Advice on purchasing an epee

[jip3]

ive been fencing foil for the past year and a half or so and have recently been experimenting with epee and sabre. I dont care much for sabre, but i really like epee and my coach thinks that i ought to start focusing on it during practice and drills. As of right now, i have no epee and i have been using some old beat up club epees of unknown origin. I have been looking around in the online shops (allstar, lp, bg) and it seems like prices vary quite a bit. My question is whether or not you guys think that it would be reasonable for me to invest in an electric epee at this point in my instruction, which make of epee you would recommend in the 50-100$ price range, and for what reasons.
I would appreciate the advice

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

going electric is worth it because electric stuff does everything that dry epees do + more. For $100 you can get a very decent weapon.

[jip3]

but does using an electric weapon in practice wear out the electronics?

[drippingwet]

Well I wouldn't want to be lunging at a brick wall with an electric epee/foil. If you're sparring with electrics, then you obviously need an electric epee. I don't know how you practice at your club, but in most clubs I've been to, practice basically means bouting with the electrics. If you're just doing drills, then I think maybe a dry epee might be a bit better (e.g. reduce the chance of wire breakage/breakage of the whole blade, ergo loss of wire and blade, rather than just the blade). Also, using non-electric may be better for your drilling partner.

How much experience have you had with epee?

[jip3]

I understand where youre coming from. I have only been fencing for a little over a year and a half, but ive just recently begun to fence the other weapons and while i may lack the insight and experience to say whether or not i am going to commit to epee for the rest of my fencing "career", i have fenced it enough to know that i like it best and i dont see that changing anytime soon. I also understand that i can only go so far and so often using club weapons, which is why im interested in buying my own. As epee seems most enjoyable to me at this time, id rather follow through and find that i really dont like it after all than miss out when instruction and progression in epee may lead me to decide that id like to stick with it for good.

[jip3]

And to answer your question: ive been fencing epee only a few weeks. perhaps four

[Alain]

First off: welcome to the light, I'm glad you like fencing épée!

I would suggest buying an electric épée too: as DFPH says, they do just the same as dry weapons, plus more. Everyone has a different opinion about blades and makes - just search the forums - but if you're just starting off, then I'd suggest that you buy a non-maraging blade. I would, however, suggest that you get a lightweight guard (they're much nicer) and, if you push the boat out a little, I'd also suggest that you get a second weapon.

Oh, and using an electric weapon for "dry" training isn't such a sin as it's made out to be - in France, they use them all the time for pair-work exercises - just make sure that you look after your points regularly (keep them clean, check for grubscrews every now and then, etc.).

I hope this helps, best of luck

[jip3]

yes that helps much. thanks

[CvilleFencer]

As to blades, I love the LP non-FIE blades. You can get them bare for about $50 including shipping and then set them up with a nice Uhlmann grip, German Point, Vniti bell guard (lasts forever, super light, made of titanium alloy) and a whatever socket for under $100.00. You can buy one complete from LP for about $117.00 including shipping but if you have any skill at building weapons and such I would recommen against it, as the LP components are a bit pricey and not any better than those mentioned above. Also the tips are unusual in the US and German tips will be much easier to bum parts for at tourneys and from clubmates and such. However, the blades themselves are just awesome, lasting much longer than most FIE blades costing twice as much, they are very light weight, and they do not seem to rust, at least mine never have.

If that is to rich for your blood at the moment, I would recommend either the StM blades or the Prieur blades for fairly decent cheap blades. You can find them at the Fencing post complete with German parts for $65 and $80 respectively. Both are decent blades but will not last as long as the LP in my experiance. If you want to go FIE Vniti blades last forever but are a bit heavy, but not overly so. You can get them complete for around $110 or so, and the BF FIE blades have pretty much the best feel of any blade (except possibley the new PS blades). They are not cheap however. Expect to pay about $140 or more for a good BF. Perversly enough, LP is one of the cheaper places to get BF bare epee blades...

Hope all of that was some help.

[DHCJr]

You might also consider the best of both worlds. Get an electric blade, but don't wire it up and put on a dummy tip. Then when you decide you want to go electric, then have the blade wired.

As mentioned above many never have a dry/steam blade with Epee.

[footflick]

Four weeks? I'd suggest a dry weapon for a while until you are absolutely committed to fencing epee. Also, you might consider continuing to use the beat up clubs ones for a while until you are sure about your future in epee. When you do go out and purchase a weapon I'd suggest looking at Absolute Fencing for stuff, as they have very cheap stuff. StM blades are good for entry level (although I've been fencing for a couple years and I still use them, I love them) up to a year or so. Leon Paul continues to impress me with quality, you might look to them later (free shipping is very nice too).

[DangerMouse]

I'd recomend purchasing a shotgun as they kill zombie threads much more effectively.

[gatsby]

After a few weeks, I can almost guarantee you that you will regret going dry instead of electric. Especially in epee, there really isn't much you can do with a dry weapon. Some oldschool "coaches" might say that "everyone start dry," but seriously, an electric weapon won't "wear out" doing normal fencing activities. I fenced epee for three years and don't think I ever picked up a dry one.

[DangerMouse]

an electric weapon won't "wear out" doing normal fencing activities.

Actually, it will. That's why blades break.

[thekoby]

You might also consider the best of both worlds. Get an electric blade, but don't wire it up and put on a dummy tip. Then when you decide you want to go electric, then have the blade wired.

Agreed! I have a practice epee blade that I used (until it broke...but only because it was the cheapest blade BG sold) with a dummy electric tip (available at Amfence.com, part 207E). THe whole idea was that if one of my good electric blades broke right before a tournament I could quickly wire my practice blade and use it.

As for right now I'm using my secondary electric weapon for practice. I don't like it for reasons stated here (possible popping of the wire, breaking the blade, breaking the wire by the tip), but as long as you're careful, you should be okay.

However, I would definitely suggest following DHCJr's advice. Buy the bare electric blade and a dummy point (the one at amfence.com opperates just like an electric point), and go from there.