Santelli????

[rcdjr]

Can anyone tell me what happened to the vendor Santelli? When I started fencing in '72 they were one of the prime vendors for fencing gear. I still use a Santelli epee (granted it's been rewired). They just sort of fell off the radar.

[oiuyt]

They just sort of fell off the radar.

Going out of business has that effect....

-B

[rcdjr]

But why? Poor quality? Bad management or maybe management felt there was no money in the sport????

[Purple Fencer]

Practical upshot....they got screwed by another vendor in a business deal (and they didn't even lube up first)...cost then $20k, which s a huge hit, even for one of the major vendors.

Where's Donald??

[KD5MDK]

I understand not paying the rent had a bit to do with it.

[Purple Fencer]

I understand not paying the rent had a bit to do with it.

That COULD have been a fallout of the biz screwing....

[oiuyt]

Lot of other rumors from the time as well.

Might as well leave it all alone.

-B

[Anotherfencingmom]

So what happened to their inventory? Someone must know.

[HDG]

So what happened to their inventory? Someone must know.

Scooped up by another vendor and sold long ago.

[Warrior Princess]

My coach was one of his fencers way back when. Santelli died a couple of years ago, and with him so did his company. I think Leon Paul was origionally a division of Santelli, but split off. If you want Santelli equipment, LP should be the closest you can get.

[jeff]

LP a division of Santelli? No, I think it was that Santelli was for a long time either the major or sole distributor of LP in the US.

Giorgio Santelli died in 1985, and the company survived an additional 20 years after him.

[piste off]

LP a division of Santelli? No, I think it was that Santelli was for a long time either the major or sole distributor of LP in the US.

Giorgio Santelli died in 1985, and the company survived an additional 20 years after him.

Jeff is right.

I would guess the last I fenced there was 1994-95 or so... I stopped by a few years after that to pick up some foam rubber sabres for my kids. The store had a different "feel" and I remember thinking they were not long for the world. I talked to their last coach (JG) a few months ago and he told me the Santelli kids never really wanted the business. So the enevitable happened.

It is a shame. I LOVED their gloves.

Rick

[HDG]

I LOVED their gloves.

Ditto. I have yet to see anything comparable. A while back the fencers at U of Maryland were selling some of the Santelli gloves they had. Good deal, but I don't know if they're still doing it.

[tkexi991]

I bought nearly all my first kit (uniform, mask, foils, lame, body cords) from Santelli back in 2003. They still had to be in business at least by then. I heard some crazy rumor that the federal marshalls have his inventory in a warehouse.

[piste off]

Ditto. I have yet to see anything comparable. A while back the fencers at U of Maryland were selling some of the Santelli gloves they had. Good deal, but I don't know if they're still doing it.

I think they were made of deerskin.

When I went looking for a new glove, the vendors seemed suprised that I wanted leather. Their rationale is that you could not wash them.

My rationale is that leather feels better, and after the glove is "seasoned" it becomes a great subsitute for a smelling salt. If it dries out, it can harden to the point where if you were to challenge someone to a duel (by slapping them in the face with a glove) you would draw blood and kill two birds with one stone.

Also, nothing like having a dead animal on your hand for motivation.

Rick


PITA members need not reply, as I will be out eating a hambuger.

[Gav]

My coach was one of his fencers way back when. Santelli died a couple of years ago, and with him so did his company. I think Leon Paul was origionally a division of Santelli, but split off. If you want Santelli equipment, LP should be the closest you can get.

I shouldn't chuckle but ... chuckle.

[jfarmer]

So what happened to their inventory? Someone must know.

Bits and pieces show up on eBay all the time. From what I've seen, Near the end, a lot of the lower end gear was being out-sourced and not much different than a bunch of other vendors...

As far as I can tell, the club that they sponsored also folded or was re-named. (I did pick up a jacket off eBay with a Santelli club patch. Patch got saved, jacket went into use by my students...)

John Farmer
Coach, Oak Ridge Fencers Club

[CvilleFencer]

PITA members need not reply, as I will be out eating a hambuger.

I think its PETA, you unrepentant carnivore...

[piste off]

I think its PETA, you unrepentant carnivore...

Freudian slip...

Rick

[CvilleFencer]

Does anyone know where Santelli used to have their gloves made? I know almost all of their kit was LP, and that LP sells a good leather glove, but I am not sure if it is the same one or not as Santelli was on the decline and I never did much business with them by the time I got back into fencing... Did their gloves look like the second from the bottom of this page?