USFA RULES FOR FOIL

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(a) Weightm.6 The total weight of the foil ready for use must be less than 500 g.

(b) Lengthm.7 The maximum total length of the foil is 110 cm. 84 2000 Rev C

(c) The bladem.8 The blade, which is rectangular in section, must be made of steel comply-ingwith the safety standards described in Appendix A to the Rules. The edges must be smoothed off so that they will not cut, and must be chamfered at an angle of 45° (± 5°), 0.5 mm on each side (± 0.1 mm), so that they will neither cut nor become capable of cutting. The blade is mounted with the widest face placed horizontally. The maximum length of the blade is 90 cm (cf. m.3).The blade should have a flexibility equivalent to a bend of minimum 5.5cm and maximum 9.5 cm measured in the following way.1. The blade is fixed horizontally at a point 70 cm from the extremity of the button.2. A 200 g weight is suspended 3 cm from the extremity of the button.3. The bend of the blade is measured at the extremity of the button between the non-weighted and weighted positions (see Figure 8, p. 86).4. The groove in the blade must be uppermost. The blade should be as straight as possible. Any curve of the blade must  be uniform and the maximum bend must in any case be less than 2 cm; itis only permitted in the vertical plane and must be near the center of the blade.

(d) The guard (cf. m.5)m.9 The guard must be able to pass through a straight cylindrical gauge having a diameter of 12 cm and a length of 15 cm, the blade being parallel with the axis of the cylinder. Eccentric mounting is forbidden, that is to say that the blade must pass through the center of the guard. The diameter of the guard must be between 9.5 cm and 12 cm.

(e) Electric wire m.10 The foil has a single wire, glued in a groove cut the whole length of the blade, which permanently connects the point to the corresponding socket inside the guard.

(f) Point m.11 1. The diameter of the point is between 5.5 mm and 7 mm; the diameter of the body of the button including its exterior insulation must not be more than 0.3 mm less than that of the point.2. The point must be cylindrical; its front surface is flat and perpendicularto its axis. Its edge will either be rounded with a radius of 0.5 mm or have achamfer of 0.5 mm at 45°.3. The pressure required on the point, in order to break the contact and cause the apparatus to register a touch, must be more than 500 g, that is to say that this weight must be lifted by the spring of the point. The weight of 500 g supplied by the Organizing Committee may have a tolerance of ± 2 g, i.e. 498–502 g.