4.2.4.1. Hafted Class 1 weapons must have incidental padding that extends at least 6 inches (15.24 cm) from the striking surface, or to the handle, whichever is shorter, and courtesy padding that extends from the bottom of the incidental padding to the handle.
4.9.1.4. The maximum handle length for a Class 1 weapon is twelve (12) inches (30.5 cm) or one-third (1/3) of the overall length, whichever is greater. This cannot exceed one-half (1/2) of the overall length.
4.2.4.1 allows for some goofy designs that probably shouldn't be allowed. On a minmaxed 47" blue, I could have a 15.5" handle, a 6" striking surface, 6" of incidental, and 19.5" of courtesy. 35" out of 47" of this weapon are handle and courtesy.
Courtesy padding is defined as providing "some protection" and doesn't need to stop core from being felt on a strike. ~75% of the weapon has core that can be felt on this weapon. Seems like a bad idea.
Proposed:
4.2.2.4. Where padding is required in the top half (1/2) of a weapon closest to its tip, that padding must be incidental padding.
4.2.3.3. Incidental padding must be used in place of courtesy padding, where the padding is in the top half (1/2) of a weapon closest to its tip.
With the proposed change:
