Help Me Build The Perfect Epee

[KD5MDK]

-Plush, puffy leather bell pad (what is up with the clear ones anyway? They have all the finger protection of a ziplock bag!!!)

They can save the ref some aggrevation compared to the (Allstar, Uhlmann, BG) pads I've seen which are thin, stiff and deucedly hard to peel up. That said, I like the leather and felt ones equally well.

[DangerMouse]

She's 15 and pretty thin, so I want to keep the whole weapon light.

Generally light and durable are opposite ends of the spectrum. If you want durable, the Vniti guards people are recommending will last forever, but if you want light, get an Uhlmann or LP ultralight guard and buy two of them.

For blades, the LP is really durable and is light overall, but the balance tends to be a little tip heavy if it's not set absolutely perfectly so it feels heavy. The Prieur FIE are almost as light overall and feel really light because all the weight is near the guard.

Sockets don't matter as much. LP and Uhlmann are about the same. The Negrini are my recent favorite because they have a little tab that keeps the washer from rotating when the screws are tightened so they are easier to work with and don't break wires as often.

All that said, it's her first epee. She won't know the difference.

[RITFencing]

Actually, my vniti one piece compares favorably with my uhlman ultralight.

You're right in that she probably won't know the difference, though.

[Mizore]

I've been fencing epee about 4 months too and there are a few factors I think you should also consider.

1. Blade care: many non-fie blades rust at will and require a lot of care. I find the standard LP blade takes very little care.

2. Durability: Of course FIE blades will last longer, but why pay that price if she is just starting out and will likely be hard on blades anyway. The LP blade is strong and lasts as long as many FIE blades and is a LOT cheaper.

3. Weight: I have two other blades that are a little heavier. The Allstar is probably pretty average. Yet I don't feel any loss of power or authority when fencing with the LP. But I do find that over a long practice session the LP doesn't wear my arm out as quickly.

4. Having the weapon built by someone good: I had my weapon put together by a small local shop who took time to balance it for me. If possible, surprise her with a gift card and then take her somewhere to have it put together to her liking.

Good luck.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Ok, I thought about this for a while... (and dont listen to the joke blade I posted above)

Since she's a thin and probably not terribly strong kid, she'll have trouble controlling a heavy blade, and also trouble controlling the wild point of the LP blade. Try a prieur FIE blade (but buy two, they're not at all durable). Put a vniti bell on it. Whatever kind of socket fits the body cord. An uhlmann grip, probably medium. The resulting blade would be well balanced toward the back, and light weight. It would be easy to control without much strength.

basically:

Prieur FIE epee blade wired (also known as a chevalier blade)
Vniti epee guard
Socket to fit her cord
Uhlmann grip
Washer
Nut
Bell pad

It'd be a nice and responsive blade, but not very durable.

[Inigo_Montoya]

~non-FIE LP blade (light, durable, and not too expensive)
~LP self-lubricating tip (PTFE)
~LP clear bell pad
~Vniti one-piece guard (light and durable)
~Uhlmann visconti grip (unless you want a french grip)
~LP ultralight Socket

[LUDICROUS]

But if it's too light she won't be able to parry or beat with any authority at all?

[keropie]

Well, I"m not going to say anything about the bell or blade (I'm a foil fencer, so eh), but the LP tips seem to be popular, and the German tips I know are good stuff. As for the socket, hell, it's an epee socket, and no, I don't believe she needs an ultralight socket, so whatever. If you don't like wiring the blades yourself, I've found terribly few vendors (to date one) that I trust to wire foils, and one other that's done a good job once (not enough to make a call on). Epees aren't any harder to wire (well, not particularly), but if you are going to order one wired, I'd check to make sure who's good at it (never ordered anything from LP, so dunno... fechtsport-langenkamp.de did a crazy good job on the foils I got from them, and Blue Gauntlet did a nice job on the one foil I have of theres... I'll never again (and haven't for years) let Triplette do any armoring for me, and unless it's on site and one of the people from there I trust, Absolute will do no armoring for me either).

As for grip, there is no more personal choice of part to order (at least not until she develops a likeing for a particular blade), but outside of French (which would be fine), I can't suggest any ortho grip other than a small _____. Note that that's not a child's grip, but a small. My coach has GIANT hands (sideways), and uses a small visconti. I've seen almost no people who's hands truly fit well on a medium or larger grip, and since she's young (15, right?) there's no way she needs a medium ortho grip. It'll just develop bad hand technique.

Ok, end of foilist opinion.

[oso97]

She's been fencing epee once a week for about 4 months, and she's new enough to fencing & epee in particular that I don't think she has any idea what she likes. The club where she fences has only one lefty electric epee, and it's got a #4 blade, so it isn't as if she has had much exposure to different options. The main thing she knows is she wants one that is full length. The idea is to start her with a good weapon, and as she develops preferences, we can adjust. The tips, guard, socket, etc. can be moved to another blade when this one breaks. By then, she'll be ready to consider the details more closely, i.e. if she's ready for a pistol grip, can handle more weight, etc.

The other issue is that she is extremely 15, which means she knows everything, and hasn't got a clue about most of it. She's likely to decide that she wants all sorts of weird requirements, none of which will actually work well for her.

I agree, set is very important, and that's another reason I want to build this one up from scratch. I have very definite ideas about how to set up a good weapon, and I assume that part isn't different from foil.

Than may I suggest you talk to her COACH and see what he recommends?