foil....please help

[mach11]

Okay.

So here is my problem. I just got my first foil in the mail. I took it to practice for one day and it has a bend going upwards. It is drastic but i cant get it back to being straight. I have been thinking about it and i know it may not be serious but i dont want it to get worse. While thinking about it i thought about the fact that some equipment in other sports needs to be "conditioned" before using like a baseball glove for example. Is there anything like this that needs to be done to a blade to get the blade more flexible and so it wont have a bend the wrong way? Also, when i hit it still does bend the wrong way.

Hopefully this makes sense but just to clarify. When holding blade it would normally be straight (fresh from the mail.) After practice the point is now higher than the base of the blade. Not much but it is like a U. When i get a touch it still bends like it should sometimes ...like an n. In case you need to know the foil i got it was

http://stores.thefencingpost.com/-st...L26/Detail.bok

[yearsofwisdom]

I think that this is a problem mostly with your touch/techinique and not the foil itself. practice getting the correct touch and it will train your blade into the correct position.

[mach11]

okay i will do that..when i use the clubs practice foils they always bend the same way but i wasnt sure if you needed to pre-bend your blade and if so how to do it

[SJCFU#2]

You should always put a slight downward bend in a brand new foil or epee blade prior to using it (similar for saber, only sideways). That way when the point hits something solid the "column" formed by the blade will tend to buckle more easily, keeping it from feeling quite so hard on the receiving end. It will also help the blade last longer if it always bends the same way. as opposed to back and forth (better technique will also help with this).

There are various ways of working a bend into a new blade. Probably the most popular method is to simply run it underneath their foot while pulling back and up however this isn't always the best method (for one thing it can damage the finish on a hardwood floor) so you should probably talk to your coach about which methods he (or she) recommends.

[mach11]

Thanks! i heard you should do this but didnt know how i would go about doing it! would i be able to use this foot bethod on a carpeted floor as to not ruin a floor?

[SJCFU#2]

Thanks! i heard you should do this but didnt know how i would go about doing it! would i be able to use this foot bethod on a carpeted floor as to not ruin a floor?

That should work (in fact I often use a rubber backed mat which our athletic director keeps near the door so that people can wipe their feet).