Pistol grip V.s French handle?

[Jeric]

Frech handles are crap. I seriously don't like frech handles. They are too easy to slip so that youare grabbing them with a fist rather than a pistol shaped hold.

I'm a pistol grip man. My Leon Paul Foil has a PG and it is more cofortable than a FH.

What do you people prefer?

Btw, I'm new here. From the UK where the fencing is crap. I fenced in Germany thats how I know Brits are crap.!! LOL!

[JEC]

You must make friends rather easily! OTW, you wouldn't talk trash. Regarding grip, you must be a foilist. As it is well known, grip is a matter of personal preference, and in epee for some unknown reason to some, the french grip has survived among top italian epeeists.

[epeemike81]

French has no use in foil. It is too difficult to execute today's style of fencing.

French does, as previously discussed, have some use in Epee. However, I use visconti for epee.

-m

[attila]

These kind of post make laugh. The grip is just a tool. A very good fencer will kick your *** with a fench/italian/upper slobovian or whatever grip because he/she has a good deep game. If you can't use anything but a (insert yer crappy grip here) then you can't have nuch of a game....

I heard this analogy recently....

"The weapon is the gun, but YOU are the bullet"

[Purple Fencer]

Can you describe an Uper Slobovian grip?

I like the analogy! I'll have to use it in my sabre class...assuming I get students!

[Black Rose]

PISTOL GRIPS ARE FOR HALF WITTED, LAZY A..., BORING, HANDICAPS.. there said it..

the reason you are hopeless with a french grip is because YOU are hopeless..

Now having said that, anyone out there using the BF blades.. are they very stiff, are they worth spending the money on.. are they sexy??

[Jous]

I personally like the French grip the most. For me it just seems easier to handle, because of the way you hold it you can use your whole arm strength to move the blade, which I've seen comes in handy when your opponent is stronger or if they move your blade out of the way and are holding it there.

I dunno....that's just me >_^

[D'Artagnan1673]

Nice anology, Attila.

I've creamed people who fence with a pistol, and people who fence with a pistol have creamed me. Conclusion? Read above analogy. If you don't have the personal skill to back whatever grip and style of fencing you prefer, then chances are you will lose.

I actually prefer a pistol in foil. If I ever re-visit foil fencing, I will probably convert my old Frenchies to a Belgian. The speed and bladework required for a competitive foilist is easier to perform with an orthopedic grip. In epee, I will continue to appreciate the advantages the French grip gives for my style of epee.


Perhaps better discussion to start would be the various weights in epee. IE Ultralight vs. Tank.

[Yugo]

Hello all, I'm new here and I thought I would indtroduce myself by pissing off all the pistol grip people. =)

I like the french, but I use only Italian grip(both foil and epee).

Its not so much that the pistol grip isn't easy to use and helps quickness, but after looking down the length of the blade and guard, its dissapointing to see a funky looking grip. I am not a classical fencer, but I also don't agree with a lot of the new things (pistol grip being one of them). The PG detracts from the romance of fencing.

And I'm sure most people take up fencing because, they have at the very least, a tiny sliver of fantasy and romance flowing through them.

[epeemike81]

Originally posted by Yugo
Hello all, I'm new here and I thought I would indtroduce myself by pissing off all the pistol grip people. =)

I like the french, but I use only Italian grip(both foil and epee).

Its not so much that the pistol grip isn't easy to use and helps quickness, but after looking down the length of the blade and guard, its dissapointing to see a funky looking grip. I am not a classical fencer, but I also don't agree with a lot of the new things (pistol grip being one of them). The PG detracts from the romance of fencing.

And I'm sure most people take up fencing because, they have at the very least, a tiny sliver of fantasy and romance flowing through them.

You started fencing because of the romance of it. You don't like the newer aspects of the sport. you don't like pistol grips because it ruins the romance of it.

yeah, there's nothing even remotely like a classical fencing attitude there.

let me go out on a limb and guess you also don't like the flick.

-m

[DJ Apostrophe]

Yugo,
Maybe I'm not included in your 'most' but the reason I got involved in fencing is very simple. I went to support my girlfriend at a fencing competition, figured out that it was a highly competitive SPORT, with lots of cool people. It satisfied my competitive nature, and my unwillingness to depend upon other people for my own success. I also appreciated the mind games involved in the sport... it had nothing to do with a romantic image or fantasy. to me it is a SPORT... nothing more ... nothing less... although its a damned fine sport.
-w

[Jeric]

I started fencing because of the sheer exitement. I have never, EVER fought in a tournament or compotition.

Blame my dad, he forgot. Also I know for a fact that I was good because i once beat the UK's #2 Under-14 Foilist.

[MikeHarm]

I like fencing/competing with a french grip in foil. I'm not big in the turn your hand so your thumb is at the 3 o'clock position so you can only use fingerwork idea that a lot of french grip people seem into though. It seems to make it a lot easier to knock the weapon out of my hand, limits the techniques I can do and worse limits the target area I can get at which I don't like. I think it might of worked better when people used wriststraps and were into the clear visual down the center touches.

I've tried switching to pistol grips unsucessfully several times. I have the same problem each grip I've tried. My hand starts aching, over months getting progressively worse until its happening all the time even when I'm not fencing and I get scared into giving it up and going back to the french grip. I'm pretty sure that if I kept using the pistol grips long enough that would turn into carpal tunnel syndrom, it seems close enough to what I've read about it.

[Falling Cow]

I just got a pistol grip foil, I like it but the pommel keeps coming off so I can't use it very long before tightening. I can deffinately see the advantage of the pistol grip in foil esspecially with regard to the flick. I have always had flick envy because of my french grip, but now that I have a pistol grip I can see how they are handy.

To sum up, I like the pistol grip because fencing as a sport has evolved around it, but I like the french because it looks cool and is all around more fun in my opinion.

[DHCJr]

For the pommel loosening. Do you have a single lock washer. You can get by without a lock washer on a French, but not on a pistol grip. Also more than one can cause problems.

Second what type of pommel do you have. If it is a screwdriver, they can not be tightened as tightly and comes loose more often. If it takes a allen key, make sure the tang is at least 1/2" from the top to give a good grip to tighten. If it uses an outside hex wrench and it is hex all the way down, make sure to have a good flat washer. In some of the grips that have large opening, it pushes into that area and becomes loose.

[MikeHarm]

I haven't had a problem with pommel loosening since I started using locktite before tightening them up initially. I use high strength on the points of the weapon and the medium strength on the pommels. Also I noticed that some folks who were using it and couldn't dissassemble their weapons after didn't realize that if you've used the high strength locktite on your weapon and can't get it loose if you apply heat the stuff loosens right up.

[Falling Cow]

Being the broke cheapskate that I am I bought the cheapest pommel I could. It fits a screwdriver and a allen wrench.

Washer? I didn't think about that. I gues that explains why I'm having such a problem with it. I had to put two bell pads on the thing just so I could come close to tightening it. Thanks everyone.

[epeemike81]

Originally posted by MikeHarm
I like fencing/competing with a french grip in foil. I'm not big in the turn your hand so your thumb is at the 3 o'clock position so you can only use fingerwork idea that a lot of french grip people seem into though. It seems to make it a lot easier to knock the weapon out of my hand, limits the techniques I can do and worse limits the target area I can get at which I don't like. I think it might of worked better when people used wriststraps and were into the clear visual down the center touches.

I've tried switching to pistol grips unsucessfully several times. I have the same problem each grip I've tried. My hand starts aching, over months getting progressively worse until its happening all the time even when I'm not fencing and I get scared into giving it up and going back to the french grip. I'm pretty sure that if I kept using the pistol grips long enough that would turn into carpal tunnel syndrom, it seems close enough to what I've read about it.

What is probably causing your hand aches is the "death grip". Remember: despite the different shape, you should not be gripping the pistol grip much differently than a french. you should still be using primarily your thumb and forefinger, with occasional help from the other fingers when neccesary.

-m

[MikeHarm]

I think its either that or I haven't found one that fits my hand properly. I've reached a point where it doesn't seem like the french grip is holding me back so I'm not sure its worth bothering with anymore. It does seem a lot easier to relax my hand with the french grip.

Originally posted by epeemike81
What is probably causing your hand aches is the "death grip". Remember: despite the different shape, you should not be gripping the pistol grip much differently than a french. you should still be using primarily your thumb and forefinger, with occasional help from the other fingers when neccesary.

-m

[oiuyt]

I had to put two bell pads on the thing just so I could come close to tightening it.

Uhm. Make sure that the two aren't (total) more than 2cm thick or you'll have an illegal weapon (your thumb needs to be within 2cm of the bell).

Actually, having the pad(s) between the grip and the bell could easily be part of the problem that you're having. Having a solid metal-metal contact will help give you a more solid feeling weapon, that in my experience is less likely to work its way loose. Try pushing the pad up on to the grip before putting the grip into place. After the pommel nut is tightened push the pad back down to the bell. Some pads you'll have to slightly enlarge the hole in order to push it up onto the grip. This is worth doing. The pad really shouldn't be part of the equation in tightening the grip on the weapon and therefore two pads shouldn't be an issue.

-B :)