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Marlin and Amanda Stout wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:48A0E05C.3040205@sbcglobal.net" type="cite"><br>
What if we add to our inspection procedure a test for foam penetration
of a helm?
<br>
</blockquote>
Well sure you can do that if ya want and
if you think you can put 10000 pieces of ammo at Gulf War through that
test in a timely manner. It has always been an option.<br>
<br>
Those of us who have worked at the society level for blunt testing and
approval have test box rigs set up. Basically what a test box consists
of is a frame with horizontal bars like you would see on a helm. The
parts are 1" apart. Not 1" on center. In other words the grill
consist of what would be the grill on a just barely <u><b>illegal</b></u>
helm. So if a the marshal doing the inspection had a dowel to gauge
that was just barely over an inch the helm might pass. The idea is to
test against a grill that would be almost worst case scenarios.<br>
<br>
The 1/2" behind it there is a plank of green floral foam. The foam
will permanently dent and show a very slight touch. You can then try
cram testing to see how you can dent the foam and can shoot to try and
dent the foam. That is basically the initial test that is used for any
new blunt designs that you want to get approved.<br>
<br>
Also various helm designs can be worse about letting the foam in. For
instance sometimes, depending on the blunt design a thin visor slit cut
across sheet metal can be worse because the sheet metal is only 14 of
16
gauge thick. The foam has less steel to squeeze past.<br>
<br>
Also here is a a picture of the helm that had the foam from an arrow
squeeze through the eye slot at Gulf War this year with the rigid blunt
stopping hard outside the helm.<br>
<a href="http://windrosearmoury.com/images/gallery_images/justina.jpg">http://windrosearmoury.com/images/gallery_images/justina.jpg</a><br>
A very high dollar well made and completely legal helm but you can see
how the shape of the face sorta funnels arrows right into the eye
rather than shed them away from it. <br>
<br>
The rules say that no part of a weapon may be FORCED more than 1/2"
into a legal helm. Lots of weapons fail that test. Take a helm that
has a gap of 0.99" between two sheets of 16ga steel and you can FORCE
just about any low profile thrusting tip through it. A great many
padded polearms and such you can FORCE more than 1/2" of foam into a
gap like that as well.<br>
<br>
Once of the things that all fighters are supposed to be able to do is
maintain control of their weapons. When you or I shoot a bolt we no
longer have control over it and that is one reason our projectiles are
going to be held to a higher standard than other some other weapons in
regards to padding. The other reason is that a bolt at close range out
of a powerful bow is traveling blunt first faster than probably any
other weapon does on the field. So because there have been incidents
this year at Gulf War, West An Tir War, and Pennsic the society has
decided that CA blunts are going to be held to a higher standard and
now have to be 1.5" in diameter. Fellwalker and other heavy UHMW
blunts have always had to be 1.5", Baldar Blunts are 1.5", it's not the
end of the world.<br>
<br>
-EA<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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