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jamesbenoit · 06-09-2004, 12:57 AM

Ok... I'm trying to decide between a Gold and a Super Blue blade, and was wondering if anyone knew the difference, and if it's worth the extra cost? Also, would you recommend a Blaise Brothers blade, or a Vinti blade?

Artisan · 06-09-2004, 01:11 AM

Save some money - get an StM blade: as good if not better than BFfor 20-30 % less.

Epee that is

noodle · 06-09-2004, 08:33 AM

it really all depends on what you're looking for in a blade.
bf blue -- kind of flexible, very light. more likely to take radical bends, but stands up very strongly against regular bends
bf white -- not flexible, more heavy. doesn't take radical bends much, but is a little more succeptible to take bends from regular hits over time.
bf gold -- to be quite honest, i'm not particularly sure. not many people sell them and i get mixed stories from people. perhaps a mixture of blue/white?
vniti -- very flexbible, heavy (new version) or reasonably flexible but very heavy (old version). they're very sturdily built, i've had mine for 2 years and it hasn't even taken much of a bend at all. the new version has a thinner blade, which leads to it being kind of wobbly after a flick or a hard beat or parry.
stm fie - kind of like the bf blue except more flexible, slightly heavier, more likely to take radical bends. they turn really soft after a while, super flicky and take super bends easily. never seen one break, though.

just to note, these are all my personal opinions on blades i've seen/used.

a517dogg · 06-09-2004, 10:54 AM

My dad uses StM blades, and I have fenced with them occasionally. They are trash. Don't buy them. After two weeks they're like a wet noodle. Even brand new, you have to rebend them after every hit. If I flick with one, I hit my own pinky they're so springy. You get what you pay for.

I use Allstar BF White 2000 blades, stiffest my coach could find for me. Some of my teammates use both gold blades and blue blades, and seem happy with them. I used BF Blue blades before I switched to what I have now, and if you can find a BF Blue from 01, those are really nice.

Artisan · 06-09-2004, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noodle

it really all depends on what you're looking for in a blade.
bf blue -- kind of flexible, very light. more likely to take radical bends, but stands up very strongly against regular bends
bf white -- not flexible, more heavy. doesn't take radical bends much, but is a little more succeptible to take bends from regular hits over time.
bf gold -- to be quite honest, i'm not particularly sure. not many people sell them and i get mixed stories from people. perhaps a mixture of blue/white?
vniti -- very flexbible, heavy (new version) or reasonably flexible but very heavy (old version). they're very sturdily built, i've had mine for 2 years and it hasn't even taken much of a bend at all. the new version has a thinner blade, which leads to it being kind of wobbly after a flick or a hard beat or parry.
stm fie - kind of like the bf blue except more flexible, slightly heavier, more likely to take radical bends. they turn really soft after a while, super flicky and take super bends easily. never seen one break, though.

just to note, these are all my personal opinions on blades i've seen/used.

Noodle: Epee or Foil?

I had a phone conversation with Walter @ Triplette, who emphasized the the difference between the blue and white (epee) was only in the ultimate durability (duty cycle testing) and that the "feel was identical" The gold he claimed was just just more of the same, like having 15 flavors of the same brand of catfood on the supermarket shelf - to take up more inventory and ultimately sell more.

Then again he might have been trying to convince me to buy what he had in stock at the time.

Vniti Epee Blade(2002?): Heavy, stiff - I found it to be unusable. Gave it to a clubmate, tried it and passed it on to the next guy. I'm sure its out there, still arrow straight, looking for the right kind of popeye-armed megamorph to use it and enjoy it.

noodle · 06-09-2004, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artisan

Noodle: Epee or Foil?

I had a phone conversation with Walter @ Triplette, who emphasized the the difference between the blue and white (epee) was only in the ultimate durability (duty cycle testing) and that the "feel was identical" The gold he claimed was just just more of the same, like having 15 flavors of the same brand of catfood on the supermarket shelf - to take up more inventory and ultimately sell more.

i kind of tried to make it all-encompassing, though i have more experience with foils despite the fact that i'm an epee fencer. the difference is not just durability. i've held some bf white foils that were impossible to flick and were incredibly stiff and held some bf blues that were like butter. also, the whites are slightly heavier. to me, at least. i don't have any numbers to back this stuff up.

walter says a lot of things that are kind of true, but also kind of not. all you can do is base your decisions off of your own experiences. buy blades you've played with (complete weapon or just the blades at a booth) before. word of mouth is a good compass, but finding the actual path is up to you.

P.B · 06-10-2004, 07:18 AM

I found this on the gofence.com website (refers to foils only), it may help:

Dinamo (StM) blades are made in the Ukraine and are excellent value for money. They are light, flexible and flick well. Durability is good but they will need more frequent straightening than the more expensive Triplette (BF) blades.

Triplette (BF) [white] blades come from the Blaise Freres forge in France and offer outstanding quality and durability. In the 1999 World championships 80% of the blades were from the BF forge with different distributor stamps on them.

Super blue and gold blades from the BF forge are tempered differently from standard blades to increase their performance and durability. Super blue blades are capable of undertaking more normal bends than a standard blade but an extreme bend can damage them and significantly shorten their lifespan. As a result they are recommended for high-level fencers who are meant to be less likely to accidentally mistreat their weapons. Gold blades are a compromise. Their durability is between that of standard and super blue blades and they are less likely than super blue blades to be damaged by an extreme bend. As a result they are great for beginners and intermediate fencers.

I have one StM, three BFs (white) and a Viniti.

The StM I brought second hand from the clubs best fencer - he wanted to change over to all BF white. With experience I find the blade too flexible. The first of the BFs I brought via mail order and therefore had no control over its feel. It is very stiff, too stiff for my taste (but good for hurting foilists who have a tendency to slap with the flat of their blade). The other two BFs I chose from a selection of about 20 blades at the vendors - these are my favourites, flexible but controllable. My Viniti (again via mail order earlier this year) is only flexible at the foible, I haven't noticed whether its any heavier than the BFs but I find I don't fence as well with the Viniti as I do with the more flexible BFs. Personally I quite like fencing with different blades, only the StM stays in my bag.

My experience is that the variation in production tolerances is huge (even if the BF process is supposed to be fully automated to address this problem) and the only way to know what you are buying is to hand-pick your blades.

The Outsider · 06-11-2004, 07:50 PM

I'm not sure about this, especially not for all manufacturers, but I've seen quite a bit a variability in terms of flexibility that seems to be indicated more by a number on the base of the blade (at least in maraging blades) than by the color. Anybody have anything to add to that?

Aeric · 06-11-2004, 09:49 PM

Love your sig, Outsider.

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