Foil Blades

[Pun]

I am joining a new club and I need an electric foil. Can anyone help me find a nice pratice foil blade? I dont really want to spend over 90 bucks on the whole foil. I like the sound of the Leon Paul Glubisky blade, but it's kind of expensive for just practicing. So if anyone knows of a nice electric foil blade that will last a while, and has nice balance (preferably closer to the hand) it be a great help, thanks.

Also could some explain the difference between the normal and the maraging blades. I've been fencing for two years I just never needed a foil, so I dont really want to buy a beginners kit. Thanks.

[keith]

maraging blades are forged differently to the 'standard' blades, so they are much more resistant to breakage. The exception being bad technique - if you break alot of foils switching to an FIE/maraging blade will simply increase the amount of money you spend.

My opinions;

As to a cheap blade - best bet is to actually pick up and get the feel of the different ones. I like the Allstar blades (don't bother with the blue ones) - most people have a personal preference that may or may not match yours.

I would buy two or three cheap blades rather than one expensive one - that way they should all be similar and you will have spares handy.

If you plan on doing alot of non-electric fencing get a non-electric foil as well. Also good for lessons - you often generate some interesting kinks when trying new actions at speed. Make sure you set this up with the same cant/handle as your electric weapon.

[vincikai]

maraging blades are forged differently to the 'standard' blades, so they are much more resistant to breakage. The exception being bad technique - if you break alot of foils switching to an FIE/maraging blade will simply increase the amount of money you spend.

My opinions;

As to a cheap blade - best bet is to actually pick up and get the feel of the different ones. I like the Allstar blades (don't bother with the blue ones) - most people have a personal preference that may or may not match yours.

I would buy two or three cheap blades rather than one expensive one - that way they should all be similar and you will have spares handy.

If you plan on doing alot of non-electric fencing get a non-electric foil as well. Also good for lessons - you often generate some interesting kinks when trying new actions at speed. Make sure you set this up with the same cant/handle as your electric weapon.

i agreed since you just starting fencing get used to the sport before you spend big money on equipments ;p

[CvilleFencer]

Pun, you did not mention what part of the world you are in so I will assume that you are in the US. You mention that you have been fencing for a while so I will also assume that you know how to articulate your wrist when you hit and know how to lunge and use correct distance so you are not snapping foils like twigs.

Having said all of that I love the Vniti blades. They are pretty much indestructible and very nice blades to boot. They are one of the heavier blades around but the weight is back towards the hand and they balance very well. They are a bit over you price range however. You should expect to pay around 100-130 for a Vniti with a good sport 7 style French Point.

Closer to your price range I would suggest the Prieur FIE or the StM FIE. The StM is a nice blade but is not as long lived as the Vniti. It is the same blade that Uhlmann/Allstar use for their mid line FIE weapons. Another option is the Prieur Chevalier FIE blade. These are very fast and light and do not take well to hard hits or abuse. They also seem to like to take a very slight lateral bend to the left over time but it is not enough to bother my aim or point control. They are fairly popular as a budget blade in my club. You can get the best deal that I know of in the US for the Prieur at Blue Gauntlet as they are currently on sale. For the Vniti and the StM call The Fencing post (they do not list the Vniti on their website so you will have to ask for it). They give you a 20% discount of the web price and are very reasonable on their shipping charges. Sword Masters also has good prices on Vniti and you can sometimes find decent deals on them at Blade fencing.

I have come to the conclusion that buying anything other than FIE weapons is a false economy. You will snap three or more before you snap a good FIE blade as long as you take care of your weapons and are not an abusive fencer.

As to the LP stuff, they make some of the better blades around. The Flickmaster is very similar to the Vniti and their normal FIE and Budget Maraging blades are very nice as well. A bit of advice though, unless you plan on ordering all your tip parts from the UK and generally not being able to bun parts at comps order them bare and wire them with German or French points. I use the new LP GT tips and they are the best I have ever tried but they are still very rare in the US.

Best of luck and hope that helps!

[fencinman89]

Also assumeing that u r in the US i have been fencing aloomst 4 years with all BG stuff that being, Blue Gauntlet, 17.00 bare 27.00 wired french. some ppl on this bored hate them but if u wanna have a blade and not having to have to worry abotu the price go with it. But "To Each Their Own," u really dont hafta listen to nethign we say here but most of the ppl that post, know their stuff u can always go to a big meet with a vendor and feel each blade, and grip, and feel what balance u liek, and weight u like, but thats my idea.
-Tre'

[geezer]

Pun,

If you're still looking...go to "http://www.blade-fencing.com", look under "foil blades, electric, bare" and find the Huricane blades for $8 ea. You've got to sand, clean, and wire them, but they are fantastic. Good balance, flexable, and a long tang. Most are marked "1998" or "'98" and have a small stamp of a flecheing fencer. Storm damaged, but will revive with TLC. I use nothing else, I love them.

I forgot...pay attention to the listing, they also have a dry huricane blade, pistol, for $5.

[Pun]

Really, for * bucks I may just have to check them out. How exactly do i go about fixing them or whatever. Where is the balance , btw, is it closer to the hand?

I have another question. Is there specail wires I have to buy if i get an unwired blade? And hopw hard is it to wire them? Sorry if I saound like a total noob, but well... I kinda am when it comes to electric stuff. Sorry. I do know how to fence pretty well though, so i wont feel to bad for myself. Thanks to everyone again.

[DHCJr]

The brand of blade does not affect what type of wire. You should get a wire that matches the tip you use.

Wiring a blade is not difficult, but it is exacting. There are a number of ways that you can do this. Here is one.

First have a clean blade, just because it is new does not mean it is clean, especially the groove. I prefer an Xacto, but there are other ways.
Make sure the groove at the top with the threads is wide. When you tighten the barrel, it will close some.
Have 2 pieces of tape around 2 - 3" with one end folded over. Place 1 around the tang, right where the groove end with the folded part out so it is easier to pull off.
Place about 1 - 2" of wire through the barrel and tighten down the barrel. Most barrels use 5mm for Foil and 6mm for Epee.
Pull the wire through, if the wire won't go through you have caught the wire, the main reason for only 1 - 2". When you get the cup close, if you have a tip setter use it, if not you need something to push down the cup, while pulling on the wire and have it seat flat.
I then put in the spring, tip and screws for 2 reasons, I have them there and don't have to look for them later and I can test it before I glue it down and find out I have a bad wire.
Pull the wire tight (If Epee make sure the wires do not cross). Wires do stretch, but you need experience in this next part, which is optional. I stretch the wire sometimes up to 3 - 4", but I know when to stop. For now get it tight and wrap it around the tape on the tang (This protects the wire from the sharp edges and then cover with the 2nd tape. Make sure the wire is in the groove
Now tension a blade. This is a judgement call, for those who hit hard and bend their blades a lot, I will bend the blade more, etc.
Put on whatever glue you are comfortable with and here is where the adege less is more. Use only enough glue to cover the wire.

This is a quick overview and if you can find an experienced Armorer. This is one area, it is best to learn under.

[suregrip]

Don -

I've heard many people say don't cross the wires in epee. Why not?

[DHCJr]

Look at how easy it is to remove the insulation. Suppose in pulling the wire through the barrel, it catches, most likely it will affect both wires at the same place and suppose these wires cross, instant short. This is even more a problem with French style wires, that use 2 thread insultation, if they are pushed aside and crossed same problem. With the German style of thread and varnish, you have to actually break through the varnish.

We did have a very good female Armorer in Southern California that crossed the wires on purpose to act as a strain releif. The difference is they made their own wires (white and red that looked like a candy cane) out of rewrap wire, which has much better insulation, but less strain tollerance.

[foodle]

If you'll be doing a lot of electric foil fencing, my suggestion would be to spend the money on a good maraging blade. It'll last as long or longer than the 3 cheap blades you could have gotten for the same money. And you won't have to deal with the cheap blades turning to spaghetti when they start to fail.

As for blade balance and feel, if you're lucky enough to have a local fencing vendor, go try them out. Otherwise, you can try some out at a large tournament (e.g. NAC in Atlanta). Finally, you can just ask other fencers in your club if you can try out their blade for a second.

There are plenty of "what foil blade is best" threads, so I'm sure a forum search will turn up plenty of info.