Maraging Leon Paul Epee blades

[ShadowHuntr]

I have a question about the durability of the Leon Paul epee blades. For about the same price I could get a Triplette blue maraging BF epee blade or a Leon Paul maraging blade. I know of the two the lp would be the lighter blade of the two. However, I have a slight tendency (which im trying to fix) of breaking the wrist and strong arming the blade and getting weird bends in blades. Anyway, how is the LP blade on taking bends?

[DangerMouse]

I haven't used the maraging blades, but I've been using the non-maraging blades for about 6-7 years. They are very durable if they bend the correct way. Once they bend backwards, the side walls of the V shape get damaged and the blade will always have a tendency to bend backwards in the same place.

[noodle]

actually, i'm going to add a question to this.
i was wondering about the lp blades, has anyone tried both bf blue and the lp maraging?
if so, what is your opinion on which is better or what properties one has that the other doesn't, etc etc?

[ztron24]

i'm a proponent of the leon paul blades. both maraging and not. espiecally if you are looking for a blade that will last a LONG time and not take on kinks. they are the best, in my opinion. you should check the prodcut reviews on this site, there are quite a few comments about them.

[noodle]

i'm a proponent of the leon paul blades. both maraging and not. espiecally if you are looking for a blade that will last a LONG time and not take on kinks. they are the best, in my opinion. you should check the prodcut reviews on this site, there are quite a few comments about them.

i did
the lp maraging got a bad (1 star) review
which is why i was asking here instead of relying on it
(i'm probably going to get a lp non-maraging anyway just to see how htey are)

[CvilleFencer]

I have not used the LP FIE blades but I do use the regular LP as well as the Uhlmann BF FIE. I very slightly prefer the overall balance and feel of the BF but not enough to justify almost three times the price. I have never broken an LP blade and a fencer at one of my clubs swears by them. I asked Barry Paul a while back exactly what the differances were in lifespan between the two and he told me the he did not think the slight increase in weight and large differance in price was worth a very slight increase in lifespan. For the average US fencer he seems to think the non-FIE blade is the way to go.

A bit of LP trivia though. It seems that the die that sets the V had become worn near the tip after many years of use and it was not taking as much of a sharp taper as it should resulting in a slightly shorter life and the tip of the blade tending to flatten out. That has since been fixed so if you can try to make sure you get a newly forged one.

[noodle]

well i suppose i'll intend on picking one or two up at summer nats
unless they're cheaper to order and ship online and there's a way to snag a newly forged one (i guess they're dated, never closely examined a lp blade)

[Swordmaster]

Leon Paul epee blades whether FIE or non-FIE are considered the "un-Breakable Blade". There have been stories about them taking a 90deg bend and having to be straighten after every touch, but those are few. Mostly fencers either love them or hate them. They are the lightest blade on the market. According to Paul the steel is a special handmade batch that comes from the famous Sheffield forge in England and the process of heating and striking the shape is as unique as the blade.
The BF blades are made in the traditional way from hot rolled billets that are heated, forged, heated, tempered, ground and machined. Several of the fencers that I service have complained about the inconsistancies in the steel of the BF blades, some are stiff, some are not, some last years while other break in less than a season.
If you are looking for a traditionally shaped blade the is consistant in performance and has great longivity, then I would suggest the Vniti FIE. They have resently lightened the blade at the hilt and put a French tang on it to make it more acceptable to all fencers. The Vniti maraging steel is different than any on the market in that it contains Vanadium. This additional compound makes a longer molecular structure to the steel. There by creating less avenues for micro-fracturing to occur - the death of any blade is caused by excessive micro-fracturing. This structure also gives the blade more metal memory so that it is less likely to take a kink or develop a bad bend when abused by a few mis-hits or bad habits.
Oh and by the way, I carry all of these in stock

[noodle]

i have a vniti, the old kind.
tres heavy.
i use it for training occasionally and as a backup.
i like the weight of the bf blue. i suppose all i can really do is get a lp blade and test it out.

[ztron24]

noodle - oops, i guess i meant the reviews for the non-maraging. i wouldn't pay to much heed to one bad review. sounds like that person just broke thier blade... anyways, testing one out is the way to go. even if you don't like it it will last forever as a spare. and to echo CVille, if you don't need the FIE, just go for the regular, they are extremely durable too.

[Kismet]

I have a leon paul blade, and I love it. It works very well for me.