Are Aluminium foil guards strong enough for heavy use?
I ordered an Allstar aluminium foil guard by mistake and was comparing it to the Titanium one I usually use and its 10g lighter at 37g rather than the 47g the Titanium weighs. The thing is it feels like it might be more likely to bend and be bent out of shape. Before I go switching all mine out to save a bit of weight I wanted to know if any regular foilists had any experience with the durability of these?
Are they all going to be bent in a months time and will I just be switching them back?
They probably won't last as long as the titanium ones and will scratch easier but they should be strong enough as there is an epee version and if they it can take epee hits, foil shouldn't be much of a problem.
You get what you pay for
If you buy a decent guard from a good manufacturer it will be up to the task: All "aluminium" guards are actually an alloy, cheap ones are likely to be softer, heavier and less well riveted: if a guard bends a bit it can be straightened, by taking the weapon apart and carefully wielding the ball end of a ball-pein hammer using a pice of wood as a plate and a pice of chamois leather to protect the metal from direct metal to metal blows: provided you don't fold it or loosen the rivets. One thing to watch out for is the sharpness of edge, i.e. whether it has been rolled or just cut, a cheap guard is more likely to cause your opponent's glove to be ruined
Don't look at the ****** lights
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