German vs. French barrels

[David Neevel]

Breaking out Peter's observation concerning German vs. Prieur barrels--

You're entirely correct that German barrels are more prone to damage
than Prieur barrels. The Preiur barrels are thicker walled, and so dings
that accumulate in fencing are less likely to be propagated through to
the interior wall and thus interfere with the movement of the tip.
That has been offset (at least until recently) by the German tips being
less prone to having the end-flange of the tip come unpeened (which
inevitably happens with Prieur tips, often after only a short period of
use). Additionally, the exposed plastic insulation of the Prieur tip is
considerably more vulnerable to damage, as is the threading for the
screws in the sliding collar (which is of brass--i.e., soft). So it's
generally been a trade-off between more barrel and screw problems for
German, vs. more tip problems for Prieur. German tips can also have the
problem with the end-flange working loose, but in my experience it's
less common than with the Prieur tips (which almost always develop that
problem).

If you don't have an expanding mandrel for German points and a 4.5 mm
reamer (the correct size for the German barrel), you should get them--
they're the essential tools for dealing with dented barrels. The mandrel
should be tried first, since the reamer will rough up the interior of
the barrel more, and weaken it a bit (since it's removing metal).

The chief reason why German tips are preferred is that the smoother
interface between the barrel and the metal-sheathed tip and the closer
tolerance makes it more likely that a properly maintained German point
will register glancing touches that you might miss with a Prieur point.


-Dave







(original paragraph):
BTW, since I do blade repair for the kids at the club, I bought an
engraving
bit for the Dremel, and number the blades as I go. I am trying to keep
track of what tips have what sort of problems how often. I know this is

somewhat heretical in this group (and a bit off topic), but I am seeing
more
problems with German tips than French (way more barrels get dented).
Admittedly, we currently have more German tip users than French, but I
do
not think the imbalance can be accounted for solely by that.

[Fencerbill]

In article <3da8f134$0$1419$272ea4a1@news.execpc.com>, David Neevel
<neevel@execpc.com> writes:

>German tips can also have the
>problem with the end-flange working loose, but in my experience it's
>less common than with the Prieur tips (which almost always develop that
>problem).

I have always worked on Prieur tips with loose flanges by using a center punch
to tighten the end flange. Works at least for a while.

Bill Hall

[David Neevel]

I use a couple of nail-sets to do the same: a 3/32" (fits over the shaft and
flange) to seat the flange down, and then a 2/32" (slightly smaller than the shaft
diameter) to mash the end of the shaft out to hold it into place more securely. I
find I can re-do the peening this way 2-3 times before having to toss the tip and
replace it. Soldering with fine-guage solder (so long as you take care not to
start melting the plastic insulation) also works. Some of the other national
armorers just use a few taps from a ball-peen hammer.


-Dave



Fencerbill wrote:

> In article <3da8f134$0$1419$272ea4a1@news.execpc.com>, David Neevel
> <neevel@execpc.com> writes:
>
> >German tips can also have the
> >problem with the end-flange working loose, but in my experience it's
> >less common than with the Prieur tips (which almost always develop that
> >problem).
>
> I have always worked on Prieur tips with loose flanges by using a center punch
> to tighten the end flange. Works at least for a while.
>
> Bill Hall