Follow Your Lord into Cinder… Black Knight Halberd
The Black Knight Halberd, wielded by the fearsome Black Knights who roam Lordran, is a rare and coveted item. With its unique moveset and impressive scaling, the Black Knight Halberd stands as a testament to Dark Souls’ reputation for challenging and rewarding gameplay. Obtaining this weapon is a feat in itself, as it requires defeating one of the formidable Black Knights and then hoping for a fortunate drop. Its damage output is exceptional, making it a prized choice among players seeking a powerful and versatile weapon, especially early in their adventures.
“We Are Amidst Strange Beings, In A Strange Land.”
– Solaire, Knight of Astora
What’s it Made Of?
The Black Knight Halberd’s blade originally started as a solid block of 1″ XPS foam, which I cut to shape and sanded by hand. I built the raised center sections on both sides using EVA foam, then saled both the EVA and XPS foams together using several layers of gesso. To create the swirling details on the face of the blade, I hand traced what I was able to identify within the low-resolution artwork in Adobe Illustrator. These were turned into a more refined pattern, which I printed out and traced by hand onto the foam. All swirls were then sculpted on the blade by hand using Apoxie Sculpt. The pommel of the Black Knight Halberd was made by wrapping cut and sanded layers and rings of EVA foam around a PVC base. On both the blade and the pommel, I affixed 1″ PVC couplings which would act as the connector points for each piece to the pommel.
To finish the “burned” look of both the Halberd blade and pommel, I hand stippled Bondo spot glazing putty, and lightly sanded the texture smooth once cured. This was also applied to a length of bare PVC, which would act as the hilt for the final castings.
Once I was happy with the look of both the blade and pommel, each piece was captured in a two part mold using Reynolds MoldMax 29NV. Castings were then created for both the blade and pommel of the Halberd using EpoxAcoat Gray, backed with fiberglass cloth. This resulted in lightweight and durable castings, which both affix perfectly onto the 1″ PVC rod. An additional small pour of solid resin was added to the pommel for weight and durability.
Finishing for the Black Knight Halberd consisted of light sanding around the seam lines, and an application of flat black spray enamel to all three pieces. Each piece was hand painted using custom mixed artist acrylics’ colors. I paid special attention to ensure the pieces had enough black, “burned” stippling texture to ensure it appeared as a true weapon of a Black Knight.
When fully assembled, the final Black Knight Halberd measures 90″ (2.28M). Copies of the Black Knight Halberd are currently for sale in my shop.
