For the Non-Flick Fencer

[arkady_tsep]

Since I seem to be unable to find Holstin Plus blades, I need a little advice. If the company that made the Holstin Plus blades has changed, they've probably changed the name of the blade as well. I liked the Hostin Plus blade because it was a pretty light blade, but was very stiff without being heavy. I have been fencing with it as a practice blade for about two years and it is still as straight as an arrow. It's perfect for solid parries and I can do quick little movements of the blade without the tip whipping all over the place.

What's the best blade that's similar to what the Holstin Plus blades provided?

Lite, but stiff, and great resistance to permanent bends.

And most importantly, where can I find it.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

a cheap blade by triplette. They are fairly stiff. The fleche blades are good also. Nice and stiff.

[Namir]

a cheap blade by triplette. They are fairly stiff. The fleche blades are good also. Nice and stiff.

Fleche is not so stiff the Forge is the same as StM and Dynamo, they have the same little symbol as dynamo. Also Houstin Plus I beleive was made by France Lames, and they went out of business a few years ago. However as an alternative I sugest just about anything from the Blaise Freres(sp?) forge. Which can be bout from Triplette, Uhalmann (fencing post), and allstar.

[darius]

Hostin Plus were stiff? Then you can buy anything and it'll be fine. The club I fenced at in college would order Hostin Plus for their club weapons; they were so whippy, I'd often flick too deep and hit off-target on the arm or rear.

Uhlmann BF blades tend to be pretty stiff. Avoid the Vniti or STM blades, they're really whippy.

darius

[CvilleFencer]

As mentioned Hostin was a France Lames blade and they have been out of business for a while now. most blades come in varing degrees of stiffness. Some vendors are much better about actually picking out blades for clients than others. I like a whippy point but ridgid mid and forte myself so I go with Vniti. You may try the Leon Paul blades or the BF blades as suggested. Just keep in my that it is not enough to order just an Uhlmann or Allstar blade as they also sell StM and FS blades so if you do not know what you are ordering it is best to check with the vendor and make sure that what you are getting is a BF instead of just saying Uhlmann or Allstar.

For Leon Paul they are obviously one good place to get their blades but Sword Masters also carries them and I am sure either the folks at LP or Scott at SM would be happy to pick one out for your needs. As to places to get BF's from I have had good luck with The Fencing Post and Absolute. All of them are very helpful and should have not problems picking out a stiff blade for you. I would avoid triplette. The prices on the website look nice but they are incorect and many of us have had spotty problems with their blades.

***Oops, now it looks like TCA has finally updated their website with the correct prices on their BF blades. I have one less bone to pick with them now, but they are still a bit pricey compared to other vendors for their BF blades.***

[Namir]

***Oops, now it looks like TCA has finally updated their website with the correct prices on their BF blades. I have one less bone to pick with them now, but they are still a bit pricey compared to other vendors for their BF blades.***

Umm... hows so exactly?

Fencing Post - Uhlmann BF Ultra FIE Maraging - 115.00 (Unwired)
Triplette - Foil, Super Blue Bare Maraging - 110.70 (Unwired)
Allstar - FIE-Maraging blade Super Blue - 105.00
Absolute Fencing Gear - BF Blue FIE Maraging Foil Blade Bare - 109.00
Blue Gauntlett - BF Non-Uh Blue Foil FIE BARE BLADE - 109.00

Fencing Post - w/ French Tip - 126.00
Triplette - w/ French Tip - 111.30
Absolute - w/ French Tip - 119.00
Blue Gauntlett - w/ French Tip - 115.00

Allstar - w/ German Tip - 123.00
Fencing Post - w/German Tip -134.00
Absolute - w/ german Tip - 128.00
Blue Gauntlett - w/ German Tip - 126.00
Triplette - w/ German Tip - 117.00

Swordmaster - complete? - Bf Blue FIE 130.00

So this puts TCA as one of the cheapest places to get BF blades. They are average priced for an unwired blade, and they are much cheaper then the other companies for wired blades.

As, far as spotty issues, I know you don't like the wireing, but within the year I bout a BF Gold from them and the wireing has not flaked yet, perhaps another problem corrected? And I also know you don't like the jacket fit, I just recently bout a new one Fits GREAT,and im no husky guy.

Enjoy,
Namir

[Robert Smith]

To be fair, the Fencing Post's prices at least should be discounted by 20% for email (and phone) orders. Easy to miss that, as it's only stated on the home page.

I'm curious as to why they do it this way, as I would guess that the bulk of ANY North American supplier's orders come by email or phone - it's not like most of us can just nip out for three ounces of sliced ham, a packet of Woodbines, a flea collar and an Uhlmann BF Ultra FIE Maraging foil blade. It is handy if you're up here in Canada, as the discount makes the prices effectively Canadian dollars, but if you're going to bamboozle your customers, isn't it customary to do it the other way??

[CvilleFencer]

As mentioned you have to factor in the 20% discount from the Fencing Post. That makes FP the cheapest place. Also if TCA is still using the POS plastic shafted French tips they are cheaper because they tend to suck. The other vendors you mention use quality Sport 7 all metal tips that are longer lasting and more durable, but a bit more expensive. If TCA is still using the plastic points the only real way to go is with the German IMHO.

Even if they were the cheapest place around I would still have my reservations. While I am not sure about (and tend to doubt) the rumors that TCA buys factory seconds from BF while Uhlmann and others get the first run, it has been my personal experience that anything with the TCA stamp has broken within a few days or weeks at best of my getting it while Uhlmann, Cartel or BF stamped blades tend to last much longer and that is what you are getting from BG, AF or FP. Could be just my bad luck of the draw, I don't know. I have heard it from another other people to think I am not the only one. I am however glad to hear that they are cleaning up the cut on the jackets and are doing better on their wiring jobs. Maybe the new owners are doing a very good job of taking things in hand and moving away from the past problems. One of these days I may actually buy something from them again...

As to the 20% discount on the fencing post, I don't think it is Saul trying to screw anybody. He runs FP from his 3 car garage so he has no overhead. If you buy from the website he discounts things to show that. If you buy from a NAC, depending on how much he gets charged for the venue space he now has temporary overhead that he must recoup. Seems like pretty simple and smart economics to me. He could be competitive in price with AmFence, TCA and others without discounting his prices and his customer service would still keep me buying from him for a lot of things, but he offers the discount to web orders since it is cheaper for him. Or maybe he just thinks the Internet is really neat... I have never actually asked him flat out so I am not completely sure!

[Robert Smith]

As to the 20% discount on the fencing post, I don't think it is Saul trying to screw anybody. He runs FP from his 3 car garage so he has no overhead. If you buy from the website he discounts things to show that. If you buy from a NAC, depending on how much he gets charged for the venue space he now has temporary overhead that he must recoup. Seems like pretty simple and smart economics to me. He could be competitive in price with AmFence, TCA and others without discounting his prices and his customer service would still keep me buying from him for a lot of things, but he offers the discount to web orders since it is cheaper for him. Or maybe he just thinks the Internet is really neat... I have never actually asked him flat out so I am not completely sure!

Didn't mean to imply that he was screwing anyone - quite the opposite, in fact. That, if you don't notice the 20% discount on the opening page, you'd think his prices were higher than the competition. Everything I've bought, including scoring equipment for the club, masks and dry blades for beginners, personal stuff and stuff bought for others has been through the FP. No complaints at all. I only wish he was this side of the border. Canadian on-line purveyors tend to be a wee bit pricey.

[Namir]

As mentioned you have to factor in the 20% discount from the Fencing Post. That makes FP the cheapest place. Also if TCA is still using the POS plastic shafted French tips they are cheaper because they tend to suck. The other vendors you mention use quality Sport 7 all metal tips that are longer lasting and more durable, but a bit more expensive. If TCA is still using the plastic points the only real way to go is with the German IMHO.

Even if they were the cheapest place around I would still have my reservations. While I am not sure about (and tend to doubt) the rumors that TCA buys factory seconds from BF while Uhlmann and others get the first run, it has been my personal experience that anything with the TCA stamp has broken within a few days or weeks at best of my getting it while Uhlmann, Cartel or BF stamped blades tend to last much longer and that is what you are getting from BG, AF or FP. Could be just my bad luck of the draw, I don't know. I have heard it from another other people to think I am not the only one. I am however glad to hear that they are cleaning up the cut on the jackets and are doing better on their wiring jobs. Maybe the new owners are doing a very good job of taking things in hand and moving away from the past problems. One of these days I may actually buy something from them again...

As to the 20% discount on the fencing post, I don't think it is Saul trying to screw anybody. He runs FP from his 3 car garage so he has no overhead. If you buy from the website he discounts things to show that. If you buy from a NAC, depending on how much he gets charged for the venue space he now has temporary overhead that he must recoup. Seems like pretty simple and smart economics to me. He could be competitive in price with AmFence, TCA and others without discounting his prices and his customer service would still keep me buying from him for a lot of things, but he offers the discount to web orders since it is cheaper for him. Or maybe he just thinks the Internet is really neat... I have never actually asked him flat out so I am not completely sure!

I think it is awsome fencing post has such great prices, but when was the last time you ordered from triplette?

Triplette does infact use sport 7 tips standard. Like I said my BF Gold came with it STANDARD, also check their electric parts page... You'll notice Sport 7 is the only French tip they sell anymore

Also...
That whole second pick thing kinda just crap don't you think... I'll quote Alex Paul...

BF blades are all made to the same high standard and in the same way that we sell LP blades in bulk they are sent randomly in bundles of 100 to customers. It is very hard and time consuming to try to sort 1000s of blades into quality by eye and it is also hugely inacurate. It may be that if BF have a handfull of ok blades that are not great they are sold off cheap to someone but for the most part they are the same regardless of whom you buy them from.
If you see an offer on BF blades that looks too good to be true then it probably is but for the most part it makes no difference where you buy your BF blades from.

[CvilleFencer]

Okay, I will admit that I have not ordered from TCA in a long while... Probably a year before the new owners took over. After a few bad experiances I just did not bother wasting time/money when there were better/cheaper options around to chose from. I guess I should give them another shot on a small order, like a jacket or lame and a couple of blades for a student just to see how much they have improved. In short, point taken. However, if I order again and they suck they will continue to draw my wrath for all time!!!

[Namir]

Okay, I will admit that I have not ordered from TCA in a long while... Probably a year before the new owners took over. After a few bad experiances I just did not bother wasting time/money when there were better/cheaper options around to chose from. I guess I should give them another shot on a small order, like a jacket or lame and a couple of blades for a student just to see how much they have improved. In short, point taken. However, if I order again and they suck they will continue to draw my wrath for all time!!!

Well I whould not expect anything less
...Rep. point for you...