Every blade tells a story..
On our way back from holiday in Yorkshire we popped into the Royal Armouries at Leeds, which is somewhere I've wanted to visit for quite a while. For those with an interest in military history it is a fantastic place to visit. And it's free! Basically the whole place is crammed full of militaria from all over the world, with extensive collections of swords, armour, muskets etc. As I wandered round some thoughts crossed my mind.
a) It seemed a bit weird being so interested in a 16th century rapier from Toledo etc (as my Dear Lady Wife pointed out)
b) It seemed more weird that the most popular exhibition was the "Weapons from the Movies" display which showed many of the props and replicas built by Weta Workshop for "Lord of the Rings", "The Last Samurai", "Hellboy II" etc.
c) Every weapon in the place had a story to tell.
I have to admit I was reduced to exclamations of appreciation at some of the swords in the collection (I hesitate to call them works of art but some of them were close). 16th century Katanas were matched in their craftsmanship by 17th century gentlemens swords, or 46 inch blade duelling rapiers (46 inches - that's cheating!). I was also very impressed by the realism of the prop swords from the films, each one having a different character to it to match the person it belonged to. There was even a small section devoted to modern fencing which was very interesting. Some of the old style masks looked very dodgy!
Then I was at the club yesterday morning and it dawned on me that every foil tells a story as well. Most of the club ones look a bit old and worn and rough at the edges (not literally) after years of use but it was also interesting to observe the foils owned by club members that they had been using for a while.
Some of the foils had an extreme downward bend about half way down. This is a tell tale symptom of someone who is too close when attacking and therefore lunges too deep. This eventually causes such a bend in the blade and eventually this will go "twang" and break, probably just as the person is lungeing.
Other foils had an upward bend; a classic indication of someone who drops their head and hand whilst lungeing, therefore causing the blade to be pushed down against the opponent causing the upward bend over time. This is also not a good look for a foil and it will hasten it's demise as a useful weapon. It is also very poor technique. I have also seen this come about because people have set the blade in the handle wrong - a rare but not unknown mistake.
The hardest bend to achieve is a sideways bend and I've never really been sure how people do this - suffice it to say it does not assist with accurate point placement!
If you must have one, the ideal bend for a foil is about three degree downwards starting about two thirds of the length of the foil from the guard. i.e. where the foible really begins. This usually comes about because of consistent good technique (or obsessional re-bending of the blade after the hit - not usually a good thing for blade longevity). The foil should naturally bend downwards a little and years of correct use will accentuate this.
So the next time you are at the salle have a look at other fencer's blades and see if it tells you anything; equally have a look at your own and see what that says!
a) It seemed a bit weird being so interested in a 16th century rapier from Toledo etc (as my Dear Lady Wife pointed out)
b) It seemed more weird that the most popular exhibition was the "Weapons from the Movies" display which showed many of the props and replicas built by Weta Workshop for "Lord of the Rings", "The Last Samurai", "Hellboy II" etc.
c) Every weapon in the place had a story to tell.
I have to admit I was reduced to exclamations of appreciation at some of the swords in the collection (I hesitate to call them works of art but some of them were close). 16th century Katanas were matched in their craftsmanship by 17th century gentlemens swords, or 46 inch blade duelling rapiers (46 inches - that's cheating!). I was also very impressed by the realism of the prop swords from the films, each one having a different character to it to match the person it belonged to. There was even a small section devoted to modern fencing which was very interesting. Some of the old style masks looked very dodgy!
Then I was at the club yesterday morning and it dawned on me that every foil tells a story as well. Most of the club ones look a bit old and worn and rough at the edges (not literally) after years of use but it was also interesting to observe the foils owned by club members that they had been using for a while.
Some of the foils had an extreme downward bend about half way down. This is a tell tale symptom of someone who is too close when attacking and therefore lunges too deep. This eventually causes such a bend in the blade and eventually this will go "twang" and break, probably just as the person is lungeing.
Other foils had an upward bend; a classic indication of someone who drops their head and hand whilst lungeing, therefore causing the blade to be pushed down against the opponent causing the upward bend over time. This is also not a good look for a foil and it will hasten it's demise as a useful weapon. It is also very poor technique. I have also seen this come about because people have set the blade in the handle wrong - a rare but not unknown mistake.
The hardest bend to achieve is a sideways bend and I've never really been sure how people do this - suffice it to say it does not assist with accurate point placement!
If you must have one, the ideal bend for a foil is about three degree downwards starting about two thirds of the length of the foil from the guard. i.e. where the foible really begins. This usually comes about because of consistent good technique (or obsessional re-bending of the blade after the hit - not usually a good thing for blade longevity). The foil should naturally bend downwards a little and years of correct use will accentuate this.
So the next time you are at the salle have a look at other fencer's blades and see if it tells you anything; equally have a look at your own and see what that says!
posted by Dave at
11:53 AM
6 Comments:
After reading this, I checked my foils. My first ever foil is broken, so it has a new blade. My second ever foil has an extreme bend in two places. My first ever electric foil is bent sideways, somehow, and my second and third electric foils are both bent. I then checked the foils I have been using recently. My steam foil has a very very slight bend, but it's not very noticeable, and my electric foil has no bend in it whatsoever. Is this a sign of improvement or just good care of my new foils?
Hopefully a bit of both! Distance in the lunge will prove the point or not (no pun intended)....
Oddly my first foil (size 3 electric) resides straight as the day it arrived under the stairs, even after a few years intensive use at NAF. Also my current (perhaps on the brink of its last fights) blade is also more or less dead straight. Does this mean that I tightrope walk between high and low? Or just that I hav egood distance and know exaclty how much pressure i need to score a hit, thus removing the need to ever bend the foil?
And on a note you'll like less, my epee has bent itself downwards in a place that cannot be corrected, which irritates my slightly OCD side (as i love everything to be in order and facing the opponent, not the floor). Makes some hits to the arm and wrist even harder, but i suppose it helps with point control...
Rob, I suspect that the lack of deflection in the angle of your blade may be also linked with your predilection to the rapid counter rather than the full on lunge. The counter being delivered with the arm rather than the full weight of the body. But I could be wrong of course.
Like you said, every blade tells a story. But like every story, interpretation is in the eye of the reader, so no-one's thoughts are ever unintentionally wrong.
I think I have a post brewing...
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