epee tip travel

[glowstix]

even though i have german tips, my epee tip travel is really NOT smooth at all and i've been losing touches which is never a good thing . how can i restore the "smoothness" of the tip/barrel without damaging either.

[KD5MDK]

Take the tip out, run a cotton swab in until it comes out clean. Feel inside the barrel for spurs and other things that could make it crunchy. Replace the springs. That's all I have to recommend. If you do have little lumps on the barrel, a reamer ought to be able to take care of them.

[CvilleFencer]

The above advice is good. However, be aware that sometimes the problem with rough tip travel is not inside the barrel, but can be in the form of burred or deformed tip screws or milling problems/deformations around the groove that the screws travel in.

Use a needle file to make sure you had nice smooth screw shaft walls (that just sounds wrong...) on the inside of your epee barrels, replace the screw and see if that helps.

I also sometimes use a bore brush (IIRC I use a .32acp brush but it could be a 223 or even an 8mm mauser brush) to keep the inside nice and shiny smooth. Just take care not to go to deep and risk damaging the cup. Finally finish it all off with a very fine layer of silicone, graphite or gun oil (make sure it is not pretroleum based) for a nice, happy and smooth epee tip travel. One of the nice things about the LP PTFE coated tips is that, they are effectively teflon coated so they tend to be very easy to clean without all this ritual/drama until they become fairly heavily used.

Hope that helps.

[KD5MDK]

Don't use graphite - as I recall, it can conduct and lead to false touches (and thus, accusations of cheating, and confiscation of the weapon at least)

[ReverseLunge]

Use LP GT tips.

[Purple Fencer]

Finally finish it all off with a very fine layer of silicone, graphite or gun oil (make sure it is not pretroleum based) for a nice, happy and smooth epee tip travel.

That's a negative....lubricating the tip tends to make the thing a magnet for dirt & grit...do NOT jube your tips....especially with graphite, as KD5MDK is corfrect...it is conductive...NOT what you want in the tip.

Simply keeping ther tip clean and smooth is sufficient.

[CvilleFencer]

Well, I learned something new! It never occured to me that graphite could be conductive, and if I had I probably would have figured the resistance would have been way to high for matter for this.

I have had a different experiance with very light (as in wipe on with a lightly oiled cloth and then wipe off with a clean cloth leaving a very then coat on the iternal parts) however. I usually clean out adjust my tips and make sure everything is tight/happy about once a month and my blades are always in PVC sheaths when they are not being fenced with however so that may be why I have never noticed a problem. Lately I have been using the LP PTFE tips so I have not had to do much more than test weight and shims once I set the contact springs with Loctite, but on my German points I really never noticed any excessive buildup or extra grit or grime because of the oiling.

Oh Glowstix one other thing I meant to mention is that in my experiance not all "German" tips are created equal. There are several German "patern" tips out there that are not as smooth or at least stay smooth as long, as real Uhlmann/Allstar tips. If your point does not say made in Germany on it somewhere, you either have an old tip or it is a nockoff. Although I think I heard second hand that someone who should know (maybe Dan D?) actually prefers one brand of the knockoffs (maybe StM's version?) to the Uhlmann ones. Anyone had any experiance with those or hear something similiar?

[DHCJr]

It is the PBT wires that Dan's likes over the German's and no longer will use any Ulhmann or AllStar wires.

At the 2001 Jr/Cadet Worlds they confiscated the Epee's of one fencer. They decided the fencer was stupid rather than cheating, so they just cleaned them rather than black card the fencer.

[ReverseLunge]

It is the PBT wires that Dan's likes over the German's and no longer will use any Ulhmann or AllStar wires.

What's so good about the PBT wires?

[Smyles]

What's so good about the PBT wires?

Aren't they the only steel wires?

[SJCFU#2]

What's so good about the PBT wires?

The contacts are soldered on, rather than crimped.

[DHCJr]

As SJCFU#2 said they are soldered giving a better connection and allowing them to be reused.

There is a also a minor reason. The Uhlmann tips had a dreadful experience when the FIE required tips that could not go out of adjustment. The Uhlmann Tips were never perfected. They got rid of the tips, but they kept the wires, which can cause problems with a travel spring catching.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

even though i have german tips, my epee tip travel is really NOT smooth at all and i've been losing touches which is never a good thing . how can i restore the "smoothness" of the tip/barrel without damaging either.

Stuff wears out after a while. I generally replace the whole tip assembly on my weapons every 6 months. No amount of lube or polishing can make smooth a tip thats just rough.

[glowstix]

Stuff wears out after a while. I generally replace the whole tip assembly on my weapons every 6 months. No amount of lube or polishing can make smooth a tip thats just rough.

hhmm..by that method, i'm about 4 months behind.. do you take the ENTIRE point apart (i.e. rewire) or just tips/contact+weight spring??

[KD5MDK]

I wouldn't rewire more than necessary; as long as the cup is good everything below that should be fine, and the contact spring, weight spring and tip screws are the parts most likely to go bad.

[great bowyer]

If your point does not say made in Germany on it somewhere, you either have an old tip or it is a nockoff.

i have been getting my tips from langenkamp for the past several years and have not seen any made in germany markings on it. in fact i have never seen any stamps on any tips before. does this mean i am getting the cheap knockoffs?

merry christmas

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

hhmm..by that method, i'm about 4 months behind.. do you take the ENTIRE point apart (i.e. rewire) or just tips/contact+weight spring??

Rewire it totally. New barrel, springs, screws and tips. Make sure that your parts match.

[Purple Fencer]

Rewire it totally. New barrel, springs, screws and tips. Make sure that your parts match.

Actually, epee parts from the major makers (PBT, Leon Paul, Sport 7, Uhlmann/Allstar) are compatible....it's in foil that there are major differances.

I have occasionally put an Uhlmann tip into a Sport 7 (French) barrel with no problems....when the Sport 7 tip didn't fit in it's own barrel.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Actually, epee parts from the major makers (PBT, Leon Paul, Sport 7, Uhlmann/Allstar) are compatible....it's in foil that there are major differances.

Yeah, they are compatible. However, I've experienced smoother travel and few problems when I've used matched sets.

[glowstix]

Yeah, they are compatible. However, I've experienced smoother travel and few problems when I've used matched sets.

that would explain some of what i've experienced.. i've got some mismatching going on..