Interview for the Czech news server Aktualně.cz

Foto: Tereza Šolcová

A medieval swordsmith master would shake his head in disbelief at their polyurethane swords. But Jakub Horák and Adam Koupil's experiment with the production of softened weapons worked out and the original plan to make a few pieces for themselves and their friends became a fast-growing business. "They are not toys, but functional sporting weapons," says Jakub Horák, who believes that even professional fencers will appreciate their swords.

You won’t hear the thud of a blacksmith's hammer shaping a steel blade in the workshop, where the two longtime friends' company recently moved because of the need for more space. Instead, the workmen here are assembling orders or putting the finishing touches on individual weapons. On shelves around the room are pieces in various stages of production. The laminate cores that form the base of each weapon, next to them are blades cast in polyurethane foam, with the core tang peeking out, where the leather-wrapped hilt will eventually be added. "It all started with our passion for airsoft," says Jakub Horák.

He founded FakeSteel Armory together with his friend Adam Koupil. "Since we were fifteen years old we have been going to airsoft events. Then one day we went to a HMB fencing event (Historical Medieval Battles, ed.) and we really liked it. When we subsequently became more interested in it, we found out that it's a very sport-like discipline that takes place mainly in small arenas. It didn't have much in common with what we enjoyed about airsoft, which was spending time in nature and a sense of adventure shared with friends," says Horák.

However, the aesthetics of historical events excited him so much that he decided to look for an alternative to airsoft. "And there are quite a few of them. From historical re-enactment and vaguely historical events with steel weapons to narrative larps and various history-inspired or purely fantasy battlelarps where so-called foam weapons are used."

Soldiers in wrapped in bedsheets are passé

There were plenty of opportunities to pursue a wide range of hobbies and activities. "We didn't say at the time that we were 100% going to do just one of those things, but we agreed that whatever we were going to do, we were going to do it well," smiles the tall man in the Peaky Blinders-style cap, who says that a lot of myths and stereotypes still persist among people about the events where people don’t fight with real weapons. "Some people still think that going to a battlelarp means running around the woods in a costume made of bedsheets and beating people with mirelon tubes (water pipe insulation)," he explains.

Foto: Tereza Šolcová

But when you look around the workshop, you realise that the reality is much more interesting. In addition to swords, sabres or Japanese katanas, FakeSteel Armory also makes crossbows with special safety bolts that have a softened bulb instead of the traditional tip. "Compared to airsoft, the transition into the world of larp was a very unexplored field. When you're doing airsoft, you quickly get used to the fact that the weapons used look very realistic."

"It hasn't been that way in larp for a long time. People make swords at home by wrapping a piece of stick or laminate in random foams, covering it in cloth tape and if you’re lucky, painting it. When we started, there was no sense of visual realism of the weapons and I don't even want to talk about the safety and durability of some of these weapons," shrugs Horák, who, in addition to the aesthetics of the weapons, decided to focus on their functional use in sport fencing.

"In the West, Germany or America, they make swords that may look good, but when you pick them up, it’s like holding a toy. The weapon is too light, unbalanced. We wanted to avoid that," he says, holding a simple one-handed sword in his right hand and waving it around demonstratively. When one picks up the weapon, one understands what Horák is talking about. The blade, made of special flexible foam, is slightly springy to the touch, but the weapon feels nicely balanced and heavy in the hand, thanks to the harder rubber hilt and lead-weighted pommel. While it might seem that a sword made of plastic is still just a toy, it will be clear to anyone who picks up the weapon that if they are hit hard in a fight, they will leave a nice bruise on contact.

The road to the current state of affairs was not easy and, in Horák's words, it was a lot of improvisation and trial and error. "We watched YouTube videos, tried different materials and processes, and we made a lot of nonsense before we got to where we are today. At first there wasn't the idea of business behind it, it was more about going to battlelarps with friends and just looking good with nice weapons," Jakub says. "We also had to deal with the fact that the materials we use are not commonly available. These polyurethanes are used extensively by the automotive industry and nobody wanted to talk to us as a company that needed 30 or 50 kilograms of them," he recalls.

Foto: Tereza Šolcová

The two friends apparently stumbled upon the hole in the market completely by accident. Today, their business employs 15 staff and temporary workers and ships orders all over the world. "Over the last three years, the proportion of domestic shipments has been shrinking and now only about 20 percent of orders go to the Czech Republic, the rest are orders from abroad. We have already shipped to places the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, or Australia" says Horák.

When asked if the two grown men, who now make a living from the production of foam weapons, are not met with surprise by their peers, Horák and Koupil say that they are from time to time. "However, even if we were making toys, I'd rather do it a hundred times over than sit in a grey office somewhere. I don't think there's anything to mock about it, making toys is a dream job. And it doesn't matter if you're inventing Lego castles or swords," explains Adam Koupil, who until now has been flitting around the workshop, keeping busy. "These are not children's toys, but functional soft weapons for adults who want to practice swordplay, play sports or just have fun in a safe way. Even people who have been fencing with steel all their lives, stuntmen or filmmakers have been attracted to our products. And when a person who has been fencing professionally for twenty years tells you that you are doing it well, it's a great feeling," Jakub Horák adds in conclusion.