StM Equipment

[usfan]

I am trying to decide what blades to buy. I need good Foil and Epee blades that are flexible. I have been looking at StM blades, but know little about them. If you had any experience with StM blades, can you tell me the good and the bad about them. Any information is very much appreciated.

[drseudo]

I have an FIE-stamped StM maraging epee blade, and I love it. It's definitely more stiff than whippy--it'll take a bend, but your point isn't whipping around every which way when you're moving the blade. Plus it's got that pretty rainbow maraging thing going on, which is a big plus.

Only caveat is that for the first couple of weeks when I had it, it had this weird tendency to pick up vibrations, bad enough that I had to run my hand up and down the blade between touches to stop it. It's gone away since then though, which suggests to me it was poorly put together (hex nut too tight/not tight enough) rather than being the blade's fault.

On top of that, they're cheap as free from the Fencing Post ($89 for an unwired blade, versus $133 for an Uhlmann-stamped BF blade from there). I recommend them highly.

[noodle]

stm non-fie blades are a 5 on the range of non-fie blades 1-10. they're cheap, pretty flexible, though they can take weird bends pretty easily and, in my experience, have a below average life.

stm fie blades are kind of comparable to bf blue blades, except more flexible, more inclined to take a radical bend, and, probably have a shorter life expectancy (never seen one break but i haven't seen/used many or owned one)

i haven't dealt with many stm blades, though the generalizations fit for foils and epees that i've seen or played with or owned.

[Artisan]

stm non-fie blades are a 5 on the range of non-fie blades 1-10. they're cheap, pretty flexible, though they can take weird bends pretty easily and, in my experience, have a below average life.

stm fie blades are kind of comparable to bf blue blades, except more flexible, more inclined to take a radical bend, and, probably have a shorter life expectancy (never seen one break but i haven't seen/used many or owned one)

i haven't dealt with many stm blades, though the generalizations fit for foils and epees that i've seen or played with or owned.

So far the StM FIe blades I've had I've liked the most. They are pretty tough, light, and while they will take a bend, they seem to straighten nicely and remember their pre-oops curve. The two I've had have seemed to maintain their character better right up until they broke better than the BF I've tried. They're a little less dough than a comparable BF

[counterattack]

I am trying to decide what blades to buy. I need good Foil and Epee blades that are flexible. I have been looking at StM blades, but know little about them. If you had any experience with StM blades, can you tell me the good and the bad about them. Any information is very much appreciated.

Just finished with two of the non-FIE variety. They lasted quite a while (6 months plus), and felt great for the first month. After that they got much more plastic. I really didn't like them after they started taking a bend with any hard hit, but they never did break. One of them got a broken wire and the blade is so sad I am not going to fix it and the other has got stripped threads on the tip. Bottom line: they don't break easily, but they wear out quickly if you are picky about the feel of your blade.

I also have an FIE one, but have not used it much.

[neevel]

I pretty much agree with what's been said about StM FIE blades. I like the feel of them when new-- light and a bit more flexible than most BF blades. They do soften up more than the BFs with use, which can be nice if you like to flick. Their downfall is that one hard hit can put a kink in the blade which you'll never be able to work out. I had one which took a kink in a bout, which I straightened out. It re-bent at the same spot on the next touch, and then broke when I tried to straighten it again. The blade had been in use for about 6 months at the time (which isn't very long for FIE blades used by me). I wired up another StM FIE foil blade to replace it, and it also took a kink after 4 months of use. It hasn't broken, but just like the previous one it readily re-kinks at that spot. I'm not a hard hitter, but I'm also not going to pull my punch and give up the touch in the face of someone who tries to close distance fast and hard.

-Dave

[kalivor]

I recently got an FIE StM blade, and I like it. It's lighter and whippier than my BF Blue ... better for flicking, but probably not quite as good for fine point work, if that's your style.

I've only had it for two tournaments, so I can't comment on durability, yet ...

[Namir]

I had an StM Blade (non-fie) i used for a while. I liked it but it did get some funky bends in it and when it finally broke it burst into 4 peices that flew across the strip.

[Lee Yue Yang]

I had an StM FIE foil blade for a while and it was pretty good.It's cheaper than the BF or the FS one that I'm using.It's flexible enough for flicks but not whipping around like it were made of rubber.However,the wiring kept coming out on my blade so that's a bad thing.A few of my club mates are using the StM FIE and they don't seem to have much problems.