Foil (fencing)
![Arianna Errigo (L) competes against Carolin Golubytskyi (R) in the final of the women's foil event, 2013 World Fencing Championships](/Images/godic/202501/12/Final_2013_Fencing_WCH_FMS-IN_t2009074423.jpg")
![Italo Santelli (left) and Jean-Baptiste Mimiague exhibiting techniques of foil fencing at the 1900 Olympics.](/Images/godic/202501/12/ItaloSantelli1900Olympics4423.jpg")
![A foil fitted with an Italian grip. The Italian grip is still in use as the initial teaching weapon in Italy and many other countries that follow the italic pedagogical tradition. While still in use with many classical fencers, most competitive sport fencers have abandoned the Italian grip in favor of variations of the anatomical grip, with the French grip used rarely. Contrary to rumor, the Italian grip remains legal for use in modern competition.[2]](/Images/godic/202501/12/Foil-2004-A4423.jpg")
![Parts of a foil](/Images/godic/202501/12/Anatomyoffoil4423.jpg")
A foil is one of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing, all of which are metal. It is flexible, rectangular in cross section, and weighs under a pound. As with the épée, points are only scored by contact with the tip, which in electrically scored tournaments is capped with a spring-loaded button to signal a touch. A foil fencer's uniform features the lamé, a vest, electrically wired to record hits in such cases. It is the most commonly used weapon in competition.