inches)
• Barge Cement - This is a preferred cement for EVA Foam. But, you can experiment with other cements and adhesives if you don't have Barge Cement.
• Any color of paint you prefer to paint the mace (optional)
• The template that has the various flanges in it Download it right here

Print up the template and take a look at it. There are seven different types of flanges. Decide which flange you want on your mace.

For this tutorial I chose type 5.

Cut out the template part that you prefer.

Also, if you want to make a mace similar to mine you should cut out and trace these long rectangles. Make two foam pieces of each, giving you a total of four rectangles. The diamond shaped pieces are the spikes on the mace. They are difficult to do with EVA foam.

Then trace it onto EVA foam with a pen. Trace four of them.

Then cut them out.

Do the same with the rectangles.

I am using Barge cement to assemble it. This is the preferred cement but other types will work. You should test.

Apply a thick and even coat of Barge cement to the parts. Then apply them to the pvc handle of the mace.

And notice something in the picture above. The flange is easily applied to the pvc pipe. But the rectangular piece that is wrapped around the top of the pvc tube is taped into place with masking tape. That is because the EVA foam has some spring to it. Wrap a piece like that and it will bounce back. So tape it in place after it is glued to hold it while the cement cures.

Go ahead and attach all four flanges.

And that's it. You are on your way. The action and whacking part of the mace is now EVA foam so you can slap it around once it dries, and use it!

There is more to make with this mace but that isn't part of this tutorial. To see the whole tutorial, including adding a leather grip to it you should go to my regular flanged mace tutorial right here.