How do you make fake barbed wire?

Question

We're doing a theatrical production that requires barbed wire. Don't want to use the real thing as it is dangerous to the actors.

Answer 1

As a props master often, among all other aspects of theater, I offer this.

You don't state if you will use REAL straight, unshielded WIRE or not, but here are my suggestions no matter.

Cotton twine, knotted around REAL wire, cut short to the knot, and spray painted the appropriate color, will not only make it look like a BARB, but will actually stiffen the twine while not making it a safety issue.

If you're unable to use REAL unshielded wire as the base for this, use the same cotton twine, spray painted, stretched taught, and add the fake barbs.

Steven Wolf

Keep in mind, your audience gets it, that it's a play, and perhaps even front row is 20 feet away from the scene.

Answer 2

Fake Barbed Wire

Answer 3

Faux Barbed Wire

Answer 4

99% of the barbed wire matches are real. Just look at Sabu's body. He told a story about his first tour in Japan. He said he'd gone to work in Japan where deathmatches were getting very popular and so were barbed-wire matches. He said that before he went to Japan his body was 100% scar free. He talked about doing shows there for 3 months straight and doing a barbed wire match almost every other night because it was in such a high demand. He said that because of that tour in just 3 months his body became the scarred mess that it is today. However, I did see the match between Black Reign and Abyss in TNA At Genesis 2007. At the end of the match the camera showed a view of Black Reign laying in the ring and there was a huge mesh of barbed wire right in front of the camera, so the camera zoomed in and focused on it to show all the wire. At every single point where the barbs were supposed to be they had either been cut off or were missing completely.

Answer 5

Get real barbed wire and clip off the sharp points

Answer 6

Try silver ribbon with 1" tinsel tied to it every 4" or what ever the increments are on real barbed wire.

Answer 7

after going and looking at this:

http://www.ghostride.com/products/misc/faux-barbed-wire.html

i thought that perhaps if you got some plastic coated wire... i know those come in different colours... but you'd have to ultimately paint them (probably spray paint... it comes in rust!) twist the wires together and then use something for the barb parts...

on second thought, the above link's faux barbed wire costs a buck a foot... hmm...

Answer 8

Ive seen yarn and pipe cleaners used before. About every 8 inches you wrap about an inch worth of pipe cleaner around the yarn. It looks good from the audience. As long as you dont need to be carrying it around on stage this works. If you have to move it during the production, the yarn doesnt look like wire anymore. Too flimsy.

Answer 9

use a thcik enough, plastic coated, easily malleable wire. twist two lengths together loosely for the main body section, and then every six inches or so tist two short peices around to simulate the barbs--I'm sure you know what barbed wire looks like, so that's the look you're going for

Answer 10

I would look at normal barbed wire and then make something similar from softer wire (eg copper wire) and spray it silver / grey to look as though it is real. as long as you don't sharpen the barbs it shouldn't cause any damage and would bend if accidentally touched.