Best blade I've ever felt

[cowpaste]

Someone loaned me a blade at a recent tournament. It felt really light and most importantly, it put almost no pressure on my forefinger. How exactly do I find/build weapons that are balanced like this? Every single weapon I own pushes down on my forefinger. It seems like that sole figure supports the weapon.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

make it heavier at the handle by using extra nuts and washers in the pistol grip, steel or aluminium pistol grips, heavy bell guards, light blades, anything to move the center of balance more toward your hand.

[Artisan]

Originally Posted by cowpaste

Someone loaned me a blade at a recent tournament. It felt really light and most importantly, it put almost no pressure on my forefinger. How exactly do I find/build weapons that are balanced like this? Every single weapon I own pushes down on my forefinger. It seems like that sole figure supports the weapon.

It was probably a Leon Paul sheet metal blade.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Originally Posted by Artisan

It was probably a Leon Paul sheet metal blade.

I swear that those are the best blades you will ever hold.

[fencinman89]

You hafta becareful tho when using heavier grips that it does not weigh more than 500 grams or it does not pass.even if the blade is light weight you may run into problems. Does any one know where i could find any information on a "sheet metal" blade.
-Tre'

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Just get the leon-paul non maragin, they are made out of sheet metal from sheffield england... they dont break, they turn into wet noodles.

[fencinman89]

When you say "wet noodles," does that mean they are flexible?
-Tre'

[prototoast]

Aside from the type of blade, or weight in the pommel, it might just be how the blade was set. See other threads about bending the tang, and then you just have to do a little experimentation.

Also, ask the person whose blade it was--ask him (or her) what type of blade/guard/grip and ask what personal touches he added to make it feel right.

[CvilleFencer]

Since he is a foilist it most likely was not an LP epee that he is raving about (although they truely are the cats own *** when it comes to non-FIE epee blades!). There are lots of light weight blades out there, with non-FIE being generally lighter than FIE blades. The lightest and most flexible blades I have ever used for foil are the SG blades from Blue Gauntlet although for the long term they are about the worst blades you can buy. However they are very very light... and flicky. For FIE blades the Prieur Chevalier FIE blades are the lightest that I know of, but again they are not super durable. Much better than an SG though!

Do you bend the tangs on your blades? What kind of grip do you use? Most people I have talked to who have finger problems need to either bend their blades, get a different or larger grip or get a larger bell guard. You can play with the balance point a bit by adding weight as described above, but that will only help by a few grams.

[cowpaste]

The loaner blade I liked so much was an FIE maraging BF. Yes it was foil. I bend the tangs of my blades, but I don't see how this could make so much of a difference. I have one Prieur blade right now. It is light (the loaner BF felt lighter though), but I still feel most of the blades weight on my forefinger. I use a visconti, so nice heavy pommel wouldn't be possible. I really want to know how that guy built his blade. I don't think I've ever felt a pistol grippéd blade that was so well balanced.

[fencinman89]

Ask him and maybe he'll be nice enough to tell you.
-Tre'

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Originally Posted by fencinman89

When you say "wet noodles," does that mean they are flexible?
-Tre'

at first they are moderately flicky, at the end of their life span, they just bend in half and fall over like a wet noodle.

[Purple Fencer]

Originally Posted by cowpaste

The loaner blade I liked so much was an FIE maraging BF. Yes it was foil. I bend the tangs of my blades, but I don't see how this could make so much of a difference.

It may not seem like muchy, but bending the tang afects the balance point of the weapon AND how it pulls on the muscles groups in your weapon arm/hand. The body's senses are more subtle than most people think.

I remember fencing in an epee tourney a few years back. I was doing well (for once), but one of my weapons broke and I had to borrow another to make sure I have the required 2 at the strip. I IMMEDIATELY noticed the difference in feel of the one I borrowed and that was the one I used. I noticed an definite increase in speed and accuracy (even though I lost). I thought it waqs a lighter guard, but it was the same one I had. That was when I found out the wonders of bending the tang, because when done right the weapon can go from noticably heavy to light as air.


It's not always about weight.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

How much of a bend? I use a visconti, so I dont think it would be possible to get a real bend into it. If it is possible, then I would be very interested in tang bending my weapons.

[fencinman89]

it is very possible to get a cant in the tang i saw a guy at the U. of Penn camp i was at last week with a such a cant that with a visconti the end of the piece of metal which is on the wrist was about in line with the guard and he was doing pretty well for himself in the fencing world with it, he's just an "A."
-Tre'

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

was this dude a foilist or an epeeist?

[fencinman89]

foil
-Tre'

[DHCJr]

Originally Posted by D+F+P=Hadouken!

How much of a bend? I use a visconti, so I dont think it would be possible to get a real bend into it. If it is possible, then I would be very interested in tang bending my weapons.

The amount of bend is very personal. There is no standard, because there is no standard on how to hold a weapon. It depends not only on the type of handle, pommel, blade, etc., but also at what angle you hold your weapon.

When I balance a new weapon for someone, I have not studied, I will have them go on guard, do some lunges and some parries and notice at what angle their hand is. It is best to angle a bare or wired blade then a complete weapon.

If you can take 2 of the same type of blade and angle one. Hold them one at a time and you will notice that they suddenly are not the same weight. It will take some time the first time, but get the blade feeling as light as possible and then put it together. But be careful and not go to far. You will find the blade starts rolling out of your hand doing a coupe'.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

also, does anyone know where to buy blacksticks in the US?

[fencinman89]

what is a blackstick?
-Tre'