German/French?

[southernepee]

I just finished wiring an epee that I swear has a German wire, German barrel, and a French tip...not only does it work, but it passes shims and weight.
I was just wondering how safe it is to mix/match German and French parts? Which ones do you all prefer, and why? I know German parts are more expensive, but do they really give that much more of a preformance than French parts?

-Pete

[attila]

H'yalldoin'

Fine set up you have there. I also do the same. I used to use all german stuff until several years ago when allstar bought uhlmann. I have uhlmann tips that go back at least 10 years and are still doing fine. I cannot get a season out of a newer german tip before the collar ( a bit of steel ring right under what would be the underside of a nail's head) breaks and renders the tip useless.

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"Kill the men, save the women, and by the gods, do not spill the wine"

[neevel]

German and French epee parts are interchangeable-- foil parts aren't.

Despite Ed's problems with German foil tips, Prieur tips are even worse-- the end-cap will start coming unpeened usually in a matter of weeks if you fence alot. The Sport 7 points (what you get if you order 'French' points from BG, Blade, PC) have much better tips, but the barrels are brittle and prone to cracking and breaking. Unfortunately, Prieur and Sport 7 parts are ever-so-slightly incompatible, so you can't reliably use Sport 7 tips with Prieur barrels. Hence, I'd say German is still the best choice for foil points.

-Dave

[Gabriel]

south-
you can normally get just as good performance out of French products as out of German ones. This remains true in all things except perhaps body cords. I have a few Leon-Paul body cords that were a real pain in the *** to fix at my last NAC. Uhlman makes good quality cords.