Blades that kink and refuse to die

[angriff]

Yeah, that pretty much describes my blades (epees). One harder-than-normal bend and they develop S-curves, but no matter how crazily they get bent, they just refuse to break. One of them had the wire broken as well, so I removed the socket and use it as a training blade for taking lessons and doing drills. But I can't afford to "condemn" all my blades as training ones. What would you do with such blades?

[telkanuru]

Heads up: Blades that are unbroken are good things. Metal stress is not your friend.

Rewire?

[VELISARIOS]

If your wire broken you can take new wire and stick it on the blade.

[pgepps]

Adjust your technique so you stop s-curving your blades.

If you can't get the bend out so that it doesn't recur on your next solid hit (try warming the blade by rubbing it with a towel, then slowly bending it--the old foot-on-the-floor trick is good, careful bending it hard with your hands or you may find out how to break it), then you probably better retire it. That would depend on how serious the bend is, but the blade doesn't have to break often--just once. And if that once lands you with a sharp point where you don't want it, then practice blade or no, you'll be sorry.

Like the man said: metal stress is not your friend.

I love telnarku's sig, and would respond in kind: WAR: (n) God's plan for teaching Americans geography [slightly paraphrased from Bierce]

Cheers,
PGE

[The Armourer]

Not done this before but this topic was discussed quite recently - hopefully this is the thread:

http://www.fencing101.com/vb/showthr...highlight=bend



Phew! Just checked and it seems to work.

[Alain]

Originally Posted by angriff

Yeah, that pretty much describes my blades (epees). One harder-than-normal bend and they develop S-curves, but no matter how crazily they get bent, they just refuse to break. One of them had the wire broken as well, so I removed the socket and use it as a training blade for taking lessons and doing drills. But I can't afford to "condemn" all my blades as training ones. What would you do with such blades?

Oh dear! Next time, try to get a nicer blade?! Are they blued/coloured blades? - I find that these are a lot stiffer and don't have quite as good a 'memory' as the traditional blades...

Don't condemn them, though, just use them for training and lessons. The thread mentioned above should help you; make sure you warm up the blade thoroughly with an old towel to do the trick.

Good luck

[mrbiggs]

Originally Posted by Alain

Oh dear! Next time, try to get a nicer blade?! Are they blued/coloured blades? - I find that these are a lot stiffer and don't have quite as good a 'memory' as the traditional blades...

That's very true. Cheap blades kink ALOT. Better blades can kink, but less often. If you're having problems, getting FIE blades is a good idea, if you're not already.

[angriff]

Velisarios: I know I can rewire my blades, but I'd rather not rewire one that bends in all directions possible and looks prone to breaking at any moment..

mrbiggs: Yes, I'm using FIE blades, but they're 1987 Prieur FIE stock. I probably got the factory rejects (they WERE dirt cheap for FIE blades). I've used a BF white before and loved it, but my experience (plus that of several friends and some users of this forum) has been that it's good while it lasts, but it doesn't last as long as it should for the price. I'm hoping to get my hands on Vniti blades..

[drippingwet]

What about heating up the blade to make it go soft, then putting it in a vice, and as it cools down, it keeps staight from being in the vice? Is this possible?

[The Armourer]

Originally Posted by drippingwet

What about heating up the blade to make it go soft, then putting it in a vice, and as it cools down, it keeps staight from being in the vice? Is this possible?

In short 'No' - tempering blades is a skill. If you just let the blade cool down it will essentially be annealed (all the little atomic level particles all at rest and comfy) a blade needs to be tempered (all the little atomic level particles are cooled in a special way - they don't get comfy so the metal is harder).

[Tydive]

Angriff,

Use them dry. But the one thing to look at is how you are installing the blades in the first place, most of the times that I have seen epee's S curve it was because they were not set properly to begin with. Do you use a vice to set the bend? Do your blades bend properly even when you have downward momentum? If you have access to an armorer have him/her take a look at all your epees. Hope that helps.

[neevel]

Originally Posted by drippingwet

What about heating up the blade to make it go soft, then putting it in a vice, and as it cools down, it keeps staight from being in the vice? Is this possible?

If you know the exact composition of the steel, are knowledegable and experienced with all the steps involved in heat-treating blades, and have the right equipment to sure you're getting it to just the right temperatures and cooling it at the right rates, it's technically possible. The fact that you don't know that doing just what you're describing would typically make a very soft, mushy blade (i.e., pearlite) that would simply bend and not return to shape shows you probably don't have that knowledge .

However, even if you were an expert at heat-treating and had the right equipment, there's also the matter that the rules specfically forbid doing any post-manufacture heat treatment or grinding between the tang and the point threads.

-Dave