Annual Maintenance

I don't know about you, but the warm, sloppy days of winter turning to spring leave me chomping at the bit for the upcoming event season. I find myself longing to be out in the sun, facing my friends on the list field. But spring isn't quite here yet and the weatherman's still threatening snow, so what to do? I take an afternoon and go over my equipment from top to bottom, making sure its ready for the warm weather when it comes. But what to look for during this once-over.

Weapons:

Probably the most importants pieces of our equipment to maintain is our swords and daggers. To do this, you need to strip your weapon completely down - remove tip, tape, guard and pommel. Once completely apart, go over the blade, looking for rust on both the blade and the tang. If there are any rust spots, remove them with a green scratchy pad. Then do the same thing, looking for nicks. This time, remove any nicks with a needle file. NOTE: If there are any cracks in the blade, it is unserviceable and must be replaced. Once all the rust and nicks have been removed, give the blade a light coating of oil (gun oil or machine oil work well).

After you've gone over the blade, inspect the tip. If the tip is worn through or beginning to crack, it needs to be replaced. If you can see the line made by the blade, it is approaching time to replace the tip. If you do replace the tip, a trick you can do to extend the life of your tips is to put a small metal washer inside the tip. This spreads the impact of a thrust over the entire face of the tip and eliminates the line caused by the bare blade impacting the tip in thrusts. After inspecting or replacing the tip, put it back on the blade using new tape.

Next, you need to inspect the guard. Again, look for any rust spots, nicks, cracks or broken welds. Rust spots and nicks can be cleaned up the same as the blade: using green scratchys or needle files. If there are any cracks or broken welds, bring the guard to your local marshal to see if it is still serviceable.

After you've inspected the guard, go over the grip. Sand down any nicks that may cause slivers and replace any leather washers you may have. After you've finished the inspection, reassemble the blade.

Bucklers are simple to inspect. All you need to do is make sure the edge is smooth (if wood) or that the edge is completely covered and the edging is attached firmly and make sure the handle is securely attached. Likewise, inspecting batons is fairly easy. The best way to do it is to remove the covering and make sure there aren't any cracks in the PVC tubing and that the end cap is securely attached before recovering the baton. If there are any cracks, the baton is unserviceable and must be replaced.

Armor:

To inspect your fencing mask, run your fingers over the mask while looking for any splits or separations in the mask. If there are any splits or separations in your mask, it is unserviceable and needs to be replaced. If you find any dents in the mask, push on them with your thumb from the inside. If you can push them out, your mask is unserviceable and need to be replaced. If you cannot push the dents out, leave them there. Hammering out the dents will weaken the mesh and shorten the life of the mask. If your mask has a removable bib, wash it. If your mask has an attached drop, make sure that it is still attached securely and that it doesn't have any holes in it.

Go over your gorget, looking for any broken straps or buckles or missing rivets and replace them as necessary. Then make sure your padding is securely attached and that it still meets requirements.

You need to check your gloves for any rips or tears and make sure that no seams have split. If your gloves have any of these problems, they need to be replaced.

The process for inspecting all of your cloth armor is the same. First, wash it (be honest now: when was the last time you washed your coif?). Then go over the garment, looking for rips, tears, split seams, missing buttons or threadbare edges. Replace any missing buttons. If your armor has any other problems, fix them and begin planning your next set of armor.

That's all there is to maintaining your equipment. This is also a good time to make sure your field repair kit is well-stocked for the upcoming tourney season.