Epee Armoury Section
Epee overview
Epee developed
from the dueling
swords that developed in the court of Louis
XIV of France. In Epee the weapon used is a
maximum of 770grams, with a maximum length of
110cm. The valid target area is the whole body, head
to toe, including arms and hands. Any hit upon the
earthed piste or on the opponent’s grounded weapon
will not cause the apparatus to register. Epee evolved
from the sword, favored by duelists of the time. It follows
that, in modern fencing, the whole body is valid target
area for epee, and that the basic rule of engagement is that
the first to hit his or her opponent, has scored. Training for
sword fighting (for dueling or combat purposes) concentrated
on thrusts to the torso, where hits would have the most lethal effect.
This training led to the development of blunt lightweight weapons, protective clothing, and limited "valid" target areas, which are now applicable to foil fencing.


Click on the image to enlarge
How a hit is made.
The Epee circuit is normally "open" and is "closed" when the point is depressed, registering the hit. The epee point travels in and out against the pressure of the larger weightspring and carries with it a smaller contact spring. See the parts section here for details. When the contact spring touches the ends of the two blade wires it closes the circuit.

The Regulations for Competitions require that the weightspring must be able to support a 750 g weight before a hit is registered and that the contact spring must not close the circuit until the last 0.5 mm of its travel. In addition, the total travel of the point must be at least 1.5 mm

1 In the normal state there is no connection through the apparatus. This state produces no light and would be the state of the circuit as the fencers come on guard.
2 When the point is depressed by any surface except the opponents guard or a connected metallic floor (piste) the circuit is made and a red or green "hit" light comes on.
3 When the point is depressed at the same time as it is in contact with the opponents guard or piste a new circuit is made. This new circuit causes no light to come on.
As well as being electrical, the system also has a mechanical component. That is, moving parts and electronics working in conjunction cause the lights to come on.

The nature of the system means that both mechanical and electrical faults can cause the system to function incorrectly.
Most designs for Epee points contain the same basic elements shown.
These parts are:
- The Point Tip which moves within the barrel
- The point insulator or sleeve which is sometimes built into the tip
- The barrel/base which screws onto the blade
- Two contacts within the barrel/base which are separated by a small gap and attached to the two wires running down the blade. The two contacts must be electrically insulated from the barrel/base and each other
- Grub screws which hold the point within the barrel/base however, some screwless designs exist
- A spring to provide the required 750g resistance
- A small contact spring that completes the circuit
Above is a 3d animation of a working Leon Paul GT epee point. This cut away model shows what happens within a the tip is depressed. The circuit is normally open between the two brass contacts inside the point on the farthest right of the model. When the tip depresses it travels for a minimum of 1 mm before the contact spring touches the two contacts and completes the circuit. If the point is not in contact with an earthed piste or the opponents weapon this causes a colored hit light to come on.
Click image to enlarge

Each manufacturer has their own design of tip which has its own relative strengths and weaknesses. The points are often refereed to as being from a particular country (French, German) however, this is not entirely accurate as some countries produce more than one design of tip. Click on the model on the left to see and expanded annotated view of a Leon Paul and a German tip.

The model below shows the different parts that fit together to make an electric epee. Click on the image for a larger annotated view.

Click image to enlarge
Click here for a full guide to re-wiring an Epee.

 

© 2007 C Wheeler and Leon Paul

 






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