No Cant?

[peterlista]

Am I the only fencer who prefers to not have a cant to their blade?

Of course, part of it might be that I fence with a french grip. But none the less, it seems like (with a french grip at least) you are better off not having a cant because the blade becomes an "extension of your arm" and is therefore easier to have better point control especially when in a lunge?

I could be crazy, but my logic here seems to be right. Or not?

[telkanuru]

Am I the only fencer who prefers to not have a cant to their blade?

Of course, part of it might be that I fence with a french grip. But none the less, it seems like (with a french grip at least) you are better off not having a cant because the blade becomes an "extension of your arm" and is therefore easier to have better point control especially when in a lunge?

I could be crazy, but my logic here seems to be right. Or not?

Or not.

Whatever grip you have, if you have an uncanted blade and you extend your arm without bending your wrist, etc, your point will always be aimed away from your (same handed) opponent's target, usually to some place in the air next to their back ear. The same exercise with a canted blade should point directly at their shoulder.

Simply, l2p nub.

[DavidX]

don't listen to telkanurus fat, lazy advice - if you practiced enough with a blade twisted like a pretzel youd still hit what youre aiming for.

I hate any bend in the blade my steel is straight and righteous and inspires fear in my enemies and awe in the girls.

[telkanuru]

don't listen to telkanurus fat, lazy advice - if you practiced enough with a blade twisted like a pretzel youd still hit what youre aiming for.

No, you won't.

Also, girls like it with a little bend.

[DavidX]

Girls like it straight skinny and quick.




...uh...right?

[peterlista]

And now this post has officially digressed way past the intended purpose of explaining why I am insane... if at all (still up for debate)?

Maybe I should also ask those who pommel if they think they get any advantage from having little to no cant? It seems to me that a cant might make it more difficult to hit on target in pommeling... but then again, I very well could be wrong.

[RebelFencer]

And now this post has officially digressed way past the intended purpose of explaining why I am insane... if at all (still up for debate)?

Maybe I should also ask those who pommel if they think they get any advantage from having little to no cant? It seems to me that a cant might make it more difficult to hit on target in pommeling... but then again, I very well could be wrong.

You are wrong. Having some degree of cant makes life significantly easier, therefore pretty much everyone who is competitive has some sort of cant in their blade.

[DangerMouse]

Watch some video of high level epee. All the best fencers use canted weapons, including the pommelers. That should give you most of the information you need.

[telkanuru]

Maybe I should also ask those who pommel if they think they get any advantage from having little to no cant?

You already have, since I do.

[whtouche]

It has been my experience that french grippers who pommel (in epee duh) often have more extreme/weirder cants in their blades than normal. Often in addition to normal cant at the tang they also bend the grip as well to produce an even more extreme angle. There are numerous examples of fairly famous and extremely accomplished world class fencers who do this.
Telkanuru for his part posts on a french grip so his opinions are particularly germane to this discussion.

[telkanuru]

No, I post on a computer.

[peterlista]

You already have, since I do.

Fair enough! I will have to cant my blades a little more than they are now (because, of course, they are not perfectly straight... I'm not that crazy) and give it a go. And, I will not be surprised when I find myself to be horribly wrong!

[noodle]

Fair enough! I will have to cant my blades a little more than they are now (because, of course, they are not perfectly straight... I'm not that crazy) and give it a go. And, I will not be surprised when I find myself to be horribly wrong!

do one at a time, to get a feel for the difference between having it and not.

[Rocketdog]

Cant won't effect your point control - it is just what you are used to. What will affect your point control is switching frequently between weapons with different cants.

One thing cant does is improves the way the balance feels so you can, say, disengage easier or do blade actions easier.

[prototoast]

I'm a saber fencer, and I fence with a nearly imperceptible cant, but that complements my style of bladework (for better or worse). For foil or epee, I can't imagine one wanting no cant unless there was some sort of wrist deformity, but the devil is in the details, and I could see a fairly minimal cant being used.

[larkascending]

Like... the sort of deformity that would lead one to use their left hand instead of their right?

I sought old-thread advice when I was purchasing my first weapon, and saw some comments to the effect that a blade canted for same-handed fencers will hinder one's ability to fence opposite-handed fencers. As a leftie, I fence far more of the latter than the former, so I didn't request any canting.

Can any lefties weigh in on the subject? I have been thinking about putting in a slight downward cant.

[Gav]

Like... the sort of deformity that would lead one to use their left hand instead of their right?

I sought old-thread advice when I was purchasing my first weapon, and saw some comments to the effect that a blade canted for same-handed fencers will hinder one's ability to fence opposite-handed fencers. As a leftie, I fence far more of the latter than the former, so I didn't request any canting.

Can any lefties weigh in on the subject? I have been thinking about putting in a slight downward cant.

I am a lefty and yes I put a small set on my blades.

Putting a set on your weapon is entirely personal. There really isn't any cast iron rule about this. Put one on or not - it's up to you. It's more important that you are comfortable than anything else. Really it's something that needs to be experimented with.

One of my friends (a very good epeeist) doesn't bother to put any set on his epees and it's not done him any harm.

[trafl926]

I fence...a lot..with a fairly good lefty in foil and he puts nearly the same degree of cant I do(only for a lefty) and it works very well for him. This cant is 10 degrees down an 25 degrees to the left or to the right.

[InFerrumVeritas]

Like... the sort of deformity that would lead one to use their left hand instead of their right?

I sought old-thread advice when I was purchasing my first weapon, and saw some comments to the effect that a blade canted for same-handed fencers will hinder one's ability to fence opposite-handed fencers. As a leftie, I fence far more of the latter than the former, so I didn't request any canting.

Can any lefties weigh in on the subject? I have been thinking about putting in a slight downward cant.

A cant helps in hitting in six for things like shoulder shots and in eight for things like the flank.

[telkanuru]

Cant won't effect your point control - it is just what you are used to. What will affect your point control is switching frequently between weapons with different cants.

You are a special flower.