alternative to tape for tips

[PisteOff]

Has anyone ever tried heat-shrink tubing for foil tips? It is rubber so it insulates, and comes in many colors and diameters. I may try this for my foils since all the tape I can find gets chewed up in a month or so.

==PisteOff==

[CvilleFencer]

I have never heard of anyone trying it before, but it is a great idea! Please let us know if it works well. If the tube is sturdy enough I can's see why it would not.

[Artisan]

Originally posted by PisteOff
Has anyone ever tried heat-shrink tubing for foil tips? It is rubber so it insulates, and comes in many colors and diameters. I may try this for my foils since all the tape I can find gets chewed up in a month or so.

==PisteOff==

MONTH? Two bouts and my tip tape gets pretty ragged. I fence 2-3x week, own 3 foils, and seem to retape them all weekly, along with routine service / repair & test of weapons.

I do like the heat shrink idea...though some heat shrink has adhesive coating inside that could make it hard to remove. Plus... inspection of tip screw becomes more difficult, and replacement would now require heat source. Also...what about effect of heat on wire glue if you're not careful. Seems like potentially more hassle than its worth.

I've been using Gaffer's tape which holds up pretty well - at least better than plastic tape, but wonder if its not a bit heavy. Even 5 grams way out on the foible seems to be noticable.

[sallearmourer]

I try heat shrink tubeing about ten years ago I back to tape it's got its flauts as well. One trying to adjust springs between bouts



Tim

[PisteOff]

well I may try heat-shrink all the way up to the barrel and then tape the rest for easy access. =)

[DHCJr]

Rather than go just up to the barrel, go up to just below the screws. You can still get at the screws and the heat shrink will help keep the barrel tight.

I am currious also how it goes.

[fred]

Heat shrink is no good. Tried it on several blades, didn't last as long as decent electrical tape. Because the material has some thickness to it, it seemed to catch blade edges even more than tape, and get cuts. Once enough slices had occurred, the whole tubing no longer had integrity and would start to slide off.

It's also pretty hard to get the diameter right to fit both blade and barrel without overheating the tubing and splitting it on the barrel.

I dearly would love to be free of tape, but as the vet armorers can tell you, there doesn't seem to be any improving on it. Except epee ;-)

[PeterGustafsson]

Hi!

Originally posted by fred
It's also pretty hard to get the diameter right to fit both blade and barrel without overheating the tubing and splitting it on the barrel.

Why get the *the* diameter right? Why not get the *diameters* right instead?

Put *two* bits of heat-shrink tubing on the weapon. One long and relatively small diameter which protects the blade, while a short bit of larger diameter tubing which overlaps it, and protects the barrel. Should solve that particular problem.

About the sturdiness problem: Why not wind kevlar thread around the tape, or put tape glue on the inside of a piece of wowen kevlar? That should hold longer than ordinary tape.

Some ideas from an epeeist.

Have a nice time!

Peter Gustafsson

[MikeHarm]

I use hockey tape, its much stronger stuff than the tip tape, is cheap and easilly located and holds up a long time.

[fred]

The issue with the 2 diameters of heat-shrink is that the "bottom" end of the larger piece won't fuse with the smaller dia. piece, and well...it looks unsightly. It then also provides an edge to catch on blades.

I'd be delighted to find some kevlar-reinforced tape, but I'm not aware of any generally available, in the US anyway.

Tried hockey tape. It is sturdy, but I don't like what happens to cloth tape when it gets chewed up, it tends to not come back off the blade in nice pieces. Same deal with baseball bat tape and racket tape. I've even tried the tape they sell for putting over the top of racket heads to protect them from abrasion, it's very sturdy, but also has bastard glue that makes it a major pain to remove when it does need replacement.

I've heard good things about gaffer's tape, which I gather is duct tape with less obnoxious adhesive, but have not managed to secure any for testing. Once I do, I will submit a full scientific report about tip taping to American Fencing to lay the thing to rest. Or maybe just get Joe Byrnes to weigh in on the subject.

[DHCJr]

You can get Gaffers tape at any Profesional Photography Shop. Also the tape does not have the heavy-duty plastic outside of Duct tape.

In the Pacific Coast Section we use it for everything, putting down strips, tip tape, fast repair of piste when the hole is to big for just metal tape.

[Artisan]

For a good selection of Gaffer's tape:

www.rosebrand.com/home.cfm

No movie or stage production can function without a good supply of "gaff"

[Inquartata]

Now if only the stuff was as cheap as duct tape...

Has anyone ever tried the synthetic-rubber compounds, like Shoe Goo or Plasti-Dip? I know the former can be shaped without mess if you keep your fingers wet---I use it to insulate bare pommels for my sabres, as you can't get the heavy ones already insulated. Whether it would make for removal issues around tips I don't know, though.

[fred]

Originally posted by Artisan
For a good selection of Gaffer's tape:

www.rosebrand.com/home.cfm

No movie or stage production can function without a good supply of "gaff"

Ooooohhhhh, they have camo! You Da Man, thanks!

--fb

[WoodsideDr]

Report back, please? Any luck with the tubing?