Sabre gear

[latenight]

Hi all,

I'm looking for rather inexpensive electric sabre gear, any suggetions. I am primarily a foilest, so I wont be using it all the time. Price is an issue. Any help would be appreciated.

weapons
mask
lame

I need it all!
Ps- What is the difference between different styles of guards eg, Hungarian

and what is the "Russian style" blade listed on Blue gauntlet's site?

[This message has been edited by latenight (edited 05-21-2001).]

[neevel]

Blue Gauntlet is probably the best choice for a decently performing budget lame and mask-- $90 for each. Their lame material is an anodised copper, so you need to be a bit more diligent about washing regularly than with stainless material, but it's robustly made and durable. Stay away from the Russian lames that are the low-end stuff at Blade and PC-- the copper strands used in them are thin and sparse, so they won't hold up very well.

Russian-made blades are the best for the money at the low end (this is presumably what BG means by 'russian style'). If you've already got dry sabres or sabre guards, just put a grounded socket on them and wrap the pommel and tail-end of the guard with electrical tape.

-Dave

[sabreuse]

I think the Hungarian style bell-guard has larger and deeper "cup" to it so it protects more of your hand.

[Link14]

Hmmmm, not sure about that sabreuse. I think the Hungarian style bell-guard has more of a triangular shape (higher at the top and wider at the sides than the rest of the guard). The other style I know of is the Olympic style which is more rounded.

------------------
If the pen is mightier than the sword, the writer must have a heck of a reach!!

[piscesdragon]

The inexpensive russian blades that most vendors sell will do fine and last a while (you might also see these blades listed as "Y-cross section blades").

Base your choice of guard on your experience level. If you are fairly new to the weapon, don't buy Hungarian guards. They are wider at the top (a bit triangular as was mentioned in an earlier post) and the knuckle guard is very thin. Your parries have to be very precise to be effective with this. On the flipside of this, they tend to be more durable guards as you find more of them with with rolled edges.

For more inexperienced fencers, just get the standard round/spherical guards that most vendors supply (usually labelled as "aluminum bevelled edge guards"). They'll be a bit more forgiving of your parries and are usually a bit cheaper.

Another very important (but often neglected) part of your sabre setup is the grip. Get the leather wrapped grip (leather over wood or leather over plastic). The leather is wrapped in such a way that the grip has a ribbed texture, making it much more difficult for the weapon to slip in your hand.

my two cents...

[Peach]

I prefer the rubbery grip to the leather grip, which I find slips when it gets wet (yes, I sweat that much).