Originally Posted by EldRick

When I've shown the TungstenFencing pommels to people, I often get the question "Why Tungsten?" My usual (smart-aleck) answer is "Because Gold would cost about $7000 for the same weight," but that doesn't really make the reasons for using Tungsten clear, so I though I'd post some pictures to make the reasons obvious. To net it out, Tungsten is twice as dense (heavier for the same size) as other materials, such as stainless steel. Here's what that means in a pommel.

Shown here are two pommels: the one on the left is a 200g stainless-steel pommel (density 7.7g/cc), on the right is the 200g Sintered Tungsten Pommel (18.5g/cc). The STP on the right has an aluminum cone at the front, with tungsten the grey metal at the tail end. Note that the same-weight stainless pommel is appreciably larger - 1/8" longer and 1/8" fatter.



Next, illustrating the Center of Mass (Center of Gravity) of the two. Both are balanced on a small piece of metal. The balance point is where pommel acts to balance the blade. Note that the stainless pommel balances much further forward than the STP. This means that the stainless pommel will be less effective as a counterbalance than the STP.



And finally, showing what this means to the fencer. To have the same effect as a counterbalance for the weight of the blade, the stainless pommel will require the stack of washers shown, compared to the STP with no spacers.



If the stainless pommel was spaced so far out from the guard, and since it is also longer than the STP, it is likely that the combined length of French grip and pommel would exceed the allowable 20cm, and be illegal. The alternative is to install it without spacers, and have a less effective counterweight for the same weight as the Sintered Tungsten Pommel.