Tips and barrels and screws.... Oh my.

[CarlKnoch]

Help....

I have a french tip on one of my foils that's been giving me trouble with an off target even when you touch a lame. .

I finally found out that the problem was that the tip screws were so long, that they were touching off on the tip and connecting it to the barrel. I had no idea that different tips bought from the same vendor as the screws could be different from the barrels! Apparently the barrel I wired the blade with is a very thin walled french barrel, and the screws that I have are for a thicker walled barrel.

Does anyone out there know where I can get the correct screws for the thinner walled french barrel, like who the manufacturer is? Oh, and are all tip screws the same in diameter? They don't appear to be from the ones I have.

[neevel]

There are two types of "French" foil points commonly sold in the U.S.: Prieur and Sport 7. Prieurs have a thicker-walled barrel and exposed white plastic insulation on the tip. Sport 7 points have a thinner walled barrel and metal sleeving over the insulation on the tip (akin to German-style tips). As you've found, parts for the two are almost-but-not-quite compatible. In addition to the shorter screws, Sport 7 points also use a slightly longer spring-- Prieur springs will function in them, but may not pass weight unless you stretch them a bit.

Further muddying the waters, I've seen Blade selling weapons wired with the old (pre-1992) style Prieur points (they must have acquired a left-over stock of them, or else found a supplier making knock-offs). These have an even thinner walled barrel with no flats on it, and use a tip with orange plastic insulation.

Blue Gauntlet sells the Sport 7 points, while Santelli and The Fencing Post use the Prieur points. American recently changed over from Prieur to Sport 7 points (there's an annoucement posted on their web site).

The thread for the screws of all three sorts of French points is the same, it's just the screw length that is different. If it's the old Prieur points you have, Sport 7 screws may work OK. You could also use current Prieur screws and just not tighten them down as much- the tape around the barrel will ensure that they won't fall out. Lastly, you might ask if any people at your club still have some old Prieur parts on hand.

Now, getting on to your specific problem, are you getting an off-target light or no light at all? Too-long screws pinching against the shaft of the tip would cause the weapon to ground and not give a light, rather than an off-target light.


-Dave