Screwless Epee Points

[SensibleStu]

I was wondering if anyone had ever used or heard about screwless Epee ponts as I would much rather use an epee that didn't involve the use of grub screws(tricky little bu**ers).

I have heard reports that they come loose very quickly but haven't met anyone who has fenced or fences with one.

They are made by Schermasport and I think that Estoc do them as well but I am not sure.

[kalivor]

A guy at my club has one in one of his epees. No complaints, but he put it in recently and it hasn't seen much action.

[epee1]

I have 9 epees 7 of which have the screwless tips (other 2 are german and will be changed over as soon as they need to be rewired). I love them. I have had the tips come off after a few months but they're easily repaired with the 2 wrenches I was given when I first purchased them. If you can afford them, they're the way to go.

[Zilverzmurfen]

I only dug up these links because I got interested when I read this thread.

• Schermasport screwless épée point
• Estoc screwless épée point -- Product Review

Someone else might find them useful too, in which case they won't have to go searching.

[DangerMouse]

I've been using the Schermasport for a few months now and love them. I haven't had to spend any time on the tips since I first set them up. On the other hand, my teammate has had a bunch of problems with them and they never seem to work for him. I don't know what is different.

[Mr Epee]

Originally Posted by DangerMouse

I've been using the Schermasport for a few months now and love them. I haven't had to spend any time on the tips since I first set them up. On the other hand, my teammate has had a bunch of problems with them and they never seem to work for him. I don't know what is different.

It's probably the way you fence...

I've had a couple of the screwless points, and destroyed them VERY quickly.

But then I've got a German Barrel on my desk that I broke in half.

[DangerMouse]

I am generally much harder on tips than my teammate, yet my tips haven't had any problems. I've split barrels in half too. That isn't the issue here. His tips just don't stay setup. We used the same process at the same time.

[shlepzig]

I have now had the chance to fence hundreds of bouts with the screwless tips.

These things do work great. They still take a little care and feeding, but I have much fewer complaints than I did with the traditional style tip. And far less upkeep.

I have found that there is a little sensitivity over time to the placement of the contact cup in the barrel. That if the barrel screws in or out a bit that this can cause the tip to suddenly stop working. Usually this is after a tip and wire have been at work for a few months of hard fencing and need a little maintenance any how.

I have managed to mash a few of the contact springs into nothingness and had to replace them. No big deal, it gets fixed in the pre-tournament equipment check.

Over time I have managed to wear the nylon bushing some which I think has contributed to to the mashing of the contact spring. Also no biggie, a replacement tip is easy to purchase and have ready for use when the time comes. One note is that each tip setting is predicated on the depth of the cup inside the barrel so the dream of setting up a bunch of tips and putting them into any one of several epees has not come true. But setting it up for a particular epee and swapping it in does work. Basically when it is time for a tip to be retired it is time for the tip to be retired.

This may sound like a long laundry list of complaints but it is not. These are really pretty small notes in the care and feeding of the Estoc screwless tip as it is a bit different than the classic epee tip.

Shlep.

[jspierre]

At the Pittsburgh NAC there was a guy selling screwless epee tips. Does anyone know if he has a website, or how to get in contact with his company?

[KD5MDK]

It depends on who it was. I don't know who sells the Schermasport ones.
The Estoc screwless tips are sold by Sword Masters

The Zip Tips are sold by [url=http://www.zipfencing.com]Zip Fencing[/url but have had durability problems reported here.

[SJCFU#2]

American Fencing Supply lists Shermasport epee tips in their catalog.

[Timacheff]

I have been using the Estoc screwless epee tips frequently for three years (I also use standard tips; about half of my weapons are screwless) and have found them to be reliable and trouble-free. I like them very much -- and especially I like the fluid, smooth action they seem to have. Maybe it's psychological, but they seem to be very forgiving and consistent.

A few observations:

1. You need to have a very thin set of wrenches to loosen and tighten the tips. Most wrenches you purchase from Home Depot, etc. are too thick and don't fit between the tip and barrel. Sword-Masters sells these wrenches. I'm not sure, but I seem to remember them being 7mm and 9mm.

2. Referees should note that it's important to check to see if the tip is tightly screwed into the barrel. Penalty-wise, this is equivalent to checking for a missing screw or a loose barrel.

3. The nylon bushings haven't worn too badly for me. I find them to stay smooth and they don't seem to suffer from the crunchy metal shavings common to metal-against-metal tips/barrels.

4. Every now and then a tip will blow-out, just as with any tip. It happens. Fortunately, they can usually be replaced without rewiring.

[KD5MDK]

How does one check for the tightly screwed part?

[Timacheff]

You simply twist the top and if it's loose, it's a penalty.

It's just the top piece, containing the tip, contact screw, and barrel "head" that screws into the lower barrel.

The lower barrel attaches to the blade and contains the contact head of the wires and the recoil spring. It should be checked, too -- just to make sure it's not loose where it screws onto the blade (also a penalty).

[fencergal33]

Originally Posted by jspierre

At the Pittsburgh NAC there was a guy selling screwless epee tips. Does anyone know if he has a website, or how to get in contact with his company?

If it was the same guy from the Miami NAC it's this:

www.zipfencing.com


I've been using them for a couple of months and I think they are awesome! No problems as of yet.