Vniti vs BF

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Okay, I am considering making the costly purchase of either two vniti's or two BF White's (cartel).... which one has better balance, point control, and durability? Also, a list of characteristics on each blade would be nice also.

[DJ Apostrophe]

for durability, you aren't going to beat the viniti... for balance, & point control, I prefer the BFs.

They are (in general) stiffer than the Vinitis, and as such, you always know where your point is...

Rep Points Please (see how annoying it is???)

-w

[CvilleFencer]

Vniti:
High's: Most durable blades around. Good strong blades for beat work, takes, ect. Also great for club programs or fencers who only want to buy one blade very year or two and not have to worry about it breaking.

Low's: Weighs a bit more than most FIE blades (of course that is what gives it some of its power on the beats) tends to flex more along the entire weapon than just at the foible. Generally not as rigid as a BF white.

BF:
High's: Best feel and point control around. Fairly light weight for an FIE blade, but still able to take and deliver strong beats. Lots of snob appeal.

Low's: Some of the most expensive blades around. Not very long lasting. Tangs are very hard to bend/cant and can snap off. Tend to have a great deal of variation from one batch to the next as far as weight, stiffness and even feel/shape in some cases.

Rep points please!

[rsy]

Vniti:
High's: Most durable blades around. Good strong blades for beat work, takes, ect. Also great for club programs or fencers who only want to buy one blade very year or two and not have to worry about it breaking.

Low's: Weighs a bit more than most FIE blades (of course that is what gives it some of its power on the beats) tends to flex more along the entire weapon than just at the foible. Generally not as rigid as a BF white.

BF:
High's: Best feel and point control around. Fairly light weight for an FIE blade, but still able to take and deliver strong beats. Lots of snob appeal.

Low's: Some of the most expensive blades around. Not very long lasting. Tangs are very hard to bend/cant and can snap off. Tend to have a great deal of variation from one batch to the next as far as weight, stiffness and even feel/shape in some cases.

Rep points please!

Ditto on everything you said except for the tang problem. As the club armorer I have set a lot of BF white blades and never had any difficulty with them.

As far as variation between lots, there is some, but not as much as in some other blades. If you don't have the luxury of pawing through the bin at BG to find the one that suits you, I know several fencers who swear that the BF white stamped with the FIE date of 9/02 is perfect if you like the blade slightly heavy, but stiff up to the foible.

-r

[noodle]

i personally find the new vnitis to be less durable than the old ones. the new ones are thinner, more flicky, and more easily breakable. if you can find a batch of old ones, they're super durable. if you're looking at a batch of new ones, though, bf whites are more durable. this also means that the new ones are lighter than the old ones, though.

[CvilleFencer]

Ditto on everything you said except for the tang problem. As the club armorer I have set a lot of BF white blades and never had any difficulty with them. -r

I have only worked with about 20-25 BF blades of all varieties (FIE and Non-FIE, foil and epee. Most of the people at my club use either Vniti, LP, StM or prieur) so I have not had a ton of experiance with them, but in the ones that I have set the tang on two of them snapped at the weld. Both were foils, both were Triplette stamped blades and they were not FIE, but since that is 50% more than has ever happened on any other blades I have worked with I thought I would mention it.

It could very well be that I just won the unlucky lottery twice with BF blades. I did not mean to indicate that I thought it was an epidimic or recuring problem with their blades, I just thought I would mention it since I tend to be a bit paranoid about it whenever I work on BF blades.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

i personally find the new vnitis to be less durable than the old ones. the new ones are thinner, more flicky, and more easily breakable. if you can find a batch of old ones, they're super durable. if you're looking at a batch of new ones, though, bf whites are more durable. this also means that the new ones are lighter than the old ones, though.

Do they have a date stamp?

[noodle]

i don't know, i haven't inspected the new ones for stamps, but you can see and feel a big difference. lets put it like this, if you can pick up the blade and give it a nice flick, its a new blade. the old ones were monsters, you had to work them in forever just to get a slight bit of bendy to throw the point around. they're also visibly smaller.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

i don't know, i haven't inspected the new ones for stamps, but you can see and feel a big difference. lets put it like this, if you can pick up the blade and give it a nice flick, its a new blade. the old ones were monsters, you had to work them in forever just to get a slight bit of bendy to throw the point around. they're also visibly smaller.

A blade that is smaller..... woah....

[rsy]

...they're also visibly smaller.

I just took a look at 3 Vniti blades I am working on. One is 2/03, one is 6/03 and one is 2/04. I am pretty sure that at least the 2/03 blade is the stiffer, older model and the 2/04 is the less stiiff, newer design. But, they all seem to be the same size. In which dimension and where are they smaller?

-r

[JohnK]

I ordered 3 blades from the Fencing Post last month; a Prieur FIE, a Vniti FIE, and a StM non-FIE.

The Vniti is by FAR the whippiest; it's a Flickmaster 3000. The other two blades are so much stiffer it's ridiculous. It's got a "0204" number...does that mean Feb. 2004 forging?

Not sure about weight, I think the Prieur may well be the lightest of the three.

[telkanuru]

Vniti stiffness varies based on batch, but the think I like is that they're only flicky when you need them to be.

[noodle]

I just took a look at 3 Vniti blades I am working on. One is 2/03, one is 6/03 and one is 2/04. I am pretty sure that at least the 2/03 blade is the stiffer, older model and the 2/04 is the less stiiff, newer design. But, they all seem to be the same size. In which dimension and where are they smaller?

-r

just in general, the flickier blade is slightly smaller than the non-flicky one. i've really checked, i know its true. not LENGTH wise, but in width, especially at the forte, it is smaller