Washable Mask Bibs

Are there any epee masks out there that have detachable bibs so that you can
wash them, or do the wipe clean insides prevent sweat soaking through?

Uhlmann/Allstar makes an FIE mask with a removeable padded liner. The lining
covers the forehead, sides of face, and chin area. It's easily washable on
delicate cycle and attaches back in by Velcro. You can buy an extra liner
separately. Very nice and sanitary.

It may come in a non-FIE version too.

Mark Thompson wrote:
> Are there any epee masks out there that have detachable bibs so that you can
> wash them, or do the wipe clean insides prevent sweat soaking through?
>


There are fencers who create their own removable liners. Easy enough to
fit in with velcro or similar material. Main problem with masks and bibs
is that the bib's inner material will usually wear thru from bending and
rubbing long before the mask itself must be discarded. I find this to
be true particularly for the Leon Paul masks which have excellently
woven iron parts. I recently refurbished a six year old Leon Paul mask
after having it punch tested. Only discreditable part is that the bib
outer material (basically heavy cotton canvas) has acquired some stains
over the years. Still it's quite suitable for use around the salle
and fits much more comfortably than my Uhlmann FIE which I reserve
for tournament wear.

J.

> There are fencers who create their own removable liners. Easy enough to
> fit in with velcro or similar material. Main problem with masks and bibs
> is that the bib's inner material will usually wear thru from bending and
> rubbing long before the mask itself must be discarded. I find this to
> be true particularly for the Leon Paul masks which have excellently
> woven iron parts. I recently refurbished a six year old Leon Paul mask
> after having it punch tested. Only discreditable part is that the bib
> outer material (basically heavy cotton canvas) has acquired some stains
> over the years. Still it's quite suitable for use around the salle
> and fits much more comfortably than my Uhlmann FIE which I reserve
> for tournament wear.

I think I'll have a go at that. I'm leaning towards the cheapish Leon Paul mask
because they've actually taken the time to describe what's good about it on the
website and it's roughly the same price as the others. It's quite annoying but
every other website provides just a price and sometimes a picture with at most a
couple of sentences to describe the product. Leon Pauls efforts to actually
/sell/ their products and provide decent information on their products seems to
be a winning combination.


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"Mark Thompson" <pleasegivegenerously@warmmail.com (change warm for hot)> wrote in message news:<c1oh23$39t$1@news5.svr.pol.co.uk>...
> > There are fencers who create their own removable liners. Easy enough to
> > fit in with velcro or similar material. Main problem with masks and bibs
> > is that the bib's inner material will usually wear thru from bending and
> > rubbing long before the mask itself must be discarded. I find this to
> > be true particularly for the Leon Paul masks which have excellently
> > woven iron parts. I recently refurbished a six year old Leon Paul mask
> > after having it punch tested. Only discreditable part is that the bib
> > outer material (basically heavy cotton canvas) has acquired some stains
> > over the years. Still it's quite suitable for use around the salle
> > and fits much more comfortably than my Uhlmann FIE which I reserve
> > for tournament wear.
>
> I think I'll have a go at that. I'm leaning towards the cheapish Leon Paul mask
> because they've actually taken the time to describe what's good about it on the
> website and it's roughly the same price as the others. It's quite annoying but
> every other website provides just a price and sometimes a picture with at most a
> couple of sentences to describe the product. Leon Pauls efforts to actually
> /sell/ their products and provide decent information on their products seems to
> be a winning combination.
>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.596 / Virus Database: 379 - Release Date: 26/02/2004

NO!!!!!! Don't buy from the bastardos!!! Their masks are ok. But I'd
buy Prieur FIE as the ultimate in safety mask. I understand that their
mesh is a bit tighter. Next, Id buy Uhlmann/Allstar. Good masks but a
tendency to ring when new. Negrini is next.. Masks like a tank!
Followed by Triplette FIE. Speaking of which Triplette.com is agreat
website which explains why some masks are good.

Leon Paul does have a cool website. But their blades SUCK. Too heavy.
MAsks are crappy too i think. Well not crappy but not the greatest.
the only thing good about Leon Paul is theri bayonet cords.

Don't buy from them. Their service and desire to stand behind product
sukk!!

Magni

magni wrote:
>
> NO!!!!!! Don't buy from the bastardos!!! Their masks are ok. But I'd
> buy Prieur FIE as the ultimate in safety mask. I understand that their
> mesh is a bit tighter. Next, Id buy Uhlmann/Allstar. Good masks but a
> tendency to ring when new. Negrini is next.. Masks like a tank!
> Followed by Triplette FIE. Speaking of which Triplette.com is agreat
> website which explains why some masks are good.
>
> Leon Paul does have a cool website. But their blades SUCK. Too heavy.
> MAsks are crappy too i think. Well not crappy but not the greatest.
> the only thing good about Leon Paul is theri bayonet cords.
>
> Don't buy from them. Their service and desire to stand behind product
> sukk!!
>
I'm sure we've all had a bad experience with various suppliers.
I could name a couple but that may have just been my luck.
But which Leon Paul blades are you referring to? epee, foil, saber?
I'm quite fond of the Leon Paul epee's, selectable bendiness and
they last much longer than most others I've had. And I find that
the masks fit my head better. Certainly better than my Uhlmann.
Regarding masks I think it's rather like motorcycle helmets where
the various manufacturers must use different models. It's considered
fact among bikers that there are "Arai" heads, "Shoei" heads and
I like "BMW" myself.

J.

> NO!!!!!! Don't buy from the bastardos!!! Their masks are ok. But I'd
> buy Prieur FIE as the ultimate in safety mask. I understand that their
> mesh is a bit tighter. Next, Id buy Uhlmann/Allstar. Good masks but a
> tendency to ring when new. Negrini is next.. Masks like a tank!
> Followed by Triplette FIE. Speaking of which Triplette.com is agreat
> website which explains why some masks are good.
>
> Leon Paul does have a cool website. But their blades SUCK. Too heavy.
> MAsks are crappy too i think. Well not crappy but not the greatest.
> the only thing good about Leon Paul is theri bayonet cords.
>
> Don't buy from them. Their service and desire to stand behind product
> sukk!!

Is there a story behind this? Leon Paul blades have always had a good
reputation smongst the fencers I've spoken to - cheaper than maraging but light,
whippy (though I've always preferred a stiffer blade) and last longer than
regular ones. Or are you talking about the cheaper blades they make? I'd have
thought making most of them themselves they would be able to control the
quality - it's the impression given on the website (yes, yes I know it's
biased).. I'm sadly looking at masks in the £55 range so that Prieur is sadly
out of my reach :-(

I might have a looksie at the triplette mask. Funny how you guys pay the same
amount of dollars for things as we pay pounds - there's this weird 1:1 parity in
the two currencies whatever the exchange rate is doing.

So anyway, what's the story?


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Leon Paul makes Crappy foil AND epee blades. All their blades are too
heavy actually... and the metals are soft so they turn into rubber
after a while.

Their epee blades are heavy and Ive broken plenty of them quicker than
i should considering that they are so whippy. I dont have any of their
FIE epee blades though so I cant speak to them. BF Super Blues all the
way!

As for their foil blades well I only buy FIE foils and Blaise FreresBF
makes the best blades! Well them and Prieur Soudet(PS). Buy the BF
Super Blue maraging or the PS maraging. The Leon Paul blades are made
of this gummy soft metal alloy. Hence they are heavy. Their quality
control leaves much to be... ahh hell they sukk.

The vniti blades are like a tank! too heavy but boy their fies are
durable.

STM: these are also gummy and heavy soft metal. But their gold
maraging is a pretty good compromise. Still heavy though.

Anyone try BF Golds FIE foil blades? what are your thoughts?


Magni


Jonathan Jefferies <jonathanjefferies@alamedanet.net> wrote in message news:<40417bda$0$32587$2c56edd9@news.cablerocket.c om>...
> magni wrote:
> >
> > NO!!!!!! Don't buy from the bastardos!!! Their masks are ok. But I'd
> > buy Prieur FIE as the ultimate in safety mask. I understand that their
> > mesh is a bit tighter. Next, Id buy Uhlmann/Allstar. Good masks but a
> > tendency to ring when new. Negrini is next.. Masks like a tank!
> > Followed by Triplette FIE. Speaking of which Triplette.com is agreat
> > website which explains why some masks are good.
> >
> > Leon Paul does have a cool website. But their blades SUCK. Too heavy.
> > MAsks are crappy too i think. Well not crappy but not the greatest.
> > the only thing good about Leon Paul is theri bayonet cords.
> >
> > Don't buy from them. Their service and desire to stand behind product
> > sukk!!
> >
> I'm sure we've all had a bad experience with various suppliers.
> I could name a couple but that may have just been my luck.
> But which Leon Paul blades are you referring to? epee, foil, saber?
> I'm quite fond of the Leon Paul epee's, selectable bendiness and
> they last much longer than most others I've had. And I find that
> the masks fit my head better. Certainly better than my Uhlmann.
> Regarding masks I think it's rather like motorcycle helmets where
> the various manufacturers must use different models. It's considered
> fact among bikers that there are "Arai" heads, "Shoei" heads and
> I like "BMW" myself.
>
> J.

"magni" <michael_lichtstrom@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:23e9ba68.0402290406.3c8dd1d4@posting.google.c om
> Leon Paul makes Crappy foil AND epee blades. All their blades are too
> heavy actually... and the metals are soft so they turn into rubber
> after a while.
>
> Their epee blades are heavy and Ive broken plenty of them quicker than
> i should considering that they are so whippy. I dont have any of their
> FIE epee blades though so I cant speak to them. BF Super Blues all the
> way!

I have no idea what blades you're talking about. The LP "folded
sheet-metal" epee blades I use are very light, though they have other
characteristics that some people don't care for. The LP
bottom-of-the-line electric foil blades are also remarkably light,
though whippy and prone to take odd bends. I don't think we can be
thinking about the same blades.

--

Dirk Goldgar

(to reply via e-mail, remove NOSPAM from address)

Mark Thompson wrote:
>
> I might have a looksie at the triplette mask. Funny how you guys pay the same
> amount of dollars for things as we pay pounds - there's this weird 1:1 parity in
> the two currencies whatever the exchange rate is doing.
>
> So anyway, what's the story?

One suspects that there is a marketing viewpoint that a certain
number will sell better no matter what the number represents??
But recent currency swings have made rubbish of all the old truisms.
Otherwise there are taxes and the retail price. But with reference
to Leon Paul, I've noticed that the blade prices in London and
S.F. are roughly equivalent with S.F. being slightly higher and
less often available. American Fencing Supply went forever without
any Leon Paul blades. I am told by folks at AFS that it is often
difficult to get manufacturers to make shipments on a regular
basis. Leon Paul is supposedly one of the better suppliers. I've
heard several stories about european suppliers who wouldn't ship
for 3-6 months after they got an order. Making it very difficult
for the retailer to keep a decent level of stock on hand.

J.

"Jonathan Jefferies" <jonathanjefferies@alamedanet.net> wrote in message
news:4042420f$0$32590$2c56edd9@news.cablerocket.co m...

> I've
> heard several stories about european suppliers who wouldn't ship
> for 3-6 months after they got an order. Making it very difficult
> for the retailer to keep a decent level of stock on hand.

France Lames always took at least three months to deliver in Europe, but
they did go bust...

--
William Black
------------------
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords
is no basis for a system of government