Bent french grips

[angriff]

Thanks nahouw, your reply was enlightening I think my epees need more of a downward cant too.. time to hit the bench vise again.

[angriff]

Then again, if you managed to get such a severe cant into the tang, how's the grip, being hard itself, going to fit? Or is this where the Negrini Schermasport grip comes in?

[geezer]

You have to make the apex of the bend just behind the end of the blade and at the beginning of the tang. I use a strong steel pipe, just large enough for the squared tang, and bend it just so, keeping the whole thing straight.... Heat, bend, quench, file, and shape to fit. I trim, grind, and shape my handle ends to fit the cant, and use a rasp or file to finetune the interior.

A bend at the threads is the Kiss of Death for a French grip tang. This is why a Leon Paul tang has no threads, only a notch and a threaded insert. And why some tangs are threaded only at the end.