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yomi · 01-21-2006, 10:40 PM

i'm thinking of purchasing my first electric sabre pretty soon but what i've been wondering the most is the differences between rubber and leather handles(besides the material)...does one work better than the other or is there a clear advantage in using one over the other?

teefeelee · 01-21-2006, 10:55 PM

It's mostly preference. I like rubber because it seems less slippery to me. Others like leather since it doesnt wear out as fast (depends how much you train a week, but still rubber will last sufficiently long in my opinion).

bynadutch · 01-21-2006, 11:09 PM

I prefer the leather, just like the feel of it, and I actually find that my hand slips less with leather... but that just might be me. About half the people I fence with swear by leather, and the rest could care less...
There might be some difference, but honestly, I think it is just preference.

KD5MDK · 01-22-2006, 01:26 AM

It's really not a big difference at all. The rubber ones do wear out after a while. However, I don't think it matters too much. For me the glove hides enough of the feel that when I bought my sabres, I went with hardish plastic grips as being cheap and good enough, and they've worked fine ever since. Leather would be nice if I had money to spare, but there's lots of other things I'd buy or upgrade first.

bynadutch · 01-22-2006, 01:39 AM

Aaah... the eternal question of 'enthusiasts' everywhere... Rubber or Leather...
...
the places we can go with this one... I shudder to think

Inquartata · 01-22-2006, 07:30 PM

I have never developed a preference. The grips I have now are all rubber because they're the most widely made and thus easiest to find at vendor's tables.

fatjoehatesme · 01-22-2006, 09:14 PM

It's more your own opinoin if posible you should get a feel for both before you decide. I personaly like the rubber better becuase the leather ones wear out and some times cost more.

bigdawg2121 · 01-23-2006, 04:07 AM

I personally weigh in as a fan of leather ones when you can find good ones. There are definitely some low quality leather grips out there aren't worth **** (sorry haven't actually looked up manufacturers). I like the feel of leather better in general, b/c it provides a solid and relatively slip free grip. Leather grips also tend to be leather wrapped around relatively strong but lightweight wood centers (at least my favorites are) which means that there's no give in the handle when you maneuver the weapon. Rubber by its generally soft nature has a little give in it and me being me it bothers me. Then again I'm also not a fan of the Mr. Chen blades from BG b/c I can feel the extra bend when I make cuts (they actually bend significantly in both planes of the blade). If you do get rubber go with Uhlmann, it'll last longer and feel better.

kalivor · 01-23-2006, 11:35 AM

There are good leather grips and bad leather grips. The good leather is the best, and the bad leather is the worst. Rubber falls somewhere in between.

kalivor · 01-23-2006, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kalivor

There are good leather grips and bad leather grips. The good leather is the best, and the bad leather is the worst. Rubber falls somewhere in between.

Oh, and no advantage for one over the other, really -- just preference. But if you buy leather, examine the grip carefully to make sure it's been properly wrapped and glued.

larkmaj · 01-23-2006, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kalivor

Oh, and no advantage for one over the other, really -- just preference. But if you buy leather, examine the grip carefully to make sure it's been properly wrapped and glued.

Word of advice, there's a nice little "edit" button next to the "quote" button on your own recent posts so you can alter your post for a period of time after posting it. This avoids double posting.

fencerbill · 01-23-2006, 04:38 PM

Anyone know if you can still get the maple Sabre grips with the carved cross hatching that were available when I started in the 1950's?

kalivor · 01-23-2006, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larkmaj

Word of advice, there's a nice little "edit" button next to the "quote" button on your own recent posts so you can alter your post for a period of time after posting it. This avoids double posting.

Amazing. Next you'll tell me that there's no need to post off-topic personal messages on a public forum when f.net has a funky private message functionality.

The two posts I made actually address different topics. The first one was a result of me reading all the previous posts, which were in a "this kind of grip is what I like" vein.

However, this was not the question that was originally posed. That question was "are there any advantages or disadvantages to one type of grip over the other?"

Nobody had actually answered this question from a performance perspective (which, I believe, is what yomi was originally looking for). I felt that answering said question ("no") was worthy of its own, independent post.

And now I have a much longer, off-topic and very pointless post wherein I have defended myself for having had the audacity to post twice! In a row! About two different things that were both on topic! Wow.

whtouche · 01-23-2006, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigdawg2121

Rubber by its generally soft nature has a little give in it and me being me it bothers me.

That is true I've found for a good majority of rubber-over-whatever grips. However, the PBT rubber-over-metal grips I have found to be the most solid feeling that I've ever held and use nothing else.
I also like the way the grip is shaped. The only downside, if it even matters, is that they tend to be heavier than most grips.

bigdawg2121 · 01-24-2006, 02:15 AM

Agreed, the PBT is solid, although I think their rubber is slightly more slippery. I'd also have to way in saying that not having that extra give is a competitive advantage as you get more precision in your actions.

Barry Paul · 01-24-2006, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fencerbill

Anyone know if you can still get the maple Sabre grips with the carved cross hatching that were available when I started in the 1950's?

Yes we still have a stock of them (not sure if they are maple.) they are not listed so if you want one email me. ( so at last our 50 year old stock can be written back into our stock valuation.) We are also soon producing a copy but with a solid metal core over moulded with tactile rubber. Barry Paul M.D. Leon paul.

yomi · 02-03-2006, 02:14 AM

thanks a lot everyone! i think i'm gonna go for the leather handle but does anyone know which manufacturer makes the best quality leather handle?

sabreur · 02-03-2006, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barry Paul

Yes we still have a stock of them (not sure if they are maple.) they are not listed so if you want one email me. ( so at last our 50 year old stock can be written back into our stock valuation.) We are also soon producing a copy but with a solid metal core over moulded with tactile rubber. Barry Paul M.D. Leon paul.

Barry,

Why have sabre grips become shorter? I have old leather grips from 20 years ago that are about 5 cm longer than the current grips.

Cheers, MR

KD5MDK · 02-03-2006, 04:18 PM

Have you checked for a rules change?

It's possible that some fencers started "pommelling" with their sabre grips and the previous length of grip gave that an "excessive" advantage.

rcmatthews · 02-03-2006, 06:15 PM

If I could find longer grips, that would be great. My hand takes up most of the grip as it is.