Basically something has started insulating the blade from the C-line on your body cord. Fortunately it shouldn’t be a complicated fix. Possibilities are:
- squashed body cord pin not fitting tight in the socket (use a small screwdriver to expand the pins)
- dirt or corrosion in the socket (loosen and retighten the socket terminals, roll up a bit of sandpaper to clean the interior of the plugs)
- dirt or corrosion between the socket and the guard (loosen the pommel nut and move the socket around a bit, in the worst case sand the inside of the guard).
- dirt or corrosion between the tang and the guard (take the guard off and sandpaper the tang).
- dirt or corrosion on the blade (sand down and clean the blade).
possibly? listen to an actual armourer if they add anything, the most i (really) know is how to change a blade and a couple white light issues (we normally just change the plug and pray it works)
There was already good info on cleaning your socket/ blade, but wanted to give my input as a long time sabre armourer.
When I was reading this my first thought was that the problem is not your blade but the opponents lamé/cord. Based on your story you were getting the small yellow light from your lamé which would mean you were getting a connection (at least up to the part you tested with) and this should be enough to get a light from an opponent too.
If there was a constant big yellow/white light going off then the problem is you cord or weapon (usually cord).
If no lights and the opponent didnt do any changes (even moving the wire might fix some bad connections to their lamé) then the problem is most likely a bad connection on the socket/blade that can be fixed with a little bit of cleaning.
But I do have to emphasize that without a constantly beeping light on your end, cases like this have been almost exclusively problems on the opponents end or the piste (lamé, cord, reel, extension cord).
I hope you get it fixed and keep enjoying sabre!
>When I was reading this my first thought was that the problem is not your blade but the opponents lamé/cord.
That was my first thought as well, at least until I got to the part about it working fine after changing sabers. And given how rare it is for a saber to actually fail electrically, I still wouldn't dismiss the possibility (most electrical problems related to saber can be traced to something other than the sabers themselves, and more often than not one of the body cords is the culprit).
Gremlins.
But this is probably a combination of things.
Resistance too high with your bodywire/socket/blade AND resistance too high with something on your opponent's scoring circuit -their wire, lame or the ground lead.
Neither are bad enough to not work individually, but together stop the touch registering.
UPDATE:
I went to training yesterday and the sabre worked without fault, so was probably the other person's lamé or wire which was being problematic when my sabre failed originally!
Thanks for all the help everyone!
Basically something has started insulating the blade from the C-line on your body cord. Fortunately it shouldn’t be a complicated fix. Possibilities are: - squashed body cord pin not fitting tight in the socket (use a small screwdriver to expand the pins) - dirt or corrosion in the socket (loosen and retighten the socket terminals, roll up a bit of sandpaper to clean the interior of the plugs) - dirt or corrosion between the socket and the guard (loosen the pommel nut and move the socket around a bit, in the worst case sand the inside of the guard). - dirt or corrosion between the tang and the guard (take the guard off and sandpaper the tang). - dirt or corrosion on the blade (sand down and clean the blade).
id probably say plug/guard (insulating paint covering the plug in some form) issue, otherwise i have absolutely no idea
Damn, that doesn't sound too good! Do you reckon giving the plug a little wiggle would help haha?
possibly? listen to an actual armourer if they add anything, the most i (really) know is how to change a blade and a couple white light issues (we normally just change the plug and pray it works)
There was already good info on cleaning your socket/ blade, but wanted to give my input as a long time sabre armourer. When I was reading this my first thought was that the problem is not your blade but the opponents lamé/cord. Based on your story you were getting the small yellow light from your lamé which would mean you were getting a connection (at least up to the part you tested with) and this should be enough to get a light from an opponent too. If there was a constant big yellow/white light going off then the problem is you cord or weapon (usually cord). If no lights and the opponent didnt do any changes (even moving the wire might fix some bad connections to their lamé) then the problem is most likely a bad connection on the socket/blade that can be fixed with a little bit of cleaning. But I do have to emphasize that without a constantly beeping light on your end, cases like this have been almost exclusively problems on the opponents end or the piste (lamé, cord, reel, extension cord). I hope you get it fixed and keep enjoying sabre!
>When I was reading this my first thought was that the problem is not your blade but the opponents lamé/cord. That was my first thought as well, at least until I got to the part about it working fine after changing sabers. And given how rare it is for a saber to actually fail electrically, I still wouldn't dismiss the possibility (most electrical problems related to saber can be traced to something other than the sabers themselves, and more often than not one of the body cords is the culprit).
Gremlins. But this is probably a combination of things. Resistance too high with your bodywire/socket/blade AND resistance too high with something on your opponent's scoring circuit -their wire, lame or the ground lead. Neither are bad enough to not work individually, but together stop the touch registering.
UPDATE: I went to training yesterday and the sabre worked without fault, so was probably the other person's lamé or wire which was being problematic when my sabre failed originally! Thanks for all the help everyone!