Testing the bend in your blade

[Sciurus Rex]

How many of you have ever been called on at a competition to test the maximum arc in your blade, or seen someone else checked?

(For those of you who will ask about the specs: They're available in PDF format at <a href="http://www.USFencing.org/Forms/" target="_blank">http://www.USFencing.org/Forms/</a> , somewhere beyond page 80 in the document.)

Do they check that particular detail at national-level events? Or only if someone complains about it?

[edew]

[quote]Originally posted by Sciurus Rex:
<strong>How many of you have ever been called on at a competition to test the maximum arc in your blade, or seen someone else checked?

(For those of you who will ask about the specs: They're available in PDF format at <a href="http://www.USFencing.org/Forms/" target="_blank">http://www.USFencing.org/Forms/</a> , somewhere beyond page 80 in the document.)

Do they check that particular detail at national-level events? Or only if someone complains about it?</strong><hr></blockquote>

They, for one or two Summer Nationals (and NACs and other national events) had checked the bend for sabre. That was when they went from the whippier type to the stiffer type. Now that everyone's got the stiffer type, they're not bothering to check. I wonder if some fencers are going back to the whippier ones.

When I referee sabre, I always forget (as in not even thinking about it until right now) to check that their blades are S2000 or later.

For foil and epee, I've only seen the bend testing device once, and that was the 1986 Nationals in Tuscon (Phoenix?) AZ. They had the set-up to check for the centered-ness of the blade, and the amount of bend allowed.

They (USFA tournaments) will most likely check on the bends during the competition starting next season. After every halt, if your blade is bent more than the rules claim, the blade will be checked on the spot and if it does not pass, immediate card.

[neevel]

There've been moves recently to enforce curvature rules on strip more rigorously. As Eric noted, the latest batch of FIE rules explicitly state that it's a yellow card to not correct an excessive bend _after_ being ordered to by the referee (i.e., you can't get a card just because it took a big bend from making a touch, only for refusing to straighten it or deliberately re-bending it afterwards).

The bend can be easily tested by cutting a 1 cm X 2 cm wood block. Lay the blade on a table, so that the guard is just over the edge. If you can fit the appropriate width of the block under the blade (1 cm for epee & sabre, 2 cm for foil), the bend's too big. Also, the bend needs to be even over the whole length of the blade (i.e., you can't have a pronounced 'hook' up by the point).

The rig Eric was describing actually tests flexibility (i.e., how much the blade will bend from a given force), not curvature. Now that S2000 blades are pretty much universal, it's not used at NACs (if you really want a pre-2000 blade tested to see if it passes, it can be set up during a quiet period). Pretty much the only tournaments where flexibility will be tested are Sr. and Jr./Cadet World Championships. The SEMI guys were being pretty strict with flexibility in Turkey, because there had been a batch of BF epee blades from this last year that were actually too stiff.

-Dave

[damianip]

I make it a point to whine about the bend in my opponent's blade if I know him to be good at flicking over the bell.

Of course, they usually then just get mad and then hit me straight.

Other than that, in my experience (very local) no director has ever ordered a fencer to straighten his or her épée without prompting.

Paolo

[peircer]

[quote] Other than that, in my experience (very local) no director has ever ordered a fencer to straighten his or her épée without prompting. <hr></blockquote>

They made me straigten my epee at the NAC in South Bend. I don't remember what the director's name was though.

[damianip]

[quote]Originally posted by peircer:
<strong>

They made me straigten my epee at the NAC in South Bend. I don't remember what the director's name was though.</strong><hr></blockquote>

See! You're the type of fencer I'd be whining about!!!!


Paolo

[peircer]

Well...

In my defense, I'd rather they were straight, it throughs your aim off less.

[135711]

i thought they did a basic weapons check in the very beginning when you first check into the event. if it's too checky, it's too local, that's why they do it on a big scale. later on at the strip they may check your tip once in a while, but in my recollection, i was checked very rarely.

[Inquartata]

I haven't even seen the testing setup since Nationals in '87. I did see several sabre fencers instructed by referees to straighten their blades at the Reno NAC last month, but that's the first time I'd ever seen that ( apart from blades that the fencer didn't notice he'd just bent egregiously on an opponent ).

I suspect that if it becomes standard to penalize rebending I'm going to be in serious trouble---that's an unconscious habit I have, after every halt I give my blade a flex. May not actually bend it, but it looks like I'm trying to do...

[sallearmourer]

Almost all the national level referee's as in there poscess the 1x2x4 blocks to measure the bend in the blades. I know that for a fact since I make them and give them out to National level referees and shown them how to use them. I supply a bunch of them to the Sydney Olympics. Plus the Jr worlds that year as well. Yes on the National Level they do enforce that rules. 2cm for foil 1cm for epee and 4cm for sabre.You have have the bellguard and the tip of the weapon off the edge of the table.

Tim
yeoldearmourer

[ 04-17-2002: Message edited by: sallearmourer ]</p>

[MikeHarm]

I've been asked to straighten my blade in foil and epee quite a few times at tourneys. As of yet I haven't had anyone run the flexometer test on it. I suspect that if any of the clubs holding the local tournaments were to buy one that would change.