Fencing.Net - Your Guide to Fencing & Fencing Equipment

tacman4 · 12-14-2004, 12:00 AM

Hey there,

Im pretty new to fencing, and just joined my High School Team. I love Sabre, and was looking into one maybe for christmas. The school provides the team with Blue Gauntlet sabres which are ok, I already snapped one. I was looking on the Blue Gauntlet website and was wondering if the custom 78$ Ulhman sabres were worth it. they look nice and I hear good things about the comapny. thanks,

Craig

prototoast · 12-14-2004, 12:07 AM

Generally, no, no they're not. For the money, I think StM blades offer the best balance of quality vs durability. The Uhlmann blades are overpriced.

telkanuru · 12-14-2004, 12:31 AM

Heck, the BG blades aren't that bad, either, when properly canted and ballanced.

prototoast · 12-14-2004, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by telkanuru

Heck, the BG blades aren't that bad, either, when properly canted and ballanced.

I've used a lot of BG sabre blades, but they break easily. Really easily. The balance and feel is nice, but it's not worth the breakage!

AndrewH · 12-14-2004, 02:03 AM

Sabre blades break. Period. I've used $18 BG blades and $50 Uhlmann blades, and they both broke randomly. Best to buy the cheap BG blades and stock up, you can get 5 and change for the same prices of 2 uhlmanns. Keep a few in your bag and switch whenever one breaks. That being said, I recommend using an uhlmann/allstar guard, as they tend to be lighter and stronger than cheaper BG ones.

CvilleFencer · 12-14-2004, 09:01 AM

For me the best balancing, most durable weapon combo I have found is an Ultralight bell guard, a PBT rubber over mettle grip and an StM blade. The coloring on the StM blade helps keep down the rust and oxidization, they are fairly cheap and last much longer for me than the BG blades, plus they look really cool! :-)

The Uhlmann blades are jut not worth it for me as they are so expensive for no good reason. Also don't be tricked into paying more for an FIE saber blade. THEY DONT EXIST! Several manufacture’s mark their saber blades as FIE but the FIE does not have the same standards for saber blade as they do for others. I could make a saber blade in my garage and it would be FIE legal (well, not really since I don't have a garage, but you get the idea)!

The most important thing for me is getting the blade to feel 'just right" and that usually takes bits and pieces from different vendors to pull it all together. If you are determined to by it off the shelf I would get one from either the Fencing Post, Leon Paul USA or PBT (Insert usual rant about PBT prices here, but they make damn nice saber stuff).

Best of luck.

Zara_athlen · 12-14-2004, 09:29 AM

probaly leon paul sabre blades last a good amount of time.

prototoast · 12-14-2004, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zara_athlen

probaly leon paul sabre blades last a good amount of time.

While I don't have much personal experience with them, from what I have seen/heard, the leon paul sabre blades are not that good. They're a little pricier, and they're just not balanced as well as a russian or bg blade.

dunastor · 12-14-2004, 12:01 PM

I always use fairly cheap Allstar blades, they serve me well...

telkanuru · 12-14-2004, 01:16 PM

The LP bell guards, however, are absolutely indestructable.

Welted 24/7 · 12-14-2004, 05:45 PM

Yeah, everyone here is pretty much right. Unless you're using a piece of tin foil, most sabre blades aren't any more durable than any other, despite what advertisement may tell you. Take decent care of it and don't abuse the point actions and they'll all last around the same amount of time. As a foil fencer who switched to sabre, you can imagine that my blades break fairly often because I kinda forget that I'm not really supposed to be using the point, which stresses it to the point of breaking when I do a normal headcut.

counter riposte · 12-15-2004, 06:23 PM

Avoid Uhlmann Sabre Blades. Too Expensive
Avoid BG Sabre Blades. Too Cheap
Go with something in the middle such as StM or Allstar.

Good Luck

prototoast · 12-15-2004, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by counter riposte

Avoid Uhlmann Sabre Blades. Too Expensive
Avoid BG Sabre Blades. Too Cheap
Go with something in the middle such as StM or Allstar.

Good Luck

Uhlmann and Allstar blades are essentially the same, so I would not recommend Allstar over Uhlmann, but I do agree with the StM recommendation.

oso97 · 12-16-2004, 01:32 AM

For the students in the classes I teach I use off the shelf BG sabres. They're actually pretty durable, but yet inexpensive enough to be able to replace.

For my own personal stuff, its another question. STM gold blades, with BG rubber grips, mounted in some OLD bell gaurds. They're from the pre-electric days, and tough as heck, with rolled edges. Fairly light though. And then modified by spray painting the inside of the gaurd, and sliding on an insulation sleeve.

If anyone has any of these old style gaurds lying around unused, I'd be happy to buy them off you!

Inquartata · 12-16-2004, 02:59 AM

Hah, we all like them as much as you do. I even have an old Santelli steel guard. And an old aluminum guard, maker unknown, that has broken twice at the pommel end---I just drill a new hole, file the jagged edge round again, and keep using it. ( It even seems to have improved the hand protection by pulling the knuckle-guard in. )

I think I have one guard made in the last ten years, just for when I want a really lightweight weapon. The rest are....seasoned.

As for blades, I like the S+Ms just like eveyone else, but I also use the cheap Chinese ones. They don't seem to break any faster than the others, though they aren't the best for balance. I wouldn't buy them mail order; you want to handle them individually to get the best of a lot. I have never used an Allstar and see no reason to do so given the prices.

AndrewH · 12-16-2004, 11:58 PM

I use an Allstar blade right now, complete Allstar weapon actually. Only because I got it for free though, my previous one was a BG blade/guard and assorted other pieces. I used it all the time, it was light, well balenced, durable, etc. Then I got the aforementioned Allstar and realized how much heavier the BG one seemed all of a sudden. But really, for what you pay for the Allstar, the little bit of difference isn't worth it.

prototoast · 12-17-2004, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewH

I use an Allstar blade right now, complete Allstar weapon actually. Only because I got it for free though, my previous one was a BG blade/guard and assorted other pieces. I used it all the time, it was light, well balenced, durable, etc. Then I got the aforementioned Allstar and realized how much heavier the BG one seemed all of a sudden. But really, for what you pay for the Allstar, the little bit of difference isn't worth it.

May I inquire as to how you got a sabre for free, and how I can get in on this scam...

AndrewH · 12-17-2004, 03:18 AM

It's called being on a college team

prototoast · 12-17-2004, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewH

It's called being on a college team

Unfortunately I am... just not one that gives out any freebies.

Point_Left · 12-17-2004, 03:22 PM

I don't like Uhlman's sabres. The one I hav is exceedingly heavy and poorly balanced. This is probably just this sabre, but it has put me off buying another Uhlman. My Allstar, on the other hand, is a wonderful sabre. Well balenced and light. Another thing that gets me is the difference in price. My (dry) Uhlman was ~$115CND. The Allstar (electric) was ~$100CND. The sabres are very different, even though both have S-2000 blades. I don't think that Uhlman is worth the extra price, but that may be just me. I haven't used any other brand of sabre, so I don't know about others.