who use blades made in china?

[chinafencer]

hi,all any one use blades made in china?
what do u think about?
is it good? or easy to be broken?
<china-fencing>
rootsman@163.com

[neevel]

I purchased a bunch of Chinese electric foil blades that I got a very cheap price on ($5 apiece) for my club a year and a half ago, and I've also picked up a few newer foil and epee blades from Blue Gauntlet (they're the prime distributor for equipment from China in the U.S.). Those cheapie foil blades were of very inconsistent weight and flexibility, roughly finished, and none-too-durable (typically 6-8 months life before breaking). They were fine for what I paid for them as club blades, but I wouldn't have recommended anyone get them for personal gear.

The newer Chinese electric blades from Blue Gauntlet are a good deal more consistent in feel and finish, but still take kinks very readily and generally don't last as long as even non-maraging France Lames blades (which aren't very long-lived themselves). They're clearly an improvement over the older ones, but still not up to the level of other blades at that price point.

Here in the U.S., you can get Russian electric foil and epee blades for at most only a bit more, and they are much better in terms of durability.

Chinese sabre blades are better relative to other sabre blades, although that's mainly because all sabre blades tend to be more short-lived, and the price advantage does make the Chinese blades more economical for some fencers. I've found Chinese practice foil blades to be okay-- they're very flexible, and hold up well within the confines of beginner-level instruction.

-Dave