I need an electric epee

[vonschlick]

I've been fencing for about 3 months and would like to buy an electric epee. I'm not worried about competitions right now, I just need a nice reliable weapon and body cord. Any suggestions? Also, do any vendors put a cant/set in for you?

[wpotere]

Well, I by mine from Uhlmann direct as I currently live in Germany. I would recommned that you by a FIE level blade and avoid the cheap route as it will generally cost you more in the future. I also use Uhlmann body cords and love them to death as they are strong and well made.

BF blades are my preference for Epee.

Lastly setting the blade is typically up to you. If you have an armorer at your Salle, you could have them help you do this. It is not hard....

Also, before you dump a ton of money into equipment, make sure that this is the sport for you. There is nothing worse than buying a lot of stuff only to try and pawn it off later and taking a loss.

[tsalyards]

I'd also recommend getting at least 2 functional epees. One is bound to go down from time to time. Having your only blade go down for the night is a real bummer.

[grotto]

Honestly, a FIE blade is not necessary, especially if you are just club fencing. go with a mid range blade from any one of the vendors it will do just fine and you will not be heart broken when you break it (and you will break it.)

Personally I like the LeonPaul non-FIE blade, Paul bell, socket, with a french grip. (I strongly suggest this to my students but pick what ever grip your coach allows / recommends.) As for body cords stay away from the cheap chinese knock-offs of the brand name gear any will do fine, I prefer (you guessed it Leon Paul. I have several that are over 10 yrs old and still going strong.

[glowstix]

yeah, if you're just fencing in the club, get a "fleche" blade or something like that. i think those are the best of the cheaper option. however, if you can afford more, get more. like others have said, its better in the long run.

one thing i would NOT go cheap on is body cords. get the uhlmann, NOW!!! in my last 2 tournaments, i lost my C because of bad body cords and at the NAC i was down 0-2 before i even heard "en guarde" for the same reason. i went hungry for 2 weeks so that i could get 2 solid body cords. if you don't want uhlmann, get the leon pauls. those are also good. that name brand is known for quality.

[vonschlick]

By BF blades do you mean like the one sold by thefencingpost.com (Uhlmann BF Ultra #5)?

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Order your parts, and have someone build you a custom weapon. Get the leon paul non fie blade, as it will last a very long time. The best way to save money is to learn how to fix your own stuff, and get very knowlegeable about equipment. See if any of the local clubs have epee parts that you could buy cheap, but get a blade and wires and tips cheap, and build a weapon custom.

[bg0687]

Originally Posted by vonschlick

By BF blades do you mean like the one sold by thefencingpost.com (Uhlmann BF Ultra #5)?

That would be a BF non-FIE blade. It is a very good blade for its money. BF is the forge and several companies such as Uhlmann, Allstar, PBT, etc. stamp BF blades with their name as well.

[The Armourer]

Most vendors will put the 'cant' in for you - if you have only just started they will guess a set for you - if you break a blade in the future and liked the set, I suggest you keep the tang portion so you can copy the set on a new blade (it takes our the guess work). I think that the difference in buying a blade complete or buying the parts and making it up is negligible (like buying a car in bits and putting it together - its cheaper buying the car complete).

If your new to the game I would not suggest you buy a maraging blade. I would suggest you learn how to look after day to day maintenance as mentioned above.

[Mike O]

I second the above recommendation that you buy Leon Paul's non-Maraging blade. At $50 they're a bargain, and last forever. They also recover nicely from bad bends from hard hits. Good blades if you're looking for dependability and long lifespan.

Mike

[CvilleFencer]

I 3rd (4th, 5th) the non-FIE Leon Paul blades. They are light, fairly cheap and last forever. I stopped using the BF FIE Blue blades because if made me want to cry every time I snapped a $100 dollar blade, which happened about every 4-6 months, once twice in the same tourney. My first LP blade is close to the year mark and my other three range between 3-7 months, all going strong. The first one is getting a bit soft, but nothing in fencing lasts forever. I suggest you get one from the LP USA store, but get it bare unless other folks at your club use the LP points as they are not compatable with German or French points.

As to body cords, I like the Prieur (only about $20 and sturdy) and the LP. Both offer a much lower profile (meaning less stuff to hit near your bell) and last a good long time and are much quicker and easier to repair than the Uhlmann, although the Uhlmann/Allstar is a very good cord as well.

My LP's are set up with either Ultralight or Vniti Titanium bells, puffy leather bellpads and Zivkovic grips with German points. The German points are a good investement as they offer great durability and are very smooth in their travel. The Vniti bells are pretty much indestructable and will outlast whatever blade you mount them on.

Oh, one other thing with the LP blades. Get the little wiring widget as it makes it so much easier to wire them up. And I bet if you ask Craig or Barry from LP/LP USA they will cant the balde for you before they ship it.

Best of luck!

[RETLAG]

I have 2 PBT epees (non- FIE). they're both a year old and still going strong. They're almost $20 cheaper than the LP ($99 vs $117). They come prewired with the German point, and you have to tell them if you DON'T want a cant in the tang, because they do it routinely. I think they're a pretty good deal.

[CvilleFencer]

The PBT non-FIE blades are either Lammet or StM/Dynamo. You can get these blades for about 18-25, a german tip and wire for about 10-12, a bell, socket, pad and grip for about 25-30 and wind up with the same weapon for around 55-65 dollars, 75-80ish if you want to splurge and by all Uhlmann parts. PBT tends to be just a wee bit overpriced...

Some good place to get your bits and peices are:
ELI for sockets, points, guards and StM blades: http://www.shopeli.com/?goto=epee/3

The Fencing post for sockets, handles and StM, Uhlmann and FL (the new ones by Prieur) blades: www.thefencingpost.com

Blue Guantlet for decent prices on most things: http://www.blue-gauntlet.com/

[Torg]

as for body cords, i highly recommend blue gauntlet's (www.blue-gauntlet.com). i've used em for a year, no problems, works great. probably the cheapest you'll find em, too, at $13. in terms of blades, i don't have enough experience to know.

[Alain]

Originally Posted by vonschlick

I've been fencing for about 3 months and would like to buy an electric epee. I'm not worried about competitions right now, I just need a nice reliable weapon and body cord. Any suggestions? Also, do any vendors put a cant/set in for you?

For a first weapon, just get a non-maraging blade. All manufacturers are different, in my opinion: LP blades are (cringe) generally very nice, as everyone else has said, and last very well; Uhlmann blades are good and last well, too; Duellist blades are (I hate to say this) rubbish; Prieur blades are alright, if you can get hold of 'em; and the blades I use are made by Cartel, they're strong, light, and flexible. Your best bet is probably the LP one mentioned above.

I would also suggest using lightweight guards, they make a BIG difference. As someone else mentioned, ideally it would be best to get a 2nd weapon if you can - if you ask the vendor to put a cant in your blade(s), they should do it for you without any fuss.