How to bend a tang without a vise?

[big poppa]

I wanr to bend the tangs in my foils but i do not have a vise. By bend i mean cant the foil blade down and to the side. I read some where a person used a wrench and another used a stell pipe , How does this work?

[Rolls]

I also have a question about canting a weapon.

My problem is that it's hard to guage how much cant you want until you hold the weapon fully put together. Is there a way to add cant to a fully assembled weapon without taking it apart?

Rolls.

[Tireur]

I read some where a person used a wrench and another used a stell pipe , How does this work?

I just use the hole in the handle of a crescent wrench. Saves on tool space.

[Dave]

First you need a big spanner (wrench, whaterver) with an eye at one end like this. The longer it is the more leverage and the easier to bend the tang.

O---------C

Then hold the blade of your foil by the forte in your left hand with the tang forwards(wire groove pointing up). Holding the spanner in your right hand slide the eye over the tang till it reaches the bottom.


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Now squeeze the spanner and blade together this should allow the tang to be bent in a controled manner.
Rotate the blade so that the groove is pointing left and repeat. This should give you a set that is down and in if you are right handed. Reverse the directions for left handed.

The important thing is getting the eye of the spanner in the right place at the tang. If you get it right the tang should bend fairly easily if not then it won't. From memory you want the bit of the eye nearest to you resting on the end of the blade but I can't really remember.


I hope that this helps.


opps it looks like pre formated text doesn't work

[prototoast]

It's not as nice a method, but if you put it at the end of some surface (so that the blade can lie flat and the guard isn't bumping anything), you can usually place your foot on the forte right next to the guard and then push gently on the handle.
If you're careful, it works.

[DHCJr]

If any of you go by one of the NAC's or J.O.'s stop by American Fencers and talk to Matthew. He came up with an ingenious device that takes up little room, light weight and doesn't have the biggest problem with a wrench. That is the shifting of the blade and the force being applied at only one point.

It is best not to cant with a complete weapon. Here is what you could do. Take apart a weapon you especially like the balance of and one you do not. Hold those blades by the tang as well as a new blade and feel the difference. Try some extensions, lunges, coupe', etc. and use this to get the new blade to balance properly.

[dunastor]

I bend the tang of my sabre blades over my knee....

very low tech, but it works every time...

[Dave]

I bend the tang of my sabre blades over my knee....

Not so easy with pistol grip epees though. The shorter tang gives you far less to work with.

[big poppa]

Dave , thanks for the advice and to the other guy who said use a cresent wrench . it worked like the da bomb. I love it, once again thanks .

[victord66]

I use the metal stair in my apartment stairwell. The gap between the concrete wall and the metal stair frame is ideal for this. Just stick in the tang and bend away. Then with one of my grips I check the angle. I also always keep a broken blade for a guide.

[oiuyt]

Originally Posted by big poppa

How to bend a tang without a vise?

Do not try to bend the tang; that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth.

[What truth?]

There is no tang. Then you'll see, that it is not the tang that bends, it is only yourself.

-B

[remise]

Originally Posted by oiuyt

Do not try to bend the tang; that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth.

[What truth?]

There is no tang. Then you'll see, that it is not the tang that bends, it is only yourself.

-B

Matrix armoring.

[Pescados666]

Probably best to take the wrench and the blade to your coach. He'll know how much to cant it and be able to show you how to do it. You don't really need a cant if you're happy with it the way it is.