American Fencers Supply?

[Bob Farrow]

Ok, I'm sure this has been asked before, and I truly don't want to start any flame wars, but I'm considering electric equipment (only fencing dry now) and I've been happy with Amfence so far. But reading the many posts here, it seems that electric equipment is definitely finicky - so has anyone had any troubles with American Fencers electric equipment?

[Purple Fencer]

[quote]Originally posted by Bob Farrow:
<strong>Ok, I'm sure this has been asked before, and I truly don't want to start any flame wars, but I'm considering electric equipment (only fencing dry now) and I've been happy with Amfence so far. But reading the many posts here, it seems that electric equipment is definitely finicky - so has anyone had any troubles with American Fencers electric equipment?</strong><hr></blockquote>

I haven't/ All my foil and epee blades are Leon Pauls I got from Am Fence. The foil blades tend to twist along the length of the blade, but that's not Am Fence's fault.

I certainly haven't heard the kind of complaints about Am Fence that you hear about Blade or BG.

[neevel]

American does as good a job as any with assembling electric weapons-- in general, The Fencing Post, Santelli, and American are your probably your best bet for getting pre-wired blades right.

As far as materials go, they use Prieur points for their french-pattern electrics, and Uhlmann for german. The peening on the end-caps of Prieur tips invariably will start to come lose with use, which will eventually cause problems-- you should get one or two extra tips, and find someone to show you how to fix loose ones with a nail-set or small ball-peen hammer.

Uhlmann points are usually much more durable, but have one weakness: the screws don't go down flush with the barrel, and can get smashed so that they're difficult-to-impossible to get out. If you get Uhlmann points, put an extra band of tape just around the screws to give a little more protection, and don't tighten them down too much (makes it easier to undo a damaged screw with pliers if you can't get a screwdriver into it).

No matter what type of point you go with, get some spare springs and screws along with the weapons.

-Dave

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

It is best to learn to wire your own electrical equipment.
I recommend purchasing only German electrical parts, Uhlmann or Allstar, for reliability. American Fencers Supply and a couple other stores carry Uhlmann and Allstar parts. Blades on the other hand are the exception and French-made and English-made FIE blades are quality.

[damianip]

[quote]Originally posted by three_hundred_fifty_five:
<strong>It is best to learn to wire your own electrical equipment.
I recommend purchasing only German electrical parts, Uhlmann or Allstar, for reliability. American Fencers Supply and a couple other stores carry Uhlmann and Allstar parts. Blades on the other hand are the exception and French-made and English-made FIE blades are quality.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Once again, I agree. 355, you are so relaxed and helpful, did you take some Thorazine today?

Equipment maintenance is a must for folks outside high fencing density regions. Consider getting ELECTRIC FENCING EQUIPMENT: HOW IT WORKS, WHAT GOES WRONG, HOW TO REPAIR IT by Rudy Volkmann which is sold by Amfence. Or MAGNUM LEBRE D'ESCRIME (Big Book of Fencing), 2nd Edition, by Rudy Volkmann also sold by Amfence and here at fencing.net. The first book is a section of the second, but the Magnum Libre is one of the few fencing books worth having. The repair section is excellent.

Other observations:

German parts are well worth the price difference over French for tips, both foil and épée.

I actually like Prieur body cords and sockets better than the German ones, but I'm not typical in this respect (or several others).

Whatever you get, since you are not near any fencing stores, you should maintain an "inventory" so you are not weaponless in the event of multiple weapon failure. I'd recommend at least two spare wires and one spare complete point for every two working weapons you have. This assumes you are fencing foil or épée.

Back to the original topic, AMfence has been fine to me. The only real drawback I've had is long delivery times, but I'm on the other side of the country.

Paolo

[Kodiak Kid]

Bob,
I've had good luck w/ AMS. They ship quick and their selection is good. As far as the French/German thing goes, I've only used the French style tips and they can be a pain after they've been beat on for a while... I do agree with the comments on getting spare parts etc and learning how to use them. Hey that gives me an idea! I'm nominating you to be our new club armorer!! Congrats!

[sallearmourer]

Amfencers tends to run a little high then some of the other vendors. But it come down to who you are comfortable in dealing with. The Germans parts are the only way to go. The german foil wire of late tends to be a bit falkeing in the cup area and the springs don't what to fit right. I ran into this problem at Plam Spring. So I am checking out the wires from PBT which will work with the German tips fine.

Tim <img src="graemlins/kane2.gif" border="0" alt="[Camo]" />