The FIE recently has released new requirements for chest protectors both in men’s and women’s foil. For full information about the underlying problems (including a bit of foil history) as well as some instructions on what to do now and where to purchase, please read on... Continue reading →

Here are a few questions and answers about the new FIE rules in regards to masks. All new masks sold by Leon Paul are compliant with the FIE rule changes that will come into effect next season in Septembre 2018. Why are the FIE changing the rules for all FIE masks? Over the past 6 years, the number of masks, made by all fencing manufactures, falling off during competition has increased. Continue reading →

A moonshot idea is one that reinvents and revolutionises an industry or in our case a sport. Normally designers take a single product and look to make a series of...

This blog post has been written by Peter Barrett head coach of Plymouth fencing club after they went fully wireless in April 2017 with 14 sets of wireless fencing equipment replacing 15 ancient scoring sets. 15 Fencing ‘Boxes’ 30 Ground Leads 30 Spools (if they are all working) 6 Mains extension leads That’s a lot of equipment to set up and put away 3 times a week. In addition to all the agro of pushing fencers to ‘get the boxes out’ comes the average repair cost of around £2,000 per year in keeping it all in working order. Continue reading →

How to mount a fencing sword? Mounting a weapon, making a sword, building a blade are just a few ways that people describe the process of putting together a fencing...

The Fencing Podcast was launched by two Scottish fencers/coaches/nerds in the immediate aftermath of the Rio Olympics. Sean Walton and Gavin McMenemy are the voices of the podcast, after a friend suggested they give the medium a try. Gav has a history of online fencing presence - maintaining the peace as a moderator on Leon Paul’s Fencing Forum (and the US-based fencing.net) for many years - and Sean has written fencing blogs, so a podcast seemed the logical next step. While there is a lot of online discussion and writing about fencing, there is little spoken-word output. Continue reading →

The other day I had a hot thought…… Can we see if there is a measurable difference between how much heat different uniforms retain? My conclusion was that yes, we can. Recently the FIE and Leon Paul did experiments on various uniforms using an amazing mannequin from EMPA in Switzerland, a specialist in testing clothing. Continue reading →

I have spent the last few months listening to my brother, Alex Paul, talk about wireless technology. In that time I have learnt many new words like Farad (F). A Farad is a unit of capacitance. Capacitance is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together…. [caption id="attachment_486" align="aligncenter" width="480"] The Future of wireless sword fencing[/caption] Ok, so now I am just quoting Star Wars and to be honest when my brother starts talking about technology and science I normally zone out. So in short, it is magic and I may have misled you with the title of this blog post. Here is what I have found out about wireless technology in fencing: People are so used to wired systems. They take ages to get used to the changes. People generally don’t like change and as a result are inherently mistrusting of wireless fencing as there are so many half-baked systems out there. Continue reading →

Leon Paul have started up manufacturing fencing blades 4 times during the last century. This is the story of our blade forging history. [caption id="attachment_363" align="aligncenter" width="840"] The history of Leon Paul blades[/caption] The first time we started making blades was before the Second World War when my grandfather Leon Paul went into business with Wilkinson Sword. When the partnership broke up for reasons that are lost in the mists of time Wilkinson made the crazy decision to move into stainless steel razors while my grandfather kept it real in the fencing industry! Continue reading →

My name is Bill Murphy. I have worked as an armorer at countless national and international fencing events. I was the Sports Equipment Coordinator of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Fencing Event, a Weapon Control Coordinator at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Fencing Event and Team Armorer for the 2004 and 2008 US Paralympic Fencing Team.  I fenced for about 7 years back in the 1980’s and I used a Leon Paul bayonet body cord and socket the entire time. Continue reading →