So what type of FOIL do YOU use?

[hpfencing]

Where do you buy Titanium guards?

[rsy]

Originally Posted by hpfencing

Where do you buy Titanium guards?

I think P.B is referring to the Vniti one piece guards. They are not really titanium. The Vniti web site says they are hardened aluminum alloy, but if it appeals to an engineer's sense of esthetics, then let's call it titanium.

-r

[P.B]

I got mine from Allstar.

rsy is correct - they are not pure titanium. On the Allstar website they refer to them as "foil guard 'EXTRA', made from extra strong titanium/aluminium alloy". So they are probably 0.01% titanium and the rest Aluminium

However, they do dent less than the Aluminium ones and the burrs you get on the edges are smaller and not so sharp.

And yes: engineers are suckers for exotic materials

[klauver]

Originally Posted by LUDICROUS

To resurrect a dead thread, I got my first foil today!

StM FIE 2002 maraging blade (says that at the base of the blade) from Allstar, and its golden coloured. Ahhh, so cool. 230$ NZD But ah well, worth it!

Ouch... I just got a gold StM 2004 FIE foil blade from BLADE for $67.oo. It is the prettiest blade that I have ever seen! It was listed on their website as "FIE Premier Gold Rainbow Fiol blade wired"

[klauver]

Originally Posted by P.B

I got mine from Allstar.

rsy is correct - they are not pure titanium. On the Allstar website they refer to them as "foil guard 'EXTRA', made from extra strong titanium/aluminium alloy". So they are probably 0.01% titanium and the rest Aluminium

However, they do dent less than the Aluminium ones and the burrs you get on the edges are smaller and not so sharp.

And yes: engineers are suckers for exotic materials

The Russians are probably melting down half built rocket parts for the Titanium! You should see the rocket graveyard due to running out of money.

[ThaProfessor12]

i use bf blue fie blades , the stiffer the better , with a vniti bell guard , uhlmann plastic pad and a size small allstar visconti grip.

[LUDICROUS]

Originally Posted by klauver

Ouch... I just got a gold StM 2004 FIE foil blade from BLADE for $67.oo. It is the prettiest blade that I have ever seen! It was listed on their website as "FIE Premier Gold Rainbow Fiol blade wired"

New Zealand dollars.
Had to ship from germany
came with grip/guard/bellpad/etc
Have to add 12.5% to cost(GST)

Still get the impression I got ripped off

[OjBinge]

I'm using an Uhlmann Ultra blade now, which has been great for the most part. My only gripe is that the uppermost part of the foible, about an inch back from the barrel, takes some really nasty bends at times. So, before it breaks, I think I'll be ordering a complete BF Blue weapon, and a Vniti blade to replace the Uhlmann Ultra.

[davtsung]

I'm surprised so few of us use StM's.

[LUDICROUS]

Yeah, StM kicks ***

[LordTofuDog-jnr]

Originally Posted by LUDICROUS

Yeah, StM kicks ***

BF kicks more a55.

[LUDICROUS]

That may be true, but StM is cheaper.

[davtsung]

Originally Posted by LordTofuDog-jnr

BF kicks more a55.

BF's tend toward more bends, especially toward the point, though slightly lighter.

[Kat]

Originally Posted by reposte

I've got 0999 stamped on it.

I assume this means that the blade was made in September 1999 (09/99), it's quite standard to put the date of the manufacture of the blade on it.

[Superscribe]

despite the fanbase in the states for vniti, from what i understand that particular blade type is considered suitable only for junior events in europe, and the older bigger dogs run with a lighter weapon. i gather this from fencingforum in the uk

[CvilleFencer]

Originally Posted by Superscribe

despite the fanbase in the states for vniti, from what i understand that particular blade type is considered suitable only for junior events in europe, and the older bigger dogs run with a lighter weapon. i gather this from fencingforum in the uk

Considering that Uhlmann/Allstar, Negrinni and I believe at least at one point Prieur all carry the Vniti blades under their own banner with names such as "ecostar" I would say you are mistaken in your assumption. However, with BF blades being so much cheaper on that side of the pond it would make more sense to use the BF or other blades. The main factor besides its awesome durability for the US is its fairly low price and superiority over other blades in its price range such as the StM and Prieur FIE blades.

Also, the UK forum tends to be a bit biased IMHO as it is ran, moderated and so forth by LP. They do not let you post links to other manufactures in the threads for example, and even then, LP tends to have the UK business locked up pretty tight considering they have been there forever and that is what most fencers there grow up with. In short, I think that if you wanted to get a sense of what the mainstream EuroFencing public thought of different things you would want to check out the French or Italian forums. Of course they tend to be biased towards Prieur/BF or Negrinni/Camimari for the same reasons that the UK fencers favor LP.

I think that is one cool thing about US fencing, at least in our attitudes towards gear. Nothing is really made here and no one brand has the market locked up (well, Uhlmann/Allstar are pretty much fencing household names) so we tend to use what works best without as much of the national or brand loyalty of most other big fencing nations.

[outlawsteveoaos]

my allstar foil blade broke today, so i wanted to bring back this post to see how people's opinions have changed over the last few months,

also i didn't get an answer to one of my questions awhile back, can i put a german point on a french blade for instance france-lame?

outlaw steveo aos

[LUDICROUS]

Originally Posted by outlawsteveoaos

my allstar foil blade broke today, so i wanted to bring back this post to see how people's opinions have changed over the last few months,

also i didn't get an answer to one of my questions awhile back, can i put a german point on a french blade for instance france-lame?

outlaw steveo aos

What kind of blade? FIE or non FIE? How did It break? Stories!

And yes you can.

[CvilleFencer]

Originally Posted by outlawsteveoaos

also i didn't get an answer to one of my questions awhile back, can i put a german point on a french blade for instance france-lame?

With the exception of some really old blades (and the tang on some Leon Paul blades) all foils are 3.5mm at the tip and 6mm at the tang. You can use any tip you would like on any nationality of blade. Sometimes certain brands of blades due to quality control, old casting dies, etc can be a bit hard to thread. In that case, the tips with looser tolerances (often French style points or non-Uhlmann "German" tips made in New Europe or China) will fit better than the ones with tighter tolerances. However, this can be easily fixed with a high speed rethreading die or even some jeweler files and a wire brush if you are willing to spend the time. I have only had to play with a very few tips in all the weapons I have worked. Tangs are a different story altogether. I would say about 1 or 2 out of every five blades I build or work on I end up rethreading a portion of the tang.

So the short answer is that you can put whatever type of point you want on whatever weapon you want as long as you are not trying to put epee points on a foil (if you are really dedicated about it you CAN put a foil point on an epee. You can even get it past "inspection" at an MD local tourney until you hit your opponent with it!). I tend to favor the LP GT points for their durability, design and engineering. They are also very smooth in their travel. Failing them I usually go with German but I tend to recommend the Sport 7 pattern (all metal) French points for newer fencers as they are very cheap and the barrel and screws will take a pounding better than the standard German points.

[mrbiggs]

Out of curiosity, where is New Europe?