Epee Body wires / Cords Overview

The Epee body wire consists of three insulated wires, made of multi strand wire, either joined or twisted together and connected to a plug at both ends. The wires must be unaffected by humidity and have a maximum electrical resistance, plug to plug, of 1 ohm.(m31.b)

At the spool end the three pin male plugs must connect as follows:

- The pins are usually known as the near, centre and far lines 

- One pin that's 15mm from the centre connected to the tip(line one),shown as red 

- A center pin connected to the other wire in the tip(line two),shown as blue  

- A pin 20mm from the center connected to the epees earth circuit and the conductive piste (line three) shown as green.  

Lines one and two continue from the inside guard socket, up the blade and into the point. Line three connects to the guard itself. 

Worldwide there are two main types of epee plug, the Leon Paul/British type and the German/Chinese type. Both are similar but have important differences.

 Leon Paul / British Plug  In the LP plug, the center pin is offset by 2mm in order to hold the wire firmly in the socket.

The pins are secured in lightweight flexible plastic and covered in black rubber. They work in all types of epee, and are also used as the spool end connector and the ends of the  ground lead. Because they have a soft rubber cover, the wire tends to be more flexible just outside the plug where there is most wear and therefore break less often. However the three securing screws holding the wires in place can sometimes work loose, leading to resistance problems (see maintenance section)

 European Plug

The wire is of a slightly thicker gauge and the wire insulation is slightly thicker and non see through. The three wires are soldered and held firmly in a hard plastic casing. Because of this inflexibility the wire has a tendency to break or wear about 4cms away from the epee plug after considerable use. There is no offset in the pins to hold them in place, but instead each pin has a spring which expands in the socket. In older well used plugs, these springs become compressed, and may result in a poor connection with the ground lead. This is known as "skinny pins".

Repair and maintenance

The body wire should always be checked regularly, especially before a competition. Indeed, you should always check the body wire first, because the body wire is used to check the rest of the equipment. Carry out a visual inspection on each of the three cord wires for any damage or to see if any obvious breaks are present. If you are going to make your own or replace the wire on an old bodycord ensure that you purchase the correct wire (Leon Paul use more expensive, flexible, see-through wire to make visual diagnoses possible even though non see-through wire is cheaper). If you can see a break in the wire near the end plugs you can repair it.

PLEASE NOTE:- If the wire break is in the middle of the body wire, then repair is not possible as the wire will now be too short to run down the arm and out the back of the jacket, of course, if you want to save money, just cut off the corresponding length from your fencing arm

If you suspect you have a problem with a body wire, the easiest way to make sure is by connecting the two terminals of an ohmmeter to each of the lines in turn, i.e. from one end of the wire to the other. No circuit means the wire is faulty in some way, if you have a high resistance (over 1 Ohm), then one or more of the wires is either corroded, broken or the screws need tightening. In practice a wire will still “light up” the scoring box when the resistance is high, but the wire will be rejected as “failed” in a weapon control.

The most common faults are:-

Broken wires (usually about 3-4ins from the end

High resistance

Broken three pin plugs/2 pin plugs

Loosescrews (British/Leon Paul)

"Skinny Pins" (German/Chinese)

Mismatch between the jack plug and the IGS or the three pin plug and the spool socket.

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Epee Bodywire Repair Broken Plugs

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Broken Wires.

These tend to come in two sorts. Those breaks you can see easily, and surprisingly, those that you can't. Also a very good reason to buy the correct body wire cord.

This may seem obvious but in actual fact it's not. Fencers test weapons at the start of a bout and, presuming all is well, begin fencing. It is however possible for a wire to be broken, with the two broken ends being held in contact by the plastic insulating sleeve surrounding the wire. However, during the bout, one fencer may lunge, strike a perfect hit, and yet no hit light comes on. This is because when the body wire comes under tension, the plastic sleeve will stretch, and allow the contact to break.

[ANIMATION]

This would give you the correct test at the start of the bout, since the two broken ends are in contact, but the fencer is now less likely to score a hit when lunging. It is more likely that the fencer is unaware of this problem, putting the fault down to "new timings" or a "broken spool" or in fact anything other than their own kit.

Replacing a section of wire near the plugs.

If the damaged section is near the plugs, then it is simple to repair. This method will work on all LP/British type plugs and the German/Chinese jack plug.

Pull down the rubber insulating hood on the plug to expose the damaged section of wire and the 3-pin plug.

Separate the wires to below the break by running a screwdriver down the join.

Partly unscrew the long screws holding the wires in place. It is not necessary to remove them.

 Pull the wires through so the break is on the other side of the pin and re-tighten the screws so that the tip pierces the rubber insulation

Cut the wires off next to the plugs using a craft knife or Stanley knife, and replace the cover

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High resistance

If you do not have an ohmmeter or an expensive specialist body wire meter that shows the resistance, a careful visual inspection can often reveal the fault. Examine the section close to the plugs.  Sometimes there may be green or black patches on the wire under the insulating sleeve. This is probably corrosion caused by sweaty fencers, and may cause either high resistance or a complete break. This section should be replaced if faulty.

If the wire looks clean and in good condition, and no break is visible even under tension the fault probably isn't there, and you should check the screws in the plug.

Loose screws

The connections in LP body wire plugs are achieved by offset steel pins. They each have a hole near the base, through which the wire passes, and a threaded hole down the center for a sharp threaded screw to pierce the insulation surrounding the wire. This screw must be tightened completely in order to penetrate the wire insulation; otherwise the screw can loosen slightly, resulting in high resistance (typically 80 or 90 ohms) and a poor connection. To remedy the fault, simply take a screwdriver and tighten the screw. If you have a broken screw, replacement ones can be bought for minimal cost

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Epee Bodywire Repair Miss Match

It is a requirement of the rules that the epee bodywire (fencers end) is locked into place.

Whilst Leon Paul epee bodywires will work with both types of inside guard sockets, the longer profile of the German/Chinese type will only lock, at first glance, with the German/Chinese  inside guard socket(see above) If this problem is left unchecked, your bodywire may become detached during a bout, resulting in stoppages and possibly lost hits.

However, there is no need to bin you old bodywire in order to accommodate your new sword. The low profile Leon Paul inside guard socket was designed to accommodate both types of bodywire. Slide the small rubber ball to the side of the shaft with your fingers.

Close the clip as normal and the plug will lock into place.

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"Skinny Pins"

German/Chinese plugs depend on a spring system to hold the plug in connection with the IGS or spool/box. In older well used plugs, these springs become compressed, and may result in a poor connection with the ground lead. This condition is known as "skinny pins".

A simple fix is to use the blade of a small screwdriver to lever open the springs so that they are once more in contact with the sockets.

Regrettably in some of the cheeper body wires, the manufacturers have not grasped the purpose of these springs, and they are being sold unformed with the springs compressed at the base of the plug.