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<DIV><FONT size=2>As far as I know there has not been any problem with the
breakage of Schlager blades in this or any other kingdom. If there has
been it wasn't brought up at any of the recent White Scarf meetings nor have I
heard any discussion about it with any of my fellow Dons. The only blades
that I know of that have been banned by the rapier Marshall have been some
counterfeit Del Tin blades that are being sold. If you are going to
purchase a Del Tin blade be sure it comes from Dark Wood Armory, they are the
only forge that makes Del Tin blades which are legal in this
kingdom.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The only Schlager blade I have ever seen broken in a fight was
broken by Don James Navare last year at Wasteland Yule. It broke at the
tang and was never a danger to either fighter. In fact Youchi was able to
weld the tang back on and James is using the blade still. The overwhelming
number of blades which are broken in combat are FOILS. Foils also have the
smallest cross section when broken near the tip and will penetrate the
easiest. Our armor is specifically designed to resist the penetration of a
broken foil. In my opinion the foil is the most dangerous blade on the
field today (as well as being as far from the size and weight of a real rapier
as you can get).. I would love to see Annsteoria ban foils as many other
kingdoms have already done. The only information I have seen regarding the
deaths in Olympic style fencing I read in report published in the magazine of
the American Fencing Association. It reported that in the last 50 years
the were 4 deaths in the entire world due to blade related accidents. All
four involved foil blades (imagine that) but were directly related to failure of
another piece of protective equipment. They didn't go into detail on the
specifics of each incident but I recall the most recent incident involved a
Polish fencer in the mid 1980 who had a broken foil puncture the bib on his
mask. The article I read went on to report that less than 1/10 of 1%
of all injuries reported in USFA sponsored events involved broken blades which
penetrated the armor.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>Will we ever have a death or serious injury in
the SCA? Who knows? But everyone who participates in Rapier or
Armored combat understands the risks involved before they are allowed to enter
the field (that is what the waiver is for). If you have any concerns about
the safety of SCA combat DON"T FIGHT its that simple.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT color=#000000>Remember </FONT>its much better to look
good the to fight good.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Don Timothy Le Corbuiser</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>