(Almost-all-you-need-to-know-about-buying-stuff-for-fencing-but-were-afraid-to-ask)
Beginners ~ Not-So-Beginnerly ~ Dry equipment ~ Electric equipment ~ Tools ~ Suppliers
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First off: Disclaimers!
· This is not meant to tell you absolutely everything you need to know ever. Nor does this list every item ever, nor every supplier.
· I am not going to put in every little bit of information about pricing.
· Most
of the prices listed are “fairly cheap,” as in: you can find some cheaper, but
most will be more expensive. The cheaper than list price here is either on sale
or going to fall apart if you sneeze at it, though there are exceptions.
You're probably here
because you want some fencing equipment. Okay. Ascertain how new you are to the
sport, and proceed.
OR
If you’re just
looking for suppliers, skip down to the supplier listing
I)
People
very new to the sport:
A) How enthused are you about fencing? How long do you expect you’ll stay with it? If the answer is “only somewhat” and “only a short time” then you may not want to go all out and spend several hundred dollars.
B) How much money are you willing to spend, or make someone else spend on your behalf? Starter kits that contain the basic full set of items will run 120$ and up, and there are many, many upgrade options. If you are going to stay with us for a few years, go ahead and get a starter kit from Blade or Triplette (see supplier listing later). You do save money with starter kits.
C) Proceed to the next section
II) People who’ve been fencing for a few months:
D) You may already have some equipment. Figure out what you have.
E) How fully equipped do you want to be?
1)
Basic
full set of dry equipment consists of: (108$+)
(a) Jacket
(b) Chest protector (mandatory for females, optional for males)
(c) Glove, preferably with Velcro closure
(d) Mask
(e) Weapon, preferably a French grip foil. (We expect everyone to start with the basics in foil with a french grip. There may be exceptions, but this recommendation is for your own benefit.)
(f) A bag is optional, but very useful
2)
Basic
electric equipment (in addition to the aforementioned items):
(a) For epee (60$)
(i) Electric weapon (50$+)
(ii) Three-prong body cord
(b) For foil (100$+)
(i) Electric weapon (40$+)
(ii) Two-prong or Bayonet body cord (you should stick to two-prong unless you’re hardcore competitive and know what you’re getting in to)
(iii) Electric lamé (63$+)
(c) For saber (you poor bastards) (250$+)
(i) Electric weapon, S2000 regulation (45$+)
(ii) Two-prong or Bayonet body cord (I highly recommend two-prong for saber, since it’ll hold up against smashes better than a Bayonet)
(iii) Electric lamé (87$+)
(iv) Electric mask (78$+)
(v) Manchette (over glove)
(vi) Mask-to-lamé cord
3)
Competitive
(in addition to the stuff above): (For USFA level and up, jackets and
knickers must be rated to at least 350N)
(a) Plastron (~15$+)
(b) Knickers (30$+)
(c) Knee-length socks (soccer socks should be fine)
(d) Minimum of two electric weapons
(e) Minimum of two body cords
(f) Specialty
shoes are optional: some people are quite satisfied with tennis shoes or
wrestling shoes. I personally recommend getting volleyball/tennis shoes.
III) Do you want to upkeep your equipment? Suggestions
for:
F)
Owners
of basic dry equipment:
1) Towel for wiping and warming up weapon, a white one is useful for electric equipment disassemblies
2) Sanding block
3) Spare rubber tips (except sabreurs)
G)
Do-it-yourselfers
(directed towards electric equipment owners (sabreurs more or less exempt
from this section)):
1) Knowledge of how your electric weapon is assembled, or a book about it
2) Spare tip parts
3) Jeweler’s/eyeglasses screwdrivers
4) Magnet
5) Wire glue
6) Tip tape
7) Another bag to hold equipment overflow/electrics
H)
Me: (Actually,
I haven’t yet collected all of these items, but I’m almost there)
1) Tool bag, tool box
2) Hammer
3) Super glue in a bottle with brush
4) Hack saw or bolt cutters
5) Razor blades
6) Soldering iron
7) Various kinds of pliers, Vise-grip
8) Chain/cord to hold blades bent
9) Acetone, copper pipe for soaking blades in acetone
10) Inside hex wrench , outside hex wrench
11) Large flat-head screw driver
12) Metric taps: M 3.5 x M 0.6, M 4 x M 0.7, M 6
13) Jeweler’s files
14) Scrap leather
15) Buzz box
16) Voltage tester
17) Test weights
18) Shims
19) Point setters
20) Spare
grips & pommels, bell guards, bell pads, sockets, spaghetti
IV) Fencing equipment suppliers you can try (in
mostly descending order):
I) Budget
1) Fencemart
J) Mid range (standard)
1) Blade Fencing (“Official” club supplier)
2) Triplette (Okay: this used to be club supplier, but there were a number of very serious screw ups and we switched. Most people who've used Triplette have had fairly good experiences with them, but there have been a significant number of people who have had extremely bad experiences with them. I'd recommend you not buy from them unless you can't find the item at a similar price at Blade. Triplette's equipment bags are the least expensive I know of, so that's what I get.)
5) Fencing Post (You get 20% off of emailed orders)
K) Higher range
1) Zivkovic
3) FencePBT
L) Über range
1) Leon Paul USA (Their prices aren't exorbitant; the quality is just much higher than most non-professional fencers need.)
2) All-Star
Beginners ~ Not-So-Beginnerly ~ Dry equipment ~ Electric equipment ~ Tools ~ Suppliers
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Created Nov.30th, 2005
-W.