Are you going to be doing a lot of performing on Venus?

;)

Funny! Hmmm, let's see... women are from Venus... uh, yeah, sure!

Well, you can buy the silicone bands in the hair department at the store....they come in colors, black, and (big secret here) clear. They are also showing up now as a stationary item, bands, bigger than the hair ones,in many pretty colors. You can find it as invisible stretch cording or invisible elastic in the craft section with the beads and bracelet making stuff. They are stretchy to a limit, but the snap back is not there like in rubber or latex.
When using rubber bands...Keeping the things in mind that degrade rubber might help. No sunlight, it seems to not like the UV. No oil or petroleum products, they act like a solvent. Give it a little babying now and again, like baby poweder, it helps keep it from sticking to itself, or other things.
k

Quote: Where would the card sword be without elastic?

In the closet.
:)

Kay, Thanks for the insight. That's what I was hoping to find out. The foes of latex, I'm quite familiar with. Lots of experience with latex masks, prosthetics, etc.

It still looks like the better option for what I have in mind will be a steel spring. Now it boils down to deciding the best means to obtain what I need. I'll work it out.

Thanks to all!

Currently, a convenient source for a heavy, silicone rubber bands would be those little bracelets-for-a-cause that seem to be everywhere. Most are silicone. Some are urethane. Both beat a latex band by a mile for this application.

Now that I think about it, they don't seem to be everywhere anymore, having apparently run their course. All that means is that they're in the discount bin now...and cheaper to experiment with.

Dan

I get my shades at Home Depot.... they can custom cut the bar to size, even the metal spring loaded ones. I then attach my own material. You can pull the locks off the end so the shade keeps full tension.