Two Questions...Maraging and German tips..

[Wolfman140]

Hey there everyone..
Sorry for my lack of knowledge on the subject...But I was wondering...Maraging blades. I hear they are the sh*t...They get stronger with time yes? Do they get less flexible as well? Should you save them just for tournaments or should regular practice not be a problem? Any care tips?

Also...What is the difference between German and French tips/barrels? (This for Epee by the way)...I understand German is more expensive and durable...are they different designs than the classic French 2-set screw and spring model? Thanks!

-Kevin

[noodle]

yeah, i wish.
maraging blades are good because they're made with a special steel which breaks clean (when you break a blade, it is more safe), is stronger, and such. they don't become more strong. they get more flexible, not less, as extreme bends in the blade tend to warp the medal not strengthen it.

german is better engineered, imho. much more built to last. if you want specific details as to what the differences are, i can give them to you.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

for tips, go with the german, and buy some extra parts. They work smoother, and will generally give you a couple of extra points in every match.

[Wolfman140]

Noodle,
Well I'm just asking because the next epee I buy then I will probably have them affix a german point on it. I only ask about the design because I know how a french tip works and how to fix it...Just wondering if I'd be dumbfounded when it came to figuring out how a German works (if its any different I don't know) So yeah...Enlighten me if you will please. Thanks.

-Kevin

[DHCJr]

Unless you know what to look for, you won't be able to tell the difference. The German, French and the British models and made to the same dimensions, but not to the same tolerance.

If you know how to work on the French, you will have no problem.

[oiuyt]

maraging blades are good because they're made with a special steel which breaks clean (when you break a blade, it is more safe.

That's actually a very common misconception. The FIE did tests and maraging blades are equally likely to break sharp as carbon steel blades. What maraging steel gives is much higher resistance to metal fatigue and therefore much longer life (figure roughly 6x as many hits as with traditional carbon steel). With long-lived blades fewer blades break per competition (duh) and therefore there are fewer opportunities for a broken blade to be an issue.

This is why maraging steel is not required for FIE approval. It's merely very difficult to make a carbon steel blade that will survive enough impacts to pass the test. I don't remember for certain off-hand what the test is, but it's something like being hit into a target once per second with a force that causes at least a *cm bend. Epees need to survive at least 14,000 such impacts and foils 28,000 (again numbers are to the best of my recollection and might be either slightly off or even flipped which is which). The FIE takes 10 blades from the manufacturer and tests each in this manner before giving approval. I believe the SEMI commission has now created additional rules where some additional blades are acquired from vendors and similarly tested to help make sure that the blades submitted to the FIE are, indeed, representative samples rather than specially prepared or chosen by the manufacturer.

Maraging steel has additional metals added to the composition beyond the carbon and iron in traditional carbon steel blades. The composition of maraging steel is actually in the fencing rulebook towards the back in those sections that fencers never bother to read (well, even the fencers who bother to read any of the rulebook). Additionally the manufacturing process involves several other steps, including, I believe, bathing in various substances which causes an aging process during some of the intermediate stages (hence Mar-aging). It's possible that what you've heard is some variation of that stage. In any event, maraging steel requires considerably higher forging temperatures to make into whatever final form (in our case blades). These hotter forges are more expensive than those required for carbon steel and therefore more expensive. This, of course, translates into the final product cost.

-B :)

[noodle]

really? shrug, not suprised. its something i was ingrained with since when i began fencing, and i've never seen a maraging blade break with anything more than a tiny point.