Seen a Chevalier d'Auvergne?

[Superscribe]

hey, does anyone here have any input on chevalier d'auvergne foil blades? not many people i've talked to know much about them, though i gather that they are made from the france lames forge, and am a little worried about the quality.

i'm looking for blades that are light and durable, and i know that's probably asking for a lot. There's nothing but good news about the Vniti blades EXCEPT their weight. Unfortunately, to me weight is a heavy factor (hehe) in choosing a weapon especially in competitive foil, where you need to be dancing the blade every-which-a-way.

anything other than bf blue?

[darius]

They're super-flicky, but take on bizarre bends easily, and break faster than any other FIE blade I've used.

My current favorites are the Prieur Sport blue FIE blades, which fencing post sells. They are very light, and work well for straight and flick games. I've just broken all of my foils over the last week, and completely replaced them with the PS blades; they feel like BF, only a bit lighter. They're harder to flick than the Vnitis, but not nearly as heavy.

darius

[Katman]

I've got one. I got a strange bend in the foiable which no amount of straightening has managed to fix. I'm paranoid about the blade for some reason and to be honest, it's my first FIE blade so I wouldn't be able to compare much.

[disarmedfae]

i've got one; it -is- flicky but it got a major kink during the first bout i fenced with it (granted, it was after a girl ran right into it and kept going...but still). i like my 'ultralight' vniti much better...the weight definitely used to be an issue with me but after practicing and breaking it in it feels perfect.

-m

[great bowyer]

i also have one, i have only had one for a few months thoigh. from my observation, they tend to be flicky, but i have seen some that are stiff, i have not had any problems with kinks, and the balance is good, they seem to be light.

[Superscribe]

interesting.... i'm gonna go check out the prieur blue, on the account of my friend breaking all 3 of his within 6 months, all around the same time too. light and flicky aren't worth the constant replacement i s'pose. Thanks for the help.

[CvilleFencer]

I got one as a gift and used it at a tourney a couple of weeks ago when the tips on my Vnitis started acting up. I had not used the blade beforehand but after warming up with it and getting used to it I like it okay. If reminds of the Uhlmann blue FS and maraging blades in the balance but the "feel" is a little differant.

All in all it seems a decent blade being flickable and balanced but it does bend quickly and I can't speak on its durability. I would suggest you try the Uhlmann/Allstar FS blades or any of the BF foils if you want light a fairly long lasting blade, but the Prieur blade is not a bad choice if it lasts for a while, and it is a fair bit cheaper than any of the Uhlmann/BF stuff.

[mifencer]

I switched to them (Chevalier d'Auvergne). I think they're great, they remind me of France Lame. Actually, I think they're from Prieur and Prieur bought the old France Lame forges.

[darius]

That's what I was hoping too -- when I heard the France Lames forge was back in business, I bought 3. They're not bad, and I've had some fun with extreme "how-the-#^@%$-did-you-hit-that" flicks, but all 3 took kinks very easily and broke within 6 mo.

At JOs this year, I was whining to Saul about how the Chevalier blades were nothing like the old FL blades, and that's when he showed me the Prieur Sport blades.

darius

[great bowyer]

i also have one, i have only had one for a few months thoigh. from my observation, they tend to be flicky, but i have seen some that are stiff, i have not had any problems with kinks, and the balance is good, they seem to be light.

sorry, i was thinking epee blades, i have not seen the foil ones yet