Armorer question: SchermaSport French grip

[damianip]

X-posted to R.S.F

Anyone here have experience assembling an épée with a SchermaSport French grip?

They've always been a pain to assemble because of their offset and rigidity, but I bought an FIE Lammet blade today, and it's almost impossible to get the thing over the tang. Non-FIE blades seem to "flow" if you push them hard enough, but this new blade just isn't budging. I'm afraid if I put it together, I'll never get it apart. I've "shaped" the tang to the grip offset as close as possible but it still won't get on there. I've shaved out some excess material at either end of the grip, but still no go.

Is there a technique to this or is it just going to be an engineering improvisation exercise?

BTW, love the grip so changing grips is not an option.

Any help would be appreciated.

Paolo

[attila]

Seems like the tang is too thick. Is is threaded 6mm? If so you could re thread the end part of the tang to 12 x 24 english and grind the rest of the non usable threads off for an easier time getting it through. A nice grinder is a usefull tool.....

[neevel]

Where's the grip getting stuck? Is it going mostly on and then hanging up near the start of the tang? If so, just grind or file the tang to fit-- often just chamfering off the corners of the tang will do the trick.(Remember, grinding and filing is only illegal on the blade in front of the guard-- it's common to have to do some work on tangs to get grips to fit all the way on.)

-Dave

[veeco]

One answer: dremel or hold it in your hand, and slide a rotating drill bit in and out the inside of the grip. I had the same problem before and that solved it.

[damianip]

I had trimmed up the front and back of the hole in the grip, but it wasn't enough. It catches just before the threaded end starts to emerge from the grip.

I've been leery about taking a grinder to the tang ($75.00 blade) but then again, the grip isn't cheap for what it is, and it's tough to get in the US.

I think I'll try Veeco's suggestion. I already broke a Dremel bit on it last night when it dug in and pulled the grip out of my hand.

I've gotten a hold of a small rat tail file. I'll try that tonight instead of the Dremel.

Thanks to everyone for the help.

Paolo

[neevel]

Paolo--

Grinding or filing tangs to fit grips is s.o.p.-- it won't cause any problems with durability. I've never had a foil or epee blade break at the tang due to filing it down, be it a $100 BF blade or a $5 Chinese blade.

Lammet blades _did_ have issues with the tangs being brittle due to improper annealing in the early and mid 90's (the problem has since been rectified), but they'd break regardless of whether it was filed a bit or not. These are the only foil or epee blades I've used which had real issues with tang breakage.

-Dave

[damianip]

Originally posted by neevel:
<STRONG>Paolo--

Grinding or filing tangs to fit grips is s.o.p.-- it won't cause any problems with durability. I've never had a foil or epee blade break at the tang due to filing it down, be it a $100 BF blade or a $5 Chinese blade</STRONG>

I got over the fear and did a bit of grinding on both the tang and the grip. It fits snugly now.

<STRONG>
Lammet blades _did_ have issues with the tangs being brittle due to improper annealing in the early and mid 90's (the problem has since been rectified), but they'd break regardless of whether it was filed a bit or not. These are the only foil or epee blades I've used which had real issues with tang breakage.

-Dave</STRONG>

Great, just when I was thinking how lovely my first maraging épée blade was...

I had bent the tang around a bit to get the proper cant and found it to be more ductile and "soft" than expected. Didn't see brittle.

Actually, I bought it because it reminded me section geometry wise of the LP blades, but, for an additional $20.00, I got a maraging blade. It felt very nicely balanced in the weapons assembled with the blades in the store. We'll see how it feels when I get it assembled with my parts.


Paolo

[neevel]

The issue at Lammet was poor temperature control in their furnace for annealing-- the temperature near the opening where the blades entered (and where the tangs were in the process) wasn't getting up high enough to do the job right. As I mentioned, it's since been fixed and I've not seen brittle tangs on Lammet blades from the past 4 years or so. You can still find some of the older blades for sale, occasionally ('96 or earlier were the ones with the most problems).

-Dave

[peircer]

I had a question about the epee blade that was just mentioned. I had this FIE epee blade that I didn't know what it was because it was a present. It was roughly shaped like a leon paul, and was blued. The stamp said LM on it, which I suspect is Lammet, but I wasn't going buy a $100 blade on a hunch that it might be the same one. It sounds like it's the same one you guys were just talking about. Nice blade, great weight, balance and blend of flexibility. Broke after 3-4 months though.