Foil question

[Morion]

I just recently encountered a foil blade that gave me a problem I have never encountered before. You can see the blade here:

http://dakotacom.net/~gsv/Foil/

The Blade on the left is the one that gave me trouble. The blade came with a German tip. Since I didn't have parts for a German tip the owner wanted me to switch it over to French. I discovered that a French barrel wouldn't work with this blade since the threads are recessed within the barrel and I couldn't get the threads of the barrel to engage due to the width of the blade just below the threads. I am showing it next to a Leon Paul blade for comparison.

I am curious to find out if this is a manufacturing defect or if some blades are made this way. There are no markings at all on the blade. The owner purchased it in Washington state while on vacation so I have no means of finding out where it came from. I also have since gotten some German parts in, rewired it, and returned it to the owner so I cannot check anything on it.

Any ideas?

[acaba]

I would just remove the offending corners with a grinder. You would not have to take off too much material, maybe a 1-2 mm, just enough to get the barrel to engage the threads.

Before anyone gets too bent out of shape about this rule:
m.1 ... All methods of treating a blade between the guard and the tip (point), by grinding, filing or other methods, are forbidden.

I'm pretty sure that removing material to allow the proper installation of the barrel would be OK since the intent is to make a conforming weapon (i.e. one with an electric point) and not to alter the structure of the blade.

Aaron

[Purple Fencer]

I would just remove the offending corners with a grinder. You would not have to take off too much material, maybe a 1-2 mm, just enough to get the barrel to engage the threads.

Before anyone gets too bent out of shape about this rule:
m.1 ... All methods of treating a blade between the guard and the tip (point), by grinding, filing or other methods, are forbidden.

I'm pretty sure that removing material to allow the proper installation of the barrel would be OK since the intent is to make a conforming weapon (i.e. one with an electric point) and not to alter the structure of the blade.

Aaron

The rule is intended to prevent alteration of the flexibility of the blade, so your suggestion is legal.

[CvilleFencer]

Acaba's suggestion is the way I would go also. It is not that uncommon for me to have to rethread or grind down tangs or grind down the point thread area of a weapon, especially if it is a cheaper weapon (usually made to lesser tolerances). Instead of a grinder however I use a dremmel as it gives me much more precise control on the area that I am trimming.

[remise]

I had a similar problem once. I was lucky in that the owner of the blade knew the blade was Chinese. However, like Morion said, only certain points (German knockoffs) could be fitted to it.

[DHCJr]

As has been said above, I would grind/file down the blade to taper. This is not a manufacturers defect. What it is, is marketing. You get them to buy your tips, if you don't know how to fix it.

Since the grinding will be underneath the barrel, once you put it on. It won't be between the tip and the guard, so it is not affected by M.1 as has also been stated.