Cleaning epee tips

[DJ Apostrophe]

I've begun to notice that my primary weapon is alot 'harder' to depress then my backup weapon that i rarely use... i was wondering if there was something i needed to do to clean the tip or if the tip should be replaced... or the barrel should be replaced... or whatever.

info:
they are both two complete weapons i bought from triplette about mid to late june. french wired... i can provide any more info nessecary... thank you all in advance.

[neevel]

Tips (foil and epee) do need to be cleaned regularly. Q-tips and rubbing alcohol will do just fine. Take the point apart, dip a Q-tip in alcohol and swab out the barrel. Use another one to clean the tip. A spray contact cleaner (make sure it's a plastic-safe one) may work even better.

While you've got the point apart, examine the barrel to see if it's out of round or has any dents that go through to the interior. If so, then you'll likely need to rewire the blade with a new barrel. If you've got a German point, Uhlmann makes a mandrel and a reamer than can be used to fix dented barrels-- you might check if someone you know has one.

Some folks (particularly epeeists) like to use some lubricant in their point. Do not use graphite or oil. Oil will only serve to attract and retain dust and dirt in the point, and graphite conducts electricity well enough to cause problems. If you do want to use a lubricant, use a teflon-based one (Radio Shack is a place to look). Some types of contact cleaners also contain a teflon lubricant (again, Radio Shack is the easiest place to look).

-Dave

[MattyCam]

In addition to the plastic-safe contact spray one may use to clean out a tip, use a non-water based cleaner for obvious reasons.

mc