Foil point complete super PTFE coated barrel (incl wire)
3 out of 6 people found this review helpful
Summary: Inferior to German PointsJuly 11th, 2003
By reading the marketing hype, one would think this point the solution to the common problems with plague the standard Uhlmann tips.
It's a case of one step forward, two steps back:
It is true that the screws do not protrude from the point, and are thus less susceptible to damage, and in 3 weeks fencing with the weapon, I didn't sustain a single dent to the barrel which interfered with operation.
However, they only lasted 3 weeks. In that time, fencing with two brand-new Flickmaster blades with these Leon Paul points, both springs had degraded to the point where it was clear that they would not pass a weight test. Stretching the springs saved them for another practice, but they failed at the end of practice.
In the 3+ years I have been fencing with German points, I've had a weapon fail weight exactly twice, both due to a dented barrel. The assumption that the spring will nearly always hold up the foil weight is a dear one, and not being able to rely on that is a large jump backwards.
Also, the barrels contain no flat places to put pliers on. With the Uhlmann barrels, a loose barrel is a minor issue, easily cleared up with two pairs of needlenose pliers. The Leon Paul points do not have that, which not only affects tightening the barrel, but also removing it, which is the first thing I'm apt to do if I ever acquire a weapon with this tip on it.
It's a case of one step forward, two steps back:
It is true that the screws do not protrude from the point, and are thus less susceptible to damage, and in 3 weeks fencing with the weapon, I didn't sustain a single dent to the barrel which interfered with operation.
However, they only lasted 3 weeks. In that time, fencing with two brand-new Flickmaster blades with these Leon Paul points, both springs had degraded to the point where it was clear that they would not pass a weight test. Stretching the springs saved them for another practice, but they failed at the end of practice.
In the 3+ years I have been fencing with German points, I've had a weapon fail weight exactly twice, both due to a dented barrel. The assumption that the spring will nearly always hold up the foil weight is a dear one, and not being able to rely on that is a large jump backwards.
Also, the barrels contain no flat places to put pliers on. With the Uhlmann barrels, a loose barrel is a minor issue, easily cleared up with two pairs of needlenose pliers. The Leon Paul points do not have that, which not only affects tightening the barrel, but also removing it, which is the first thing I'm apt to do if I ever acquire a weapon with this tip on it.
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