Jackets/lames with name on the back?

[irishfencer777]

I am a fencer in high school and I've seen people at tournaments that have their last name on the back of their lame/jacket. I have started to search for my own foil lame(I currently use a school one) and I would like to get my name on the back. Where can you get lames like this? Do you just buy one and take it somewhere to get it personalized or can you buy one off the internet. Thanks!

[Purple Fencer]

Originally Posted by irishfencer777

I am a fencer in high school and I've seen people at tournaments that have their last name on the back of their lame/jacket. I have started to search for my own foil lame(I currently use a school one) and I would like to get my name on the back. Where can you get lames like this? Do you just buy one and take it somewhere to get it personalized or can you buy one off the internet. Thanks!

For a foil or sabre lame it's conductive paint..and a high temperature process.

You can have it done by some vendors like The Fencing Post....or if you were to buy a lame from me I could have it done when I order the lame from my own vendor.

You only have to have your name on the back for national events or qualifiers for those event, but it helps when you forget the lame at an event, especially if you have a unique name!

[brtech]

Nearly all the vendors can get this done for you.

You can mail it to the Marx folks, and they will do it.
http://www.marxentpdx.com/

Or you can go to any NAC, there is always someone there who will do it, usually Marx.

DO NOT let anyone who isn't VERY experienced in applying names specifically for fencing do it. There are SO many ways it can be done wrong.

[irishfencer777]

thanks a bunch! This is really helpful.

[OROD]

BTW, there's also the option to do it yourself. All you need is the stencil letters, an airbrush, and some blue paint. I actually did this myself with the first lame I ever used for a NAC, worked really well. Had some bleeding around some of the letters, but considering it was the first (and only) time I did it, not too bad. The best thing to do is to test first on an old t-shirt or something else you can then throw away.

.

[brtech]

For a lame, I would not recommend do it yourself. For an epee jacket or knickers, maybe. There are too many ways to go wrong with a Lame. Id' say let a professional do it.

[OROD]

Originally Posted by brtech

For a lame, I would not recommend do it yourself. For an epee jacket or knickers, maybe. There are too many ways to go wrong with a Lame. Id' say let a professional do it.

Well it's not rocket science. Other than it not looking perfect, I really dont think there's that much that can go wrong. And some people who are artistic or do-it-yourselfers might want to do this just for fun.

.

[Cgriml3y]

About the lettering, (I've been thinking about ordering a good Leon Paul ultrlight women's sabre lame) ... I keep reading about how the lettering doesn't seem to last that long for those.

?? but don't take it from me, I'm hoping someone can enlighten me on that one.

[FoilyDeath]

I have had lettering on my LP ultralight for the last 2 or so years now, and it hasn't faded at all. However, LP stenciling in generally seems to be a lot lighter and less apparent. This isn't due to the ultralight, but to how LP does their stenciling (my secondary lame was stenciled my Marx, and it looks just like everybody else's). This isn't necessarily a bad thing: I actually prefer it, as its a lot less "in-your-face" so to speak.

[brtech]

Originally Posted by OROD

Well it's not rocket science. Other than it not looking perfect, I really dont think there's that much that can go wrong. And some people who are artistic or do-it-yourselfers might want to do this just for fun.

.

There are three classes of problems with lettering:
1. Conductivity - if you don't get the ink right, the lettering doesn't conduct. You can't test this on a t-shirt, you have to test it on a piece of lame material
2. Rule conformance - there are rules on lettering. We see lots of mistakes in lettering, even though the rules are actually pretty straightforward. Size, font, wording all get done wrong
3. Appearance - getting it to look good isn't simple. You noted you had problems with bleeding on the edges. You can also get problems with uniformity, colorfastness, etc.

For $20 on a $100+ item, I'd recommend an expert. YMMV.

[OROD]

Originally Posted by brtech

1. Conductivity - if you don't get the ink right, the lettering doesn't conduct. You can't test this on a t-shirt, you have to test it on a piece of lame material

I dont think this is a problem. You can get conductive paint. However, even if you dont have conductive paint it's still not a problem. I didnt use conductive paint for my lame and it worked just fine. The solution in this case is just to rub the area with something metallic, the blade of one of your foils works well enough. Once you do this the paint will come off of enough of the conductive threads in the lame so that it will conduct through the area with letters. But, yes, testing first on the lame material is a good idea... and easily done. Just find a nice little area on the back of the lame and test it out.

Originally Posted by brtech

2. Rule conformance - there are rules on lettering. We see lots of mistakes in lettering, even though the rules are actually pretty straightforward. Size, font, wording all get done wrong

The rules are very simple and like you said, straightforward. There's no problem here.

Originally Posted by brtech

3. Appearance - getting it to look good isn't simple. You noted you had problems with bleeding on the edges. You can also get problems with uniformity, colorfastness, etc.

I didnt find that uniformity or colorfastness were problems. The bleeding yes, hence test first to perfect your technique.

I'm not saying that you will be guaranteed to get perfect results or even as good as a professional will. I'm just pointing out that this can be done fairly easily at home if you want to and have an airbrush handy. Heck, the airbrush I used cost less than $10 and I made the stencil letters myself on the computer.

.

[Cgriml3y]

something to be proud of at least =)

[BrisGirl]

Does Fencing.Net offer stencilling?

[jfarmer]

Originally Posted by Purple Fencer

You only have to have your name on the back for national events or qualifiers for those event, but it helps when you forget the lame at an event, especially if you have a unique name!

Didn't something come down about insisting on having the name on jackets/lames/knickers for all events? I've had club members report being carded for not having their name displayed at non-National, non-Qualifier events...

[Purple Fencer]

Originally Posted by jfarmer

Didn't something come down about insisting on having the name on jackets/lames/knickers for all events? I've had club members report being carded for not having their name displayed at non-National, non-Qualifier events...

Show me the rule....I haven't seen it.

[Empty Wallet]

Originally Posted by BrisGirl

Does Fencing.Net offer stencilling?

Fencing net could be a long way from Brisbane. I know that JG Fencing in Sydney does stencilling, and can do the Australian insignia as well. I don't know who else in Australia may do it.

http://www.jgfencesport.com/

[fencerbill]

And you don't even need the airbrush. As OROD said, make the stencil letters on a computer. Then outline them with a micropoint blue Sharpie and fill in with a fatter one. Similarly, if your lettering fades, just go over it again with a Sharpie. You will see a lot that look worse.

At the 2000 Junior/Cadet World Championships in South Bend, there was a lot of trouble with lettering a vendor did on Lames because of non-conductive paint. The best way to fix it was by rubbing with a scrap of copper strip material.

[Blakeian]

Originally Posted by Empty Wallet

Fencing net could be a long way from Brisbane. I know that JG Fencing in Sydney does stencilling, and can do the Australian insignia as well. I don't know who else in Australia may do it.

http://www.jgfencesport.com/

I don't think anyone else does it. At least not the insignia.