My buddy
Sholo the Nubian has a skull hanging from his broadsword; I asked him on Sunday what it was made of, and he said it was a resin compound or something. (He tried medical-supply skulls for a season or two, but they chipped.)
BTW, Sholo there is the most conservative person at my Faire besides me. (That's not me in the pic - she's a patron, and I recognize her, but haven't met her that I know of.)