electric foil blades

[Foilerist]

I need to replace my electric foil blade, any suggestions. I can't afford a maraging or fie blade yet and I dont really know who makes good blades. My last blade was a pbt.

[foodle]

You should do a search on the board for other foil blade threads (of which there have been quite a few). In general, stay away from France-Lame blades (at least the non-maraging ones). They break very easily.

I would suggest that if you're going to be fencing for any appreciable time, invest in maraging blades. They really will last many times longer than normal blades, and thus end up paying for themselves (2x cost, but 3-6x lifetime).

I used Leon-Paul etoile blades for a while, and they were fine. Not too stiff, not too flexible. After a while they got a little mushy though. Take a look on the triplette site (www.triplette.com) for some good cheap blades.

[Foilerist]

Thanks, I agree about the maraging blades longevity, unfortunately I can't afford one and my last blade snapped on me. I was thinking about a Blaise Ferrer white blade. Any experience with these blades.

[Craig]

You should really save up for a maraging blade. It will last you much longer than a non-fie blade, so your overall cost savings will be better with an fie blade than without.

In other words, do you want to buy a new non-fie blade every other month, or a new fie blade every 6 months?

Cheers,
Craig

[epeemike81]

month? six months?

do you really buy new blades that often????

my blades (epee and foil) last, on average, two or three years.
-m

[Foilerist]

Thanks fellas,
I think i will save up for a maraging blade and use a club weapon in the mean time. Which company makes reliable blades, I read somewhere that certain Fie and maraging blades upon inspection where deemed not fit for competition. I have been fencing for about 20 months and havent any experience with picking blades. I also want a steam foil and again would like a decent quality weapon. any suggestions?

[neevel]

Some non-maraging foil blades may find:

Leon Paul-- probably the most durable (in terms of time before breakage), but as foodle noted they'll get very mushy and prone to hold kinks and bends as they get old. On the light and flexible side-- the base blades seem a bit softer than the Etoiles, in my experience.

France Lames-- light and moderately stiff, with most of the flexion taking place in the last 1/3 of the blade (and they'll tend to break right at that 1/3-from-the-tip point). Base FLs haven't been the most durable blades in my experience; as they get old they tend to become _really_ stiff. Hostin Plus blades are a bit less stiff and do seem to last longer.

Lammet-- i.e., Dinamo, Fleche, PBT non-maraging. Kinda right in the middle of the flexible<->stiff spectrum, heavier than LP or FL blades, balanced more towards the point. Probably not as durable as LPs, but better than FLs. They do tend to take bends. Less expensive than others, and likely the best value in terms of longevity vs. price at the low-end.

Blaise-Frere (Allstar, Uhlmann, Triplette)-- Stiff. Heavier than LP or FL, lighter than most of the Lammet models. Generally good for durability (though one of my club members did have a 'white' Uhlmann BF blade break after only 3 months last year).

Prieur-- Smooth, moderately stiff flexion, middleweight. Should be good for durability.

If cost is a prime concern, I'd go with one of the Lammet blades. Otherwise, LP, Blaise, or Prieur, depending on what kind of feel you like.

Here's another option: check around to see if somebody has a deal on over-age maraging blades. You may be able to pick up a maraging blade for a very good price that way.

-Dave

[ 08-10-2001: Message edited by: neevel ]

[veeco]

I break Uhlmann FIE maraging blades about every 3 months. But I guess with the training regimen I have and my size, that could be considered normal, even though I do get pissed everytime I break one. I can't use anything else than these blades though, they are perfectly balanced and they 'feel' right in my hand.

[foodle]

Originally posted by Foilerist:
<STRONG>
Which company makes reliable blades, I read somewhere that certain Fie and maraging blades upon inspection where deemed not fit for competition. </STRONG>

These were some France-Lame blades a while ago that had problems. You can read a bit about it on the triplette site in the blades section.

Blaise Frere blades are quite good. Uhlmann and Allstar re-badge them for their maraging blades. I've been using Leon-Paul's maraging Flickmaster blades recently, and I like them quite a bit. They are a bit expensive though.

<STRONG>
I also want a steam foil and again would like a decent quality weapon. any suggestions? </STRONG>

Huh? Sorry I'm not familiar with the term "steam" foil.

[Foilerist]

A steam foil is a non electric foil, a practice weapon. I want one to maintain the life of my electric foil(when I get a blade).

[Purple Fencer]

Originally posted by Foilerist:
<STRONG>A steam foil is a non electric foil, a practice weapon. I want one to maintain the life of my electric foil(when I get a blade).</STRONG>

I hadn't heard that term before. We call them "dry" over on this side of The Pond.

I'll second some of the comments on the LP Etoile blades. I use them myself (non-maraging type), and it's not so much that they get bent, it's HOW...mine tend to corkscrew. Strange.

I have yet to find another blade I like, but when I do, I'll consider switching.

[Pessina]

I've got a couple of Blaise Freres FIE blades, which were pretty pricey, but I agree with what others have said, it's worth the investment. Before that I had a cheap Leon Paul, but it took me about five seconds to beat the s*** out of that. Some people swear by their higher priced ones though. The BF blades (I have one white and one blue)are both pretty rigid, which some people wouldn't like. I know you can get non-FIE blades from them as well, so if you can't stomach the outlay for the FIE, I'd try one of those. As someone has said, Allstar use BF blades, I've a feeling their English base is somewhere in the North-West.

As far as steam blades go, if you do get a good electric blade you won't need to worry about making it last - it will anyway, but I would say the same brands apply

[Puppet Master]

I have to disagree with Mr. Neevel's description of the Lammet blades, or at least regarding the Fleche and Dinamo type, I know their all supposed to be the same though.

I've fenced with a number of these blades since our club uses them, and all of them seem very light, almost as light as the Leon Pauls, and balanced relatively close to the bell. And they are very flexible, less than the LPs but more so than France Lames. They are very flickable blades, 2nd only to Leon Pauls in my experience, (in regard to non-fie blades). Hard to put a nice "C" bend in though, though much more kink and S-bend resistent than LPs, which makes them best value of low-end blades, IMO.

I don't know what could cause such a diffence in experience with these blades though. Ours have a litte fleching fencer badge, or a little oval.

Originally posted by neevel:
<STRONG>Some non-maraging foil blades may find:

Lammet-- i.e., Dinamo, Fleche, PBT non-maraging. Kinda right in the middle of the flexible&lt;-&gt;stiff spectrum, heavier than LP or FL blades, balanced more towards the point. Probably not as durable as LPs, but better than FLs. They do tend to take bends. Less expensive than others, and likely the best value in terms of longevity vs. price at the low-end.


-Dave

[ 08-10-2001: Message edited by: neevel ]</STRONG>