Weird breaking blades

[dunastor]

Yesterday at training I was making a head cut at my partner, after which my sabre blade flew a few metres away, holding the guard still in my hand...

on closer examination, the blade had broken right through the forte part of the blade, something that's never happened to me before.
It was a StM blade i got last octobre.

I'm just curious what weird experiences you have with breaking blades..

greetz, R

[noodle]

i've seen sabre blades break like that before. actually, i watched it happen at arlington last weekend.
i've seen blades break in the tang, bend radically at the forte right above the bell, shatter, break into 3+ pieces, take more than one radical bend from one hit, break on a flick and fly clear across a huge venue (and hit someone), and other random weirdness.
i've also had a few blades broken on me and i feel confident that the fie jacket i have has saved me from any substantial injury in those cases.

[Victor]

Weird. I had a similar experience just a few weeks ago with an epee blade. I brought it across (to take the opponent's blade, which wasn't there because he changed his mind and retreated), stopped my action without contact, but the blade snapped anyway at the bell guard and kept flying across the room in a shallow arc to my left.

[Peach]

Last night at practice a sabre blade broke off at the tang.

Mine usually break about ten inches from the tip.

[DHCJr]

A number of years ago, there were some 'Laser' Foil Blades. They were unique in they had two grooves on the side of the blade, rather than one on the top. They would then with a robotic arm, test the stiffness of the blade and use a laser to drill holes through the grooves to make a consistent flexibility. I made my own wires for that blade using two wires one down each groove.

Now the story. On a straight attack the grooves broke. The tip was still attached, the weapon still worked, but you could put your hand into the hole between the two halfs of the blade.

Noone got hurt with that broken blade.

[whtouche]

My blades break at the top of the tang normally. Infact last week when I was getting a lesson one of my blades broke a few inches from the top and I was surprised.
I'd rather have them break at the tang anyways - less likelyhood of injury.

As for strange incidents of blade breaking - at a tournament last year fencing a particularly heavy handed sabre opponant I stepped into his attack with a parry 5-riposte.
The parry was successful, in that his blade didn't hit me until it fell from 7 feet in the air onto my shoulder

[great bowyer]

i'm not sure, but i think a major cause of the blades breaking at the tang or forte is that the handle is loose, thus causing more movement, and metal fatigue and finaly the blade will brake, if this is true, i do not know, pehapse someone could comment on this who actually knows what they are talking about.

[DHCJr]

Breaking at the tang is more common with some forges. For most blades the tang and the blade are two separate pieces that are welded together. Forges from the former Soviet republics are notorious for breaking at the tang. It is getting so bad, that most of the time, many Sabre fencers do not even balance the blade.

About 20 years ago, there was a company whose logo was two interlocked R's in a sunburst. 50% broke when balancing them. Some we rewelded, but most we didn't bother. The coach had got a very good deal $5 a piece, so loosing half of them right off the bat wasn't to bad. All broke before the season was over.

[Artisan]

Originally Posted by great bowyer

.....pehapse someone could comment on this who actually knows what they are talking about.

I suspect that the reasons are that 1) sabre blades see a lot more lateral force in cutting than foil and epee blades do. 2)This force is amplified at the point where the tang meets the shoulder of the blade by two things; the change in cross-sectional area, and the tension applied by the pommel tightening the guard and grip against the shoulder. 3) Also, the metal is annealed at the tang to make it both bendable and softer for cutting threads, so there is a change in the characteristics of the material right at the tang as well.

[Strytllr]

I once had a nice practice foil blade break 2 inches below the guard in the tang! My handle literally wobbled.

Quite unusual. The blade was only 6 months old... when I contacted the vendor and told him about the situation and why I perceived it to be a defective blade, he agreed and sent me a brand new blade.

[Sabresque]

I remember (laughing) the time that I think it was my blade that broke, and then went flying across the club (in a kind of whirling helicopter motion), and EVERYONE hit the floor. My blade's flight ended with a CLANG on the opposite wall. It was completely silent. Gotta love it.

[dunastor]

Normally my blades indeed break at the tang, but this time it was some 2 inches above the bell guard...

very strange...

[deflagratio]

I've had one blade break in the middle and another at the tang. Two of my blades developed a weak spot close to the tang that when they were hit they would flop to the side as if dead.

[mrgenius]

I fence epee and once (this was my first blade) I bent it so much it broke. Not too weird, but one of the worst ways to break a blade. That annoyed me but I bought a new, stronger blade.

[sabreur]

The S2000 blades have a reputation for breaking at the tang.

The weirdest, and most dangerous broken sabre blade that I've ever experienced was one where the button broke off, without making any sound whatsoever. I fenced a couple of points before I noticed--thank goodness I didn't try a point attack!

MR

[Victor]

I also had a blade that collapsed into three pieces when I struck the opponent's bell guard point-on. The three pieces remained attached by wire, though. Must have been some really funky lattices in the metal for it to have been so brittle.

[Triton]

The very first sabre I had failed embarassingly during a practical exam in my fencing class. I parried my opponent's attack well enough, but the pommel popped right off and the whole sabre fell apart. When my opponent and my fencing master both stopped laughing we saw that the threading on the pommel was stripped, but the blade was just fine. After a new pommel, we continued the exam and both my opponent and I passed.

[Inquartata]

If you watch a sabre bout on tape in slow motion you'll be amazed at the oscillations and wave-like behavior of the blades. No surprise that they break in wierd ways sometimes.

I think another thing which contributes to the breaks at the guard is the widespread tendency of people these days to cant or curve their tangs in order to get a certain pet form to their grip and angulation to their blade. I have a friend who does this, and his blades always break off at the tang; I never do it, and I've had exactly one break there. Mine mostly go like Peach's do, 8 to 12 inches from the tip.

[Almightynoitall]

My favorite break was truly cinematic, I was fencing foil with one of our REALLY REALLY BIG epee guys (6'7, 240 lbs of solid muscle, he's a prison guard). He came in on a flesche, and attempted to stop when he realized I wasn't going to get out of his way, and I had point-in-line the entire time... instead, he attempted to parry down the length of my blade, where our bells met corps corps... needless to say, the huge 'clank' stopped all action in the room, and as we stepped back to en guarde, I lowered my tip, and the entire foil fell apart in a perfect straight line... blade, bell, socket, pad, and then a washer and the pommel from the back. I just stood there with my grip in hand looking completely shocked. it had snapped just where the tang met the forte.