Selecting new blades

[OffTarget]

I was reading another thread and noticed something that the Amourer mentioned.

He advised that you go to the shop to look at the blades before you buy them. Being sort of a noob, I did this when buying my first electric blade. I stood in the shop looking very wise and knowlegable, purchsed a blade and parts, then went home and assembled it upside-down (an epee, fortunately it was a wired blade)

So, what is it that one should look for? Apart from off center wiring grooves, as the Armorer mentioned.

Thanks for the replies

[telkanuru]

If they let you, take the blade and bend it so the point is pointing Pi/2 from the tang. Let it go and then check for kinks (angles instead of a smooth curve). If any exist, try another blade. Oh, and if you're purchasing a FIE blade, have them cant it for you in the store. They're pains to do by yourself.

[DHCJr]

Each blade is hand-made so there will be differences in the blade. Here is what I look for.

If it is a non-maraging blade, I look for black spots. If there are a lot, those are carbon spots and it would appear the blade will probably have weak spots. A side note, that is how they found some blades marked as FIE for certain manufacturers, but having rust and black spots and the forge marks appeared identical to FL forge marks.

Run your hand down the blade. Does the dimensions change evenly or are there waves? Is the groove straight? What about the threads at both end? Are they straight, are there enough, are they cut deep enough. These can tell you did this person have a bad day.

I then place the blade point down on the floor and push down with the palm of my hand (so I don't influence the bend). Is the bend even or is it just in one spot?

This is just a quick and dirty direction and the suggestions above are good.

One thought on balancing a blade. There is no standard balance. It all depends on how you hold the weapon. The Armorer should see how you hold the blade both on-guard and when you lunge and use that to determine how much to bend the blade.

[OffTarget]

Thanks for the advice. Now I can actually BE wise and knowlegable. At least more than before.

[TheArmourer]

Agree with all the above - all good (and a couple of things I didn't know). I'd also add :

The surface of the blade should also be as smooth as possible. The manufacturing process usually leaves what looks like a "grain" in the metal. This should be as fine as possible. Cheap blades tend to have a more defined "grain" on the surfaces. (Not sure if this is the same as DCHJr's balck spots, but I don't think so.)

An important thing I've seen recently. Make sure the width of the tang matches the hole in the guard. Both are square to prevent the guard rotating on the tang. If this happens the wire is likely to get damaged as it passes through the guard. I beleive the weapons I've seen like this a entry level Cartel blades with Uhlman guards (but I'm not absolutely sure of this, so appologies to both parties if neccessary - feel free to correct me.) The problem seems to be a with these particular blades as I've tried swapping to various other makes of guard and it hasn't solved the problem. The same goes for the handle - you shouldn't be able to twist in more than a little when it's mounted.

Adding to what DHCJr said about threads being straight - if you're buying a pre-wired blade, check the point is in line with the blade.

If you are buying a pre-wired foil, make sure the wire is well down into the groove. If it's very near the surface of the blade it has less glue holding it in.

With unwired foils run a thumb nail down the groove. It's not unusual for the bottom surface to undulate a little and that's not a real problem but it should be an even depth.

Where the groove passes through the thread at the foible (the pointy end) make sure there are no sharp edges that could dmage the insulation on the wire. If the groove is too deep at this point it can also make the wire vulnerable - it should be about in the centre of the thread's cross section.