epee wires

[glowstix]

ok, close to the barrel of the epee, both wires have lost their insulation at the exact same point (about a half a centimeter in length). the weapon is still conducting but i'm suspecting that they will soon short out.

is there any way around this without having to rewire??

[Mr Epee]

Not really ... spent a few dollars and replace it soon...

If it's your only, or last weapon, and you need to fence with it in practice, then this is what I would do. Gently pull the wires up away from the blade. Take a short 3-4 cm length of electrical tape and first run it between the wires and the blade. Then for the next wrap go between the wires and for the last time around go over all the wires and around the blade... that should hold you for a while.

If you have a good wire, then hopefully you are only missing the thread insulation, and still have a thin layer of plastic protecting the wire...

Best of luck

P.S. That's also what I would recomend, if your blade is old and likely to break soon anyways...

[millsisland]

Try this: Lay the blade groove side up, slightly elevated at the tip. Carefully dab a small bead of clear fingernail polish over the wires where the insulation has come off. Let dry, repeat.

Mills

[Sword Mistress]

oh jesus, rewire the damn thing.

and make sure you (or whoever wires it) doesn't rough it up while threading it through the barrel down the blade!

[yeoldearmourer]

IF it a german wire you have a clear insulation all ready on the wire and that problem while itt hasn't shorted out yet. The clear poish trick works but a temp.fix at the best. Take the 7 mins and rewire the blade.

[great bowyer]

oh jesus, rewire the damn thing.

and make sure you (or whoever wires it) doesn't rough it up while threading it through the barrel down the blade!

after not having to rewire a weapon for sometime now, i suddenly had two weapons that needed rewired. for some reason when i am pulling the wire trough the barrel when it is on the blade, the wire seems to catch on something and strip the insulation off. i get the whole wire through ok until the last 2 inches before this happens. i do not remember ever having this problem before. any ideas on how to prevent this?

[glowstix]

oh jesus, rewire the damn thing.

and make sure you (or whoever wires it) doesn't rough it up while threading it through the barrel down the blade!

aaahhh...NNOOOOOO!!!!! don't you think that's just a bit too wasteful?? a wire costs $4 and $5 for shipping...

i use all of my own equipment and do my own armoury; i can't just borrow or take stuff from my club whenever i need anything because i have no club.

[Frank Pratt]

aaahhh...NNOOOOOO!!!!! don't you think that's just a bit too wasteful?? a wire costs $4 and $5 for shipping...

i use all of my own equipment and do my own armoury; i can't just borrow or take stuff from my club whenever i need anything because i have no club.

True. I usually try to stock up on a few wires each time I place an order, since it's $4-5 whehter you order 1 or 20 wires at a time. If you know anyone else who may need wires, see if you can order some for them to spread the S/H cost. Better yet, stock up if you make it to go to a national or large non-NAC event a that has vendors.

The bottom line from the previous posts is that your need a new wire now, since the weapon is probably going to short out sooner rather than later. You can indeed wait until it fails to re-wire it, but you need to have a backup weapon and a wire on hand to re-wire it when it goes belly-up. Even if only one wire is stripped at a given location, the weapon will fail if that wire grounds out though the weapon. If both are stripped in the same place, then the weapon will fail if either wire grounds out or if they touch one another.

[DHCJr]

after not having to rewire a weapon for sometime now, i suddenly had two weapons that needed rewired. for some reason when i am pulling the wire trough the barrel when it is on the blade, the wire seems to catch on something and strip the insulation off. i get the whole wire through ok until the last 2 inches before this happens. i do not remember ever having this problem before. any ideas on how to prevent this?

First open up the groove at the threads by filing with a jewelers triangular file. Also make sure the end is flat. When you tighten down the barrel have only the last 1 or 2" of the wire. Move the wire back and forth. If there is any catching, take off the barrel and try the above again.

Nail polish was the first glue used. I would prefer a bright red over clear. Hides the blood better.

[millsisland]

i get the whole wire through ok until the last 2 inches before this happens. i do not remember ever having this problem before. any ideas on how to prevent this?

As Donald said, take a file to the tip. Then, if you want to take a dry run to make sure you've removed your burr and made a smooth channel for the wire, run a piece of unwaxed dental floss through the works. Gently run it back and forth through the attached barrel; if the floss snags at all you've still got some work to do with the file.

[millsisland]

As Donald said, take a file to the tip.

Excuse me, don't want to confuse. By "tip" I mean groved end of the blade.

[great bowyer]

First open up the groove at the threads by filing with a jewelers triangular file. Also make sure the end is flat. When you tighten down the barrel have only the last 1 or 2" of the wire. Move the wire back and forth. If there is any catching, take off the barrel and try the above again.

Nail polish was the first glue used. I would prefer a bright red over clear. Hides the blood better.

ok, thank you. i will try the file thing. as for the last 1-2 inches, that is what i do, it does not start to catch until 2 inches from the cup... i can get the whole wire through without any problems until the last 2 inches. i have never had this problem before even when i wired the blade for the first time. that is what is puzzling me.

[Sword Mistress]

aaahhh...NNOOOOOO!!!!! don't you think that's just a bit too wasteful?? a wire costs $4 and $5 for shipping...

i use all of my own equipment and do my own armoury; i can't just borrow or take stuff from my club whenever i need anything because i have no club.

trust me, in the end, rewiring the weapon is a sure fire way to FIX the problem (of course that implies that the rewire job is done correctly and with attention to detail such AS, making sure your tip is chamfered in some manner, whether by filing with a needle file or using a dremel wheel. (a word of caution if using a dremel: please wear safety glasses and do NOT get your fingers entangled with the dremel )

and if you are doing your own armoury work (which i highly commend you for doing, most fencers don't care to know) AND you don't have a club armourer to help you, then it would probably be a necessary investment to purchase several spare parts and tools for your inevitable weapon repair. it does get costly if your weapons are not properly cared for and maintained after each bout/tournament.

if you are not familiar with the process for rewiring a weapon, I would suggest Rudy Volkman's Repair Manual (or better yet, just get his Big Book on Fencing which includes the entire Repair Manual within the text.

i'm certainly not a master armourer, but i've been doing this stuff for a few years now (as well as the more experienced armourers on this site) and would be happy to answer any more questions you might have.

[glowstix]

and if you are doing your own armoury work (which i highly commend you for doing, most fencers don't care to know) AND you don't have a club armourer to help you, then it would probably be a necessary investment to purchase several spare parts and tools for your inevitable weapon repair. it does get costly if your weapons are not properly cared for and maintained after each bout/tournament.

yeah, well i don't exactly have a choice as far as armoury is concerned. my first coach did give me a sort of crash course and i did buy volkmann manual which has helped a lot. i'm going to the miami NAC so i'll probably stock up on spare parts.

[Frank Pratt]

yeah, well i don't exactly have a choice as far as armoury is concerned. my first coach did give me a sort of crash course and i did buy volkmann manual which has helped a lot. i'm going to the miami NAC so i'll probably stock up on spare parts.

The more you do it, the better you'll get. It's really not all that hard to learn the basics from a book and from experience, IMO.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

First open up the groove at the threads by filing with a jewelers triangular file. Also make sure the end is flat. When you tighten down the barrel have only the last 1 or 2" of the wire. Move the wire back and forth. If there is any catching, take off the barrel and try the above again.

Nail polish was the first glue used. I would prefer a bright red over clear. Hides the blood better.

Wouldnt filing the blade be a violation of m.1? I'm not questioning you though, just curious.

[Sword Mistress]

Wouldnt filing the blade be a violation of m.1? I'm not questioning you though, just curious.

we are not filing down the EDGE of the blade, we are in fact chamfering the very tip (which is different from sharpening the weapon),which is actually necessary for the ease of threading the point onto the blade's tip, but most blade manufacturers do not do that for us.

edit: looked this up to clarify-

m.1 There are three types of weapon: foil, épée and sabre.
All weapons are authorized providing only that they conform to these regulations and to the safety standards which are attached.
The weapon should be so constructed that it cannot normally injure either the user or his opponent. All methods of treating a blade between the guard and the tip (point), by grinding, filing or other methods, are forbidden.
Sharpening the edges or angles of the point is forbidden.

the way i see it, there is no "sharpening" involved in chamfering the tip of the blade. it's a chamfered edge, not a sharpened point which causes no intentional harm. since the point is threaded onto the tip of the blade in any case, it would be impossible for the chamfering to be exposed and who is really checking for this anyway? the last part of m.1. ("All methods of treating a blade between the guard and the tip (point), by grinding, filing or other methods, are forbidden.") would obviously mean the parts that are exposed while fencing so as not to harm the fencers.

hopefully this clarifies everything...

[DHCJr]

Wouldnt filing the blade be a violation of m.1? I'm not questioning you though, just curious.

Let us look at the rule that sword mistress so graciously quoted. "All methods of treating a blade BETWEEN the guard and the tip (point), by grinding, filing or other methods, are forbidden."

Do you notice the rule I capitalized. When you put the weapon together, the grooves are not between the tip and the guard, so this rule does not apply. If you wanted to shorten the blade by filing off the blade at the base, that is also allowed as when the weapon is put together, it is not between the guard and the tip. Suppose a blade breaks, can you rethread? Yes for the same reason. That is why my quote at the bottom means a lot to me.

[Sword Mistress]

thanks donald...