FIE epee blades

[El Chucko]

My favorite epee blade just broke today, and I need a new one. I was looking at the stuff at Physical Chess, among other vendors, and their selection of FIE blades was limited. In fact, I don't think I had ever heard of any of their FIE stuff.

One of their blades is listed as "BMI Select FIE-approved."

First, what the heck is "FIE-approved?" Is that like Triplette's bogus "FIE-homologated" equipment?

Second, who/what is BMI? Someone said that that is another name for Vniti. Is that true? Are Vniti as durable as they say? What about their supposedly unusual balance? What's up with the black coating? Does it come off on opponents clothing? Since when has Russian engineering been consistent and reliable?

Ya nye znayo nichevo!

[Zilverzmurfen]

Originally Posted by el chucko

My favorite epee blade just broke today, and I need a new one. I was looking at the stuff at Physical Chess, among other vendors, and their selection of FIE blades was limited. In fact, I don't think I had ever heard of any of their FIE stuff.

One of their blades is listed as "BMI Select FIE-approved."

First, what the heck is "FIE-approved?" Is that like Triplette's bogus "FIE-homologated" equipment?

Second, who/what is BMI? Someone said that that is another name for Vniti. Is that true? Are Vniti as durable as they say? What about their supposedly unusual balance? What's up with the black coating? Does it come off on opponents clothing? Since when has Russian engineering been consistent and reliable?

Ya nye znayo nichevo!

I have no idea what BMI is, but since they call the Dynamo blades "Fleche WIDE" it could very well be some american abbreviation of Vniti...

(And there are numerous threads on Vniti blades, just do a serach!)

[CvilleFencer]

Originally Posted by el chucko

My favorite epee blade just broke today, and I need a new one. I was looking at the stuff at Physical Chess, among other vendors, and their selection of FIE blades was limited. In fact, I don't think I had ever heard of any of their FIE stuff.

One of their blades is listed as "BMI Select FIE-approved."

First, what the heck is "FIE-approved?" Is that like Triplette's bogus "FIE-homologated" equipment?

In this case it is not anything odd or fishy. It is just a badly written website. I do not recommend Physical Chess as they have screwed me and my club on orders several times to the point that we no longer do business with them. Caveat Emptor.

Second, who/what is BMI? Someone said that that is another name for Vniti. Is that true? Are Vniti as durable as they say? What about their supposedly unusual balance? What's up with the black coating? Does it come off on opponents clothing?

It is another abreviation for Vniti, and they are Vniti blades. They are super durable, just a bit heavier than a BF or Fleche blade but not enought to be a big deal for the average fencer. If you are a 12 year old female fencer wanting to pommel it is probably not the blade for you but the average fencer will be just fine. The balance is fine if you pick the right guard/socket/grip to offset the bit of extra wieght in the blade.

As to the black coming off, that is just silly/stupid. It is a flat black type of finish similiar to what is done on a lot of military weapons and is fairly durable. It won't come off any more or less easy that the coloring on BF, StM or FL blades and the blade itself will last about twice as long as any of those.

Since when has Russian engineering been consistent and reliable?

The AK 47, the SKS, The Hind, fulcrum, foxbat, MIG 15-31, Anything buy Sukhoi, Tokerov, The Makerov, the T-34, the Shashqa, the PPsh-41, AN 225, T-84, T-90, GAZ, Dragunov, Anything make by Antonov, Ilyushin or Mil... I don't know why you have this seeming prejudice against Russian weapons but as someone who spent a chunk of his life training to fight against them let me tell you that when it comes to making weapons the russians might not always make the prettiest, fastest or most high tech but their weapons work and usually manage to do the same or better job as their weastern counterparts while being more durable and cheaper to make. Vnitis are great blades.

[Purple Fencer]

Not to mention that Vniti blades are a side item fore the company...their primary business is.was Soviet military hardware...and you just gave some great examples of the good stuff (the AK-47 came to my mind right away, before I read your listing...an AK will work just fine in conditions that jam M-16s...like sand in Iraq)

[Decadence]

Originally Posted by CvilleFencer

As to the black coming off, that is just silly/stupid. It is a flat black type of finish similiar to what is done on a lot of military weapons and is fairly durable. It won't come off any more or less easy that the coloring on BF, StM or FL blades and the blade itself will last about twice as long as any of those.

Actually I fenced with my first vniti yesterday and while sitting down, I laid my blade on my knickers and I guess it mustve of slid a little bit, but it did leave thin black lines. Im sure it was due to the fact the the blade was brand new and the paint probably scratched off a bit and went on to my knickers. Honestly, I couldnt care less because it is an excellent blade and I can just wash the knickers. I do plan on buying more in the future.

[CvilleFencer]

Originally Posted by Decadence

Actually I fenced with my first vniti yesterday and while sitting down, I laid my blade on my knickers and I guess it mustve of slid a little bit, but it did leave thin black lines. Im sure it was due to the fact the the blade was brand new and the paint probably scratched off a bit and went on to my knickers. Honestly, I couldnt care less because it is an excellent blade and I can just wash the knickers. I do plan on buying more in the future.

Not to be argumentative, but chances are that was left over packing oil/grease from the blade and not the finish coming off. Vniti blades have a pretty heavy duty lubricant on them, and even when they look clean they may not be. I think that is where this particular misconception/urban fencing rumor came from. I like to wipe my new Vniti blades down with a rag or cotton balls soaked in alcohol to get the last of the oil/goop off of them. Acetone is a bad idea as that WILL take the finish off, and if a Vnity has been soaked in acetone before being wired up I can see the finish whiping off on someones whites, but that is not the companys fault at all...

[great bowyer]

Originally Posted by CvilleFencer

Acetone is a bad idea as that WILL take the finish off, and if a Vnity has been soaked in acetone before being wired up I can see the finish whiping off on someones whites, but that is not the companys fault at all...

they must use a different finish than the bf or stm, for that has never happened to me when i did it with the stm or bf blades.

[CvilleFencer]

I should have said "if you leave it in the acetone bath to long". You can still strip them with acetone if you are careful. They do use a very different coating method than StM, BF, FL, etc. IIRC the Vniti blades are Parkerized as opposed to blued and that is why it is a good idea to give them a light coat of oil. Of course I could be completely wrong in that they are Parkerized as I have not investigated it before, it is just a bit of an assumtion...

[El Chucko]

Thanks to everyone for the info, although the occasional condescension was unnecessary.

#1 - I did a search on BMI blades and Vniti blades already, thank you. There were no search results for "BMI blades," and over 500 for "BMI," and "Vniti." I skimmed through several, and did get some helpful info. But also much that was unrelated and irrelevant.

#2 - Apparently my question about the finish coming off on fencing whites was not silly or stupid, because someone posted about it immediately thereafter. At my club, it is not appreciated when you make your opponent look like a zebra (usually rookies, usually from oil or rust... but still).

#3 - My healthy skepticism toward Russian quality control is due to the fact that, under the Soviet command economy, there was little incentive to do anything other than fill quotas. Quality and reliability were not priorities. Putin's kleptocracy is not much better. I have a deep seated respect for Russian culture and history, scientific advances and technological innovations. But, how many Russian cars do you see on your streets? TVs? Computers? How's Aeroflot doing? How many died in the Russian space program?

Pardon me, but we have ALL seen some blades last 2 days while others last 2 years. I just wanted a little help and advice before I dropped $100+ on a piece of steel.

[Decadence]

no offense Cville, but i think you just got served

[Purple Fencer]

Originally Posted by el chucko

How many died in the Russian space program?

4 that I am aware of on 2 different flights (1 and 3 man crews). NASA has lost more people, but 2 of them were fully staffed shuttles with 7 or so crew each, instead fo a lot of accidents with small crews, and Apollo 1 wasn't even a flight, but a ground fire during a simulation.

[CvilleFencer]

Originally Posted by Decadence

no offense Cville, but i think you just got served

I have no idea what that means...

[MyraTrue]

el chucko- all mention of BMI and Vniti blades aside, as well as Russian-make blades...

I've recently been working with a newer epeeist on buying a weapon. I've owned several different makes of FIE blades, and unless you are competing at a level they are required, I often get the feeling that they are not worth the price for general competitive levels of fencing. (That said, I'm a university club fencer on a competitive circuit, mostly team, some individual, I rarely compete at a "high level").

What I'd suggest is deciding what weight/feel of blade you like, and ask around (or if close to a vendor...) to what blades (either FIE or otherwise) that fit your specs. For me, I like a light blade without a lot of bend, thus I fence primarily with Fleche blades. This is NOT everyone's first pick, but they're dirt cheap, and last me a long time. I like them better than my two FIE blades.

Side note- its terrible that the make of the blade has slipped my mind (is it the Dinamo blades?), but my experience with Russian made blades has been they are typically heavy and bend very VERY reluctantly, but will last you forever. Depends on what you like. I've by no means been through the worlds largest selection of blades. But I think the fencer makes the blade, not the other way around. Good luck.

[smeric28]

i think the people who make viniti, write their name is in cryillic. aka BMI is the closest you can do with a standard alphabit

[howtobrew]

I recently bought a Viniti Maraging from Absolute. I like it. It is heavier than my other nonFIE blades, but it's whippier. It is good for flicking. The flex is throughout the whole blade, and by pairing it with a french grip and pommel, it is very well balanced toward the hand. The weight makes it good for resisting hard beats, but I find it very responsive for picking the hand and forearm.

[shango]

Basically, Vniti blades are great, the Cold War ended 16 years ago, no cosmonauts were involved in the making of said blades, nor the Russian space program, so get rid of your old fashioned mentality.

[El Chucko]

The Russian economy is still a big mess.

Anyway, I DID end up buying a Vniti blade, due to the consistently positive reviews (especially with regard to their durability). So far, so good. It is whippier than I am used to, and "wobbles" a little in flight during degage, etc., but I like it so far.

I like to call the little indentations near the forte "binding grooves".

[Nightrider]

If I remember correctly I believe its been said in another post that Fleche is another name for the Dinamo blades.