How do you balance a blade

[rac]

I am new to this sport and I have rewired epees and foils, built new weapons but can find no information on "balancing" a blade.

Is this something lacking in my "education". Is it important?

Primarily I am concerned in how to go about this using pistol grips for both weapons (epee and foil). Are there weights involved? I have asked armorers at local tourneys but to no avail. Would someone give me a hand with this. Maybe a short explanation as to what it accomplishes or the goal and the means to achieve this please?

Thanks
RAC

[keith]

It is simply the 'feel of the weapon in the hand'.

Which is probably no help. More simply it's the balance point of the weapon.

There are two extremes;

a heavy blade with a light handle which often feels like wielding a crow bar as the balance point is so far forward.

a light blade with a heavy handle that prevents any feel of the blade.

A well balanced blade does not depend on the actual weight of the parts of the weapon but on how they balance. Of course this is personal taste; some people like that crowbar feeling, others the total absence of perceived blade weight given by a balance point at or behind the guard.

So first thing is to decide where you want the balance point to be for your weapons. Also don't forget that the cant also has an impact on the feel/balance of a weapon.

So set the cant then work on balance. The go back and fiddle with the cant, and of course reset the balance. Getting the perfect weapon may prevent you from ever having ther time to fence again......

[rac]

How do you set the balance of the blade? Do you use offsetting weights or something? I am talking about pistol grips also.

RAC

[mrbiggs]

How do you set the balance of the blade? Do you use offsetting weights or something? I am talking about pistol grips also.

RAC

the easiest way is to change the bellguard, second easiest is to change the blade. Different guards and blades have different weights (and different feels); find out what's right for you through experimentation.

There have been fencers that have slightly modified their grips to change the weight. Leon Paul sells tape made for this very purpose. This is not too common, though.

Overall, I wouldn't worry much about it.

[larkmaj]

Overall, I wouldn't worry much about it.

I agree with mrbiggs on this point. You have so much control over the weapon with a pistol grip that balance really isn't an issue. I think what you are really concerned with is the weight of the weapon. Which can be affected by changing the bellguard, blade, or socket.

Note that this is not true for french grips. Balance is a lot more important. As an example, take a french epee and put a sabre pommel on it. I wouldn't want to fence with an epee like that.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Want to know the secret to making any weapon feel great?

Well do you punk?

Wrist Curls.

[yeoldearmourer]

Excuse me balance is important even with a pistol grip. As a very expencie armourer when I put together a weapon it by feel and I have been know to switch out handles and bell guards to match the blade I am working with to get a perfect weapon for the fencer. In very important with a LP epee blade to achieve the proper spot to bend the tang.

[yeoldearmourer]

It can be one of your regular handles that you use all the time but it can match up with one of the others blades of yours a tad better. I don't switch outs with a new handle but by making a combination of the parts you have a better weapon.

[rac]

Thanks folks,

I mostly just act a armorer for our club. I have been asking for our players. I wanted to give them the best weapons I could build. And this gives me some ideas to go on.

One more question where and when is a "heavy" blade prefered vs a more balanced lighter blade? Is this a weapon (epee vs foil) thing or a personal fighting style issue?

RAC

[larkmaj]

One more question where and when is a "heavy" blade prefered vs a more balanced lighter blade? Is this a weapon (epee vs foil) thing or a personal fighting style issue?

Some tend to like heavier blades as they seem to think it gives them more power at the cost of speed. This is more important in epee than in foil because controlling your opponents blade is much more important.

[ThatReallyHurt]

I took an intro armouring course with a clubmate of mine a little while ago, and we did talk about and work on balancing weapons. The week after, he brought in a horrendously modified pistol grip foil just as an experiment. He'd taped a weight to the back end of the grip to bring the center of balance right to where the index finger and thumb sat on the grip.

It was... heavenly. Horribly illegal, but it certainly drove the point home for me that the closer to my fingers (or bell) the balance is, the easier it's going to be to do snappy little motions. Doesn't make much of a difference for wrist (and none for arm) motions, but those little finger motions were a lot easier to do cleanly. Mind you, that was just playing around with it - I suspect that during bouting, there wouldn't have been that much difference.

[grotto]

I like the tang bent about 6? down and 3? in. that said I am looking for my balance point to be between 1 to .5 inches in front of the bell. you can change the balance by where the tang is set because this changes the moment arm for that portion of the blade, no extras added.

Just my personal set.

[Amadeus]

Excuse me balance is important even with a pistol grip. As a very expencie armourer when I put together a weapon it by feel and I have been know to switch out handles and bell guards to match the blade I am working with to get a perfect weapon for the fencer. In very important with a LP epee blade to achieve the proper spot to bend the tang.

once he gets to be an armorer of your level he can worry about that.

basically, if you have to ask online, it's not something to get too caught up about. ask your coach to do it if you want.

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

I am new to this sport and I have rewired epees and foils, built new weapons but can find no information on "balancing" a blade.

Is this something lacking in my "education". Is it important?

Primarily I am concerned in how to go about this using pistol grips for both weapons (epee and foil). Are there weights involved? I have asked armorers at local tourneys but to no avail. Would someone give me a hand with this. Maybe a short explanation as to what it accomplishes or the goal and the means to achieve this please?

Thanks
RAC

With foil blades, I feel that I can't control a weapon's balance. Every blade has a different balance and all blades come out differently. Different grips and guards don't make a difference because the weight of the tang cut for a pistol grip is light compared to the length of the rest of the blade. Nicer blades have better balance, cheaper blades are 50-50.