next time just kick me in the head
Aug. 15th, 2008 10:34 pmI'm in the process of rewiring blades. This is lots less fun than it sounds. It's probably the only thing I truly hate about fencing.
For those not in the know - it involves taking apart the tip, which involves tiny screws and coils, pulling out the old wire and cleaning out the groove in which it resides. and then gluing in the new wire and reassembling the point.
I must add that the wire must be glued in while the blade is flexed, so I prop it in an arc in a doorway. I then hope that the damn thing doesn't flip up into my face while I try to super-glue in the wire, taking care not to glue my fingers to the blade but still needing use of my fingernails to poke the wire fully into the groove.
And every set of rewiring directions I've ever read has something in ALL CAPS about the following: don't crush, fold, bend, or even think untoward thoughts about the wire because it will BREAK and all your efforts will be for naught, muahahaha! And you'll have to order another and another of the fiddly bastards mail order ('cos the sporting goods store down the street doesn't carry them) until you get it right!
This is clearly a conspiracy on the part of some forgotten entrepreneur/sadist who clearly thought fencing might be easier to score with little light-up boxes.
And yeah, I know - try, try again, it'll get easier with practice, blah blah blah, and that's the philosophy I had when I started this little project.
On the upside, the layer of superglue on my fingertips protects me from the worst of needle pokes when I'm hand sewing.
For those not in the know - it involves taking apart the tip, which involves tiny screws and coils, pulling out the old wire and cleaning out the groove in which it resides. and then gluing in the new wire and reassembling the point.
I must add that the wire must be glued in while the blade is flexed, so I prop it in an arc in a doorway. I then hope that the damn thing doesn't flip up into my face while I try to super-glue in the wire, taking care not to glue my fingers to the blade but still needing use of my fingernails to poke the wire fully into the groove.
And every set of rewiring directions I've ever read has something in ALL CAPS about the following: don't crush, fold, bend, or even think untoward thoughts about the wire because it will BREAK and all your efforts will be for naught, muahahaha! And you'll have to order another and another of the fiddly bastards mail order ('cos the sporting goods store down the street doesn't carry them) until you get it right!
This is clearly a conspiracy on the part of some forgotten entrepreneur/sadist who clearly thought fencing might be easier to score with little light-up boxes.
And yeah, I know - try, try again, it'll get easier with practice, blah blah blah, and that's the philosophy I had when I started this little project.
On the upside, the layer of superglue on my fingertips protects me from the worst of needle pokes when I'm hand sewing.