Body Cords for foil and saber. New poll!

[CvilleFencer]

I have tried most of the cheap body cords on the planet and they all suck. I have tried the Uhlmann cords and they suck a bit less, but still break a lot. I am now trying the LP cords but they seem very flimsy off the bat. Of course so do their epees and they last forever.

So how about you? What do you think is the best, most durable, longest lasting body cord on the planet... that you did not make yourself out of orange 220v extension cord cable! :-)

Also, does anyone have an opinion or experience on the steel cored Negrinni wires/body cords? They sound nice but they are a bit pricey!

[noodle]

everything breaks.
i've found that uhlmanns break the least.
shrug.

[neevel]

The Negrini cords are good. I've always thought the Carmimari/Negrini style connector was the most elegant solution, and the cable Negrini uses is very strong and durable. There's just one issue-- the plugs use a solder connection to attach the cable. While solder is more reliable than a contact screw, it's also not field repairable unless you have an iron/gun with you (and even then it's much less convenient than screws). This is one instance where I think ease-of-repair trumps frequency-of-repair.

I use the Leon Paul bayonet. You want cords with real Leon Paul plugs (Leon Paul, Uhlmann/Allstar LP bayo)-- cheaper copies which don't use stainless parts will develop problems due to corrpsion getting between all the contact surfaces in the plug. The primary advantage of LP cords is the simplicity of maintenance. You do need to keep the screws tight, but that's a 1-minute job since you only need to pull the rubber boot down to expose the screws. The fine stranded cord is a bit more supple and resistant to stress from repeated flexing than many others. The one issue that LP bayo has is that the plugs themselves can wear out. There is a pair of nibs molded into the nylon body that keep the cord held in place-- once they get worn away the cord can turn and pop out. If I were starting from scratch I might spend the extra bucks for Negrini cords and sockets, but to re-fit all my weapons and cords would cost a bundle.

If you're going to use a 2-prong, use Uhlmann or PBT. In spite of the fact that repairs are time-consuming, the better quality of materials and machining still make them more reliable. It'd be great if Mr.Chen could come out with a higher grade model of his 2-prong- the newer pins are better than before, but the spring casings are still a bit too fragile for my tastes. Prieur 2-prong cords are easy to fix, but the retaining mechanism is inadequate.

-Dave

[Windsor]

Prieur two prongs have worked wonderfully for me, anything else is just too complicated for me. I'll ride 'em until they stop working I guess.

[darius]

The PBT 2-prong at $20 was probably one of the best deals going in fencing, but fencepbt.com has upped the price to $28, which makes the Uhlmann cords cheaper.

We bought a bunch of the Favero cords ($18 from TFP) for the UR club. Mechanically, they're not quite as sound as the Uhlmann, but incredibly fast to fix, and the price difference is worth it.

darius

[JEC]

I like Mr. Chen's design.

[Inquartata]

Oh---poll! Seeing the title of the thread, I thought someone was selling body cords with another, or a different kind of, prong....

[grotto]

Leon Paul for me thanks. the flexible rubber hoods make fixing and adjusting easier than any I have seen. This also makes the housing for the plug thinner as well. (little less likely to get hit in epee.) I have cords that I bought in 90 that are still going strong!

[CvilleFencer]

Oh---poll! Seeing the title of the thread, I thought someone was selling body cords with another, or a different kind of, prong....

I went back and tried to change that right after I posted it and re-read the thing but the changes will not take for some reason. Maybe Craig just wants my poor spelling to shame me before the world. If shaming me were the point however I would just think he would post a clip of me fencing...

[jeff]

I have Leon Paul body cords that I've used for years without defect. The most wear and tear on the 2-prong foil body cords, but I also use their epee body cords.

[fencinman89]

Oh---poll! Seeing the title of the thread, I thought someone was selling body cords with another, or a different kind of, prong....

Can Anyone tell me about 3-weapon b/c, I may or may not have a three weapon b/c which is legal for competition, This is all strictly hypothetical.

[DHCJr]

Theorectically it could be done. You would have to use an Epee connector in your foil and the blade wire must connect to the center (B) pin. The clip would have to be connected to the A line at the back of the body cord.

For Foil/Sabre, I can see no problem as it conforms to M.5.3. The question comes in Epee. You have something that is uninsulated (the clip) and is connected to one of the lines of the weapon. This is where it gets hazy.

[Inquartata]

If shaming me were the point however I would just think he would post a clip of me fencing...

Perhaps the fact that you fence foil and epee instead of sabre is sufficient in the shame department.

[CvilleFencer]

Actually I have just bought some electric saber gear... One of my goals for this season was to start doing that other weapon in tourneys to try and round out my fencing. I doubt I will ever convert, but will probably play with it till I get me E or so. We may even get to fence some day!

[CsmaCD]

There is a flaw with this idea with the current rules - namely, that the connector be easy to test in situ , with redily available tools, like a coin.

Other than that, why not dump the 2 and 3 prong connectors and use computer patch cables as body cords? Patch cables are inexpensive, widely available, standard, and have a built-in clip. :-)

There are 4 pair (8 individual) wires, so you could easily connect everything needed. It should be easy enough to devise an adapter for RJ45 to 3-pin to work with existing reel systems. For foil and sabre, this adaper would need a lame connector.

The size of the RJ45 weapon connector is similar to bayonet, while the cable part is smaller than a bayonet body cord connector.

Should be easy to wire too, something like: Brown and Brown/white, pin 1, Orange and Orange/white, pin 2, Green and Green/white, pin 3. (sure, you could just use 3 wires, but there are 8, so why not connect 2 for redundancy?) :-)

Just a crazy thought.....

[CvilleFencer]

I like the idea, but the durability would be a serious problem I think...

[CsmaCD]

Stranded isn't too bad. I've got a couple of patch cords I've carried around in the laptop bag for 3 years without data problems. Not sure how this compares to being tangled with a sabre blade, however.

That's part of the reason I suggested doubling (foil/sabre could even triple) the conductor connections.

Even if they lasted half as long, they're cheap. Repairs on the strip would be difficult, since you need ends, a crimper, and steady hands. A F/F coupler would make changing cable without removing the jacket easier, as a bonus.

[grotto]

There is a flaw with this idea with the current rules - namely, that the connector be easy to test in situ , with redily available tools, like a coin.

Other than that, why not dump the 2 and 3 prong connectors and use computer patch cables as body cords? Patch cables are inexpensive, widely available, standard, and have a built-in clip. :-)

There are 4 pair (8 individual) wires, so you could easily connect everything needed. It should be easy enough to devise an adapter for RJ45 to 3-pin to work with existing reel systems. For foil and sabre, this adaper would need a lame connector.

The size of the RJ45 weapon connector is similar to bayonet, while the cable part is smaller than a bayonet body cord connector.

Should be easy to wire too, something like: Brown and Brown/white, pin 1, Orange and Orange/white, pin 2, Green and Green/white, pin 3. (sure, you could just use 3 wires, but there are 8, so why not connect 2 for redundancy?) :-)

Just a crazy thought.....

Ohhhh great, now I have to bring a bag of RJ45 ends, my crimping tool, a spool of cat5e, and another "standard" to remember. "What do you mean you wired the entire office to fencing standard B" ok was that W/O, O, W/Gr, Bl etc.

[DHCJr]

There is a flaw with this idea with the current rules - namely, that the connector be easy to test in situ , with redily available tools, like a coin.

Other than that, why not dump the 2 and 3 prong connectors and use computer patch cables as body cords? Patch cables are inexpensive, widely available, standard, and have a built-in clip. :-)

There are 4 pair (8 individual) wires, so you could easily connect everything needed. It should be easy enough to devise an adapter for RJ45 to 3-pin to work with existing reel systems. For foil and sabre, this adaper would need a lame connector.

The size of the RJ45 weapon connector is similar to bayonet, while the cable part is smaller than a bayonet body cord connector.

Should be easy to wire too, something like: Brown and Brown/white, pin 1, Orange and Orange/white, pin 2, Green and Green/white, pin 3. (sure, you could just use 3 wires, but there are 8, so why not connect 2 for redundancy?) :-)

Just a crazy thought.....

My idea it is not a flaw. If a problem happens on the strip, I don't want to have to bring out a test box to test a body cord, I want a simple way of being able to test WHILE it is in the circuit.

Here are some other problems with that idea. Those wires were designed for a static environment, once the lines are in place they are not moved to often. Also once you plug the cord in, you are not unpluging and pluging it in often. My head phone cord always is twisting up, so I would unplug it, straighten it out and plug it back in. I have stopped doing that because the little plastic lock broke and I had to replace it.

For the 2000 Pentathlon World Championship, I created a special test cord, for weapons testing tying to type 5 different meters so I could test every aspect of the weapon. The problem was the resistance in the cord itself. I was running about an ohm a foot. That may not sound like much, but you are only allowed 1 ohm per line.

[CsmaCD]

My idea it is not a flaw. .... Those wires were designed for a static environment, once the lines are in place they are not moved to often. Also once you plug the cord in, you are not unpluging and pluging it in often.

I wasn't clear, I meant flaw with the cable idea, not the rules. The field-test provision is quite a good idea.

Multiple plug/unplug isn't a big concern for patch cables, I do it with mine all the time. (Occupational hazard as a networker)