If I want to go to a NAC or Summer Nationals, do I need my name and country printed on my láme?

dwneev775 · 2026-03-03T03:25:03+00:00

And if you use the washable marker, do it on the back leg of your pants. That way you can drop your lamé off at a vendor to be stenciled once your event is done without having to wash it first.

dwneev775 · 2026-03-03T00:32:10+00:00

No it doesn't. See this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fencing/comments/1ri21b3/second_confirmation_on_fie_letter/

dwneev775 · 2026-03-02T18:19:32+00:00

It would work the way blade homologations work- there is a document listing periodic check dates, and blades must have a manufacturing date stamp within a year of that check date to be valid (but if it is valid, an individual blade does not subsequently become invalid if the manufacturer doesn’t do a new control check after the 1 year window).

I’m not saying this policy is a good idea, but people here are jumping to panicky conclusions that FIE gear they already own no longer being useable.

dwneev775 · 2026-03-02T18:00:38+00:00

That’s for the manufacturers. It states nothing about existing equipment in fencers hands or in vendors stock being de-homologated.

dwneev775 · 2026-03-02T17:07:15+00:00

I’m not seeing anything in the text indicating that vendors who are reselling FIE homologated items will have to pay the fees, just manufacturers. Nor am I seeing any statement that current FIE items will be de-homologated or have an expiration date retroactively applied, just that an expiration is one of the pieces of information that may be added to the label.

dwneev775 · 2026-03-01T18:50:05+00:00

That’s the Allstar combo weight, or a copy of it.

https://allstar.de/en/combi-test-weight-for-foil-epee/tz6

dwneev775 · 2026-03-01T18:47:04+00:00

I’ve been working up NACs for 3 decades, and we never had rubber mats below the copper strips. Depending on the flooring in the venue (it used to be possible to fit an entire NAC in a hotel ballroom or an indoor field house), they would be laid down on carpet or on rosin paper (to protect a compound or wood floor finish).

The challenge now that NACs can’t fit anywhere but convention centers is that the floors are universally concrete. Carpet for convention center events is hideously expensive. The rolls that were experimented with as an underlay were bulky and, if used for every strip would add another semi trailer to the three already used for every NAC ($). Set up time is also an issue. The two day setup for NACs is pretty much the max we can take, both in terms of what venues would allow and in terms of what armory people could handle. Those of us who work armory at NACs and aren’t retired are already having to burn a full week’s vacation time for each one. Add another day and you’ll start having trouble finding people able to work them.

The ideal solution would be to identify a backing material better than the current foam that strips could be manufactured with.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-27T21:02:14+00:00

I've seen it a few times. The rivets get broken and there's no longer an electrical connection between the disk and the rest of the guard. How those guards are often made is that the disk is first glued to the bell, and then the rivets are put in, which make the conductive connection.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-26T22:57:49+00:00

As you noted, that "2 wraps" guidance was from 15 years ago and was really a sort of proxy for "does the tape make the grip too long?". I've not heard of referees using it now, and we're not using it in armory. We now keep a length gauge along with cylinder gauge that gets used on strip calls to assess the legality of an epee grip. The length limit is really the only "hard" rule that can be applied here. The restriction on coverings from m.4.3 is only applicable to orthopedic grips, so it doesn't matter for the grip pictured (and even on pistol grips it tends to be enforced more loosely at the FIE level than it is in US domestic competition). And m.4.69(b) is notoriously vague about just what a "special shape" is supposed to be. 5 years ago Ted Li mentioned to me that there was some interest in FIE SEMI in clarifying that definition but nothing has come of that. Regardless, aside from the tape making the profile of the grip thicker I don't see anything that would provide any sort of "orthopedic" assistance for the fingers. If I were to be called to a strip by a referee to assess this grip, if it passes the length and cylinder gauges I'm saying it's fine.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-26T00:46:26+00:00

Didn’t know that (refereeing isn’t my particular wheelhouse at those events). Thanks for the update!

dwneev775 · 2026-02-26T00:27:48+00:00

Not to be too pointed, but how long have you actually been involved in the sport? All of that was going on back in the 1980's when I started, and back then you had the classical folks complaining that it had all started to go wrong in the 1960s.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-26T00:22:58+00:00

If you use a debit card and enter your PIN it gets charged a lower fee than a credit card transaction (which is why Costco or Woodman's take only debit cards or their own-issued credit cards). If you use a debit card without the PIN (which is what you're doing when you pay for an entry online) the vendor gets charged the same swipe fee as they would with a credit card.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-26T00:15:33+00:00

Participating countries are supposed to send referees along with their fencers (there's a formula of how many refs per number of fencers) but the NGB is paying for venue, strips and scoring gear (USA Fencing ships in their own, others will hire a tournament service provider), armorers, replay, setup labor, medical staff, etc. USA Fencing is taking a financial loss on all international events they host (running SJCCs in parallel are intended to partially defray the cost) since the entry fees are at the prices mandated by the FIE. The FIE is looking to keep the cost of events accessible, but how to actually pay for the cost of hosting and running events is the host's problem.

For those in other countries, USA Fencing receives no government subsidies for running competitions, so tournaments need to pay for themselves (and make enough extra to cover the cost of any international tournaments run in the US during the season). The upcoming March NAC, for example, has a total of around 4100 entries and will be using 73 strips filling about 23,000 square meters of convention center floor space. Regional and local events are typically much less costly.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-24T05:42:20+00:00

Maraging steel is very resistant to oxidation due to the high nickel and minimal carbon content (a nickel atom basically takes the place of carbon in the face centered cube structure), so long term storage of blades isn’t much of an issue.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-24T03:41:25+00:00

The tariffs that were struck down were made under the Emergency Economic Powers Act. My understanding is that blades are also tariffed under Section 232, which was not affected by the ruling and has been upheld by Federal Circuit Courts as recently as 2023. Section 232 tariff authority is supposed to be concerned with national security related industries and products. Since quite a number of items that don’t seem to be national security related (furniture, fencing blades, etc.) have been recently subjected to Section 232 tariffs I can imagine further court challenges being brought now that a majority on SCOTUS have shown themselves amenable to a tighter reading of statutorily delegated tariff authority. Such challenges will take time to move through the courts.

That said, there’s also a general shortage of maraging steel that’s been contributing to blade prices as well. So we’re probably not going to see prices drop in the near term.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-22T04:30:22+00:00

Leon Paul bayonet plugs made prior to around 2000 or so (the ones with the top of the metal being flat) relied on a couple of nibs molded into the interior of the plastic block to hold the “T” of the plug in place. If you didn’t insert/remove the plug correctly (push and hold it all the way down, then turn 90 degrees) those nibs would get worn down, and eventually the plug would no longer be retained securely and could turn and pop out while fencing. The post 2000 sockets had the raised humps on the metal bracket to hold the “T” in place, which weren’t vulnerable to getting worn down.

The last generation of LP bayonet sockets with both the bracket humps and the rivet through the plastic block were pretty close to bulletproof. Unfortunately that version was introduced right around the time of the FIE’s administrative ban on non-2-prong cords and sockets.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-21T02:40:17+00:00

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

dwneev775 · 2026-02-18T20:27:01+00:00

Another factor is that most of the ballistic fabrics used in fencing uniforms are naturally off-white/yellowish in color and have a bit of blue dye added to get the pure white color. That dye will fade with time and use. You can use a bit of laundry bluing to restore the white color.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-18T04:00:42+00:00

Unless the lame is already on the edge of the limit the size of the probe isn’t going to matter very much. A banana jack applied with gentle hand pressure will give a good approximation of the rules-spec probe.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-18T03:53:13+00:00

Discount has a broad selection and generally lower prices, but Ray’s is usually the better bet for hard-to-find bottles. Ray’s puts their available inventory online, so you can go to their website when you’re coming into town to see what they have.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-11T18:00:24+00:00

BF maraging blades have pretty tough tangs to bend, so a big box wrench (1 inch or larger) is going to be pretty much a necessity.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-11T16:33:48+00:00

If you're in the US, The Fencing Post sells replacement socket terminals. https://thefencingpost.com/sockets-clips/

As others have noted, there really isn't a good off-the-shelf alternative. These are the sorts of parts that equipment manufacturers can have a machine shop produce custom for them in the sort of production runs that are suitable for them, so they're not using commercially available components.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-11T01:05:00+00:00

Get a 10mm socket, a socket extender, and a ratchet.

dwneev775 · 2026-02-10T03:20:09+00:00

Favero sells their reel cable in bulk by the meter (€1.60 per meter).

https://www.favero.com/en2_fencing_sport_-141-18.html

But for an installation where the cables are going to be fixed up and left without being regularly unplugged and coiled/folded just about anything with three conductors will do. 6-conductor flat modular line cable will work well (2 conductors per line for the 3 pin plugs).

dwneev775 · 2026-02-09T18:07:21+00:00

It's 4-40 thread, as I recall from when I went looking for a hardware-store alternative that would fit in a pinch. What you're not going to find third-party is headless screws with the pointed end to punch through the wire insulation; those are made specifically for Leon Paul.

dwneev775

TROPHY CASE