Mask Review

My new mask came last night and it looks like it's as over-built as I was hoping for. The mesh on it is rated at 350N (of course), but the sides and top (the parts covered with leather) are rated at 1400N, so it should handle hacks (sorry, accidental percussive cuts) without a problem. It even has an internal suspension system, to keep me from eating the mask on hard thrusts (okay, I know most masks do nowadays, but my Santelli doesn't, so it's something new for me).

It is larger than my old mask, but I think that's because I actually measured my head to make sure I ordered the right size. I didn't do that with the Santelli, because then it was a matter of just going to the store and buying what they had in stock. That was the great thing about living in Butte. There's a cutlery store there that caters to the SCA and carries all the essentials for the budding fencer, from masks to blades and even the occasional bucker. Most of it's TCA, but if you can show her an item in a catalog, she can get it.

But I digress. Being larger than my old mask, it doesn't fit as snugly, of course, so there is a little more side-to-side wobble. But the thing that is going to take some getting used to is how I put it on. My old mask, I'd put my chin in and then pop it over the top of my head. I can't do that with this new one, without pushing the tang out of adjustment. So, I have to pop the mask on the top of my head and then slide it down over my face. That'll actually make it easier to keep my coif on while armoring up, but it will take a little getting used to.

Masks

Well, I finally did it. I broke down and ordered myself a new fencing mask yesterday. I didn't really need to - my old mask doesn't have any dents in it yet, and it'll still pass a punch-test, no problem - but I managed some extra money and it's a toss-up as to which is older, my mask or my first-born, so I figured now was as good of a time as any.

The hard part was finding one I liked. You see, my old mask (and every mask I've ever owned, except my very first) is a Santelli. You know, raw metal screen with what was once tan leather wrapped around the edges, ugly as sin, and built like a tank. I know of two other fencers off the top of my head with Santellis and mine's the youngest at about eight years old and the oldest is 15 years old and still going strong. Like I said, they last.

Maybe a little too well. You see, while what I want is another Santelli like the one I have, I can't get one, at least not new. Santelli went out of business several years ago (my guess is their profit margin was way too low for the quality they were putting out). And I will not buy a used mask, I went that route with my very first mask, and it's a miracle I never got a blade through the mesh.

Which, like I said, has left me looking for a new mask. The Triplettes aren't too bad, but they just don't call out to me, especially not for $75, same with Blue Gauntlet's stuff. I even checked out the masks for sale at Estrella this year, and they were all meh. The problem is that the majority of fencing masks are designed to take thrusts from epees and whacks from sabers, neither of which come close to the forces we see in the SCA, especially if you do any teaching. That's what I liked about the Santelli: it wasn't designed for tournament use, instead it was designed for club fencing where the odds were good that your opponent wasn't.

It was, basically, a coach's mask.

When I realized that, I changed my search from trying to find a fencing mask to trying to find a coach's mask. That made things a lot easier. After a quick google, I came across Absolute Fencing and their Absolute 3-W Coach Mask w/: Extra Padding, for a whopping seven bucks more than a basic Triplette. I know, it's a bit overkill, but I've seen a catastrophic mask failure (a second-hand mask, as a matter of fact), and it isn't pretty (If the guy'd been hit an inch lower, he would have lost an eye). Besides, I like overkill. I mean, you're talking to a guy with a bulletproof codpiece.

Like I said, I ordered it yesterday, so I won't get it until next Wednesday, but I'm already impressed with Absolute Fencing. My order was processed within an hour of my placing it, and shipped that afternoon. As for the mask, itself, we'll see next week.

I guess that means it's time to look for replacements for my 12-year-old gloves next.