Re: RAPIER BLADE STUFF>...

[Tanner Lovelace <lovelace@acm.org>]

Poster: Tanner Lovelace <lovelace@acm.org>

On Sun, 15 Jun 1997, Corun MacAnndra wrote:

> I was warned away from their custom made doublets by Alan Gravesend as being
> insufficient to pass armour standards in Atlantia. Perhaps this has changed
> though and their newer doublets do pass. Can anyone verify this one way or
> the other?

Their fencing doublets are just like any other fencing doublet in Atlantia:
they do not pass "as is."  Historically, a fencing jacket has counted
as three of the four layers that make up "impenetrable material."  Therefore,
when added with a "fourth layer", they were ok.  Now, however, we make
no limits on how many layers you need, we only stipulate that the material
be punch tested.  If the jacket passes the punch test, it's ok.  If not,
then it doesn't.  If it doesn't by itself, that doesn't mean that it won't
when paired with another layer.  If you do decide to get one, Corun, I'll
be happy to come over some time with a broken foil blade so you can test it.

As far as Triplette blades are concerned, a previous poster pretty much
got it it right.  I would like to clarify a bit, however.  Triplette
decided that the reenactment (i.e. SCA) market was good enough to 
start making weapons tailored to their use.  To that end, they started
producing two types of foils, and two types of epee blades.  The normal
olympic style for each of them, and another type that, instead of being
very thin at the end, was much stronger along the entire length of the
blade.  Now, the thing was, when you order a blade from Triplette, they
pick one out of a big bin and send it to you.  Since most of their business
is olympic fencing, if you didn't specifically tell them you were SCA, 
they pulled the blade out of the olympic bin.  However, if you asked
for the SCA blades, they would send you the correct blades.  Triplette
blades, however, aren't the only ones out there.  I, myself, use 
French-lames.  Another good source is to call American Fencers (I can
look up the phone number if anyone wants it) and talk to someone from
their "Armory" department.  These are the people that supply the really
cool hilts (if anyone has seen mine, or the one that Alan bought at
Emerald Joust) that look more period than the modern olympic ones.

In service,
Lord Kendrick Wayfarer, Scholar
---
             |                       lovelace@acm.org
             |\                       Arlington, VA
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             |/      Per chevron argent and azure, a wolf passant 
             |     sable between three compass roses counterchanged.





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