Project Results have been published – read them here
How and whether to tip one’s sword is a controversial topic in Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA). Reasonable arguments are often made for various different methods and materials that can be used to tip a sword, with many also arguing that the practice of tipping does not in fact enhance safety. At present, there is only anecdotal evidence to recommend any particular approach.
With 81 backers providing £4090 in funds, the Safety Tips Project was born. Our goal is to rigorously test different methods for tipping swords to understand how they affect two independent risks. Funds are being used to create and setup specialist equipment and for the large investment in time from all the project team.
Project Status: On Track
Pilot Study: November 2023 – Completed
Assemble Project Team: January 2024 – Completed
Kickstarter Funding: July-August 2024 – Completed
Project Planning & Design: August-October 2024 – Completed
Experiment Date: October 12th 2024 – Completed
Publish Results: March 16th – Complete (read here)
Publish Additional Resources: March-July
The experiment completed successfully on October 12th, albeit with some hiccups along the way. Analysis was delayed due to issues with the accelerometer data that we had to overcome. Early results were sent out to backers in December 2024 – and the final report has been shared with all backers ahead of our publication date on March 15th. After that we will be working on finalising the other backer rewards and producing additional resources based upon our background research and lessons learnt from trying this project.
Our remaining project deliverables are:
- Additional open access materials covering:
- Video version of the report, summarising the project and results
- Background research assessing the injury risks we investigated
- Deep dive of our equipment, what we based it on and how it can be used
- Survey of Tipping Approaches in use in the UK & Internationally
- Lessons learnt & guidance for future projects
- Additional backer rewards, still in progress.
- Behind the Scenes Video
- Equipment Designs & Build Guidance
- “Meme Pack”: fun content created based
There’s a lot of work still to do and we’ve gone over-budget – if you’d like to say thanks or to support the remaining activities you can contribute below. For any tips that match the value of a backer reward, we will also supply the backer rewards.
Our Team
Our team is comprised of four individuals based in London, UK: Jamie MacIver (Project Lead), Alex Palmer (Consulting Scientist and Data Analyst), Kelsey Dame (Project Manager and Editor), and Mads Ratnavale (Videographer). We all fence at London Historical Fencing Club, and are active in the UK HEMA tournament scene.
Research Questions
Our overarching goal is to definitively answer the question “should you tip your sword?”. To answer this, we’ve divided the problem into the following research questions:
Main research question: How does tipping a sword affect the safety risks that HEMA organisers need to manage?
This is made up of two sub-research questions which each have their own test
Research Question 1: To what degree do different sword tipping approaches affect the level of force transferred directly to the mask from a thrust?Research Question 2: To what degree do different sword tipping approaches affect the energy levels required to puncture a soft target?
Experiment
Experiment 1: Excess Force to Mask and Neck
This risk is usually highlighted by advocates for leaving swords untipped with no additional safety measures. The logic behind this risk focuses on fencing mask construction. A fencing mask is constructed of shaped steel wire mesh. The shape is ridged in the centre and angled carefully in such a way as to maximise the chances of a sword “slipping off” rather than catching. The purpose of this is to let the sword slide off the mask and prevent the force of a thrust from pushing the head back and potentially leading to concussion or neck damage. Proponents of untipped swords claim that by putting a soft tip on a metal sword this safety feature is reduced or removed, as the soft tip will compress and “stick” to the mask, leading to the force of the thrust pushing the head rather than sliding off the mask. This experiment looks to quantify this by measuring the acceleration of a boxing “practice ball” with a fencing mask placed on it, after it has been struck in a variety of ways.
Equipment needed: boxing “practice ball,” accelerometers (x2), fencing mask, rapier, tipping materials, laptop
Experiment 2: Risk of Puncturing Soft Tissues
This risk is usually emphasised by proponents for tipping swords. The logic behind this risk is that narrow and/or hard points increase the pressure (narrowness) and force transfer (hardness) of the point in a thrust. In turn, this increases the risk of the strike puncturing protective clothing or skin, leading to an injury. This experiment looks to quantify the effect of tipping on reducing the risk of puncturing soft tissue by looking at the level of force required to puncture a consistent medium.
Equipment needed: ballistic gel, custom drop rig, weights for drop rig, rapier, tipping materials