"budget" sabre lame?

[_fence(1)]

I'm looking for "budget" sabre lame, so far my choices are

Absolute Men's F/Zip Sabre Lame $89 (absolutefencinggear.com)
JL Washable Stainless Steel Sabre Lame, Men’s $89.00 (thefencingpost.com)

Do you know if Absolute lames are stainless steel or copper? It doesn't look copper to me but what do I know...

Where should I look for sabre lames under $150?

Thank you!

[ReverseLunge]

I don't understand what it is with cheap people like yourself. You save money by buying the good stuff since it lasts longer. I only buy FIE stuff because in the long run it saves me so much money.

I have a few Vniti epees. Now these epee have lasted for long a$$ time and from what I hear they will last for as long as I fence. Now isn't that cheaper than buying an non FIE STM blade that is half the price? My last non FIE blade lasted 5 days.

The problem with saber lames wearing out all depends on how your form is. If you are the type of fencer who likes to keep you arms at your side then your saber lame can go dead around the armpit/flank with in 5 bouting sessions from the constant rubbing.

The best thing to do is get and Infinity lame since it will not get a dead spot as long as it is clean. People have had problems with is snagging though I haven't.

[KD5MDK]

I can't speak for _fence(1), but would you buy a house with cash? Sometimes spreading your expenses over a time period allows you to do something you couldn't otherwise do. Sabre has a lot of equipment costs, and if cheap gear wasn't available, many fewer people would be able to compete in it at all.

[Ordway]

I can't speak for _fence(1), but would you buy a house with cash? Sometimes spreading your expenses over a time period allows you to do something you couldn't otherwise do. Sabre has a lot of equipment costs, and if cheap gear wasn't available, many fewer people would be able to compete in it at all.

No kidding. Plus, "buy the best from the start" can be a mighty expensive proposition if you realize belatedly that you should have bought something different. For the first purchase of whatever-it-is, often you have to make a guess as to what you want or need. It's only once you've been using it for a while that you can say "Gee, I really wish that..." or "Gee, I guess I got the wrong size/cut/style." If you started out with something inexpensive, there's no big deal in letting it wear out and THEN the next time, you buy the more expensive, lasts-longer item that you now KNOW you want and like.

I use a lot of fairly nice gear now, but it's all stuff that I bought after using and wearing out a less expensive version, and I'm glad I did it that way. (Among other things, wearing a Triplette lame for a couple of years gave me a great appreciation for the tailored and far more comfortable Uhlmann/Allstar ones ) And some things I never felt the need to upgrade - my sabres are all hybrids made from house-brand parts, and I love them. If I'd bought Uhlmann weapons from the start it'd have been a waste of money since I'm happy with the less expensive ones.

As far as the lames go, I think the Absolute ones are OK, but I haven't seen enough of the J/L ones to have an opinion.

[Peach]

I bought the cheapest Absolute sabre lame last summer at Summer Nationals because my Infinity finally gave up the ghost, and by the time Vet Worlds rolled around (Labor Day) it no longer passed. I know I rot lames (despite taking pretty good care of them but that's ridiculous.

[ReverseLunge]

I can't speak for _fence(1), but would you buy a house with cash? Sometimes spreading your expenses over a time period allows you to do something you couldn't otherwise do. Sabre has a lot of equipment costs, and if cheap gear wasn't available, many fewer people would be able to compete in it at all.

We aren't talking about a house. Now would you rather spend $89 four times for a crap lame or $200 one time for a good lame?

[oso97]

I bought the cheapest Absolute sabre lame last summer at Summer Nationals because my Infinity finally gave up the ghost, and by the time Vet Worlds rolled around (Labor Day) it no longer passed. I know I rot lames (despite taking pretty good care of them but that's ridiculous.

Its interesting to note that different people have different effects on lames, and it often has to do with your personal body chemistry.

For example, I have two fencers who both bought lames from BG at the same time, about 2 years ago.

One wore his out in about 8 months, because his sweat was so corrosive. He upgraded to a stainless lame and that has lasted a lot longer.

The other still has hers, and it is still in pretty good condition, except for a patch under the arm that was wearing out. She's going to now upgrade to one of the stainless Estoc ones, but will hang on to the old one for practice - its still pretty serviceable.

Note that the girl trains about twice as much and about twice as hard as the guy, and definitely works up a sweat. But since his just had that particular chemistry, poof, it almost instantly degraded the lame.

For the price point, I like the Absolute lames. They're well constructed, and for the most part, last a decent amount of time, in MOST cases. As always, your milliage may vary.

[_fence(1)]

Has anyone seen those "JL Washable Stainless Steel" lames?

[Nicolas]

Where can I find pictures of the Infinity lamé? There's not much on the InfinityElectronics website.

[jrgunn]

This is about bang for your buck, right?
I've found the JL sabre lame (Chinese, if I'm remembering correctly), costs about $89.00 and lasts about a season (unless its being put on an 11 year old, in which case it might last six months due to being outgrown. My son has two good JL sabre lames that suffered this fate, and both still passed).

[Inquartata]

Where can I find pictures of the Infinity lamé? There's not much on the InfinityElectronics website.

Alas, they aren't making them anymore. I saw two at the Blue Gauntlet table at the Pittsbugh NAC, but both were for foil. Slim pickings.

[mrbiggs]

Has anyone seen those "JL Washable Stainless Steel" lames?

can't speak for sabre, but for foil, the price is hard to beat. I've heard mixed durability reports. Mine lasted reasonably shorter than the BG lamé I had before it.

[Wanda]

can't speak for sabre, but for foil, the price is hard to beat. I've heard mixed durability reports. Mine lasted reasonably shorter than the BG lamé I had before it.

I am a China fencer, in China, the price of sabre lame you have mentioned before is around US$60-72, according to the manufacturer, the quality is similar, but the cutting you must beware. Some of them large in Chest, but small in waist.

I have never heard JL has Stainless steel metal vest, is it really made by S.S.???

(P.S. As I know, the stuff of absolute and BG are manufacturing from the same manufacturer in China)

[Inquartata]

The JL lames are copper. But as long as you take care of them and wash them fairly often they are pretty durable. A good value for the price-conscious, IMO.

[_fence(1)]

Hmm. In this case it looks like the Fencing Post is selling something that does not exist:

http://www.thefencingpost.com/Uniforms.htm

a) LSJL20 JL Washable Stainless Steel Sabre Lame, Men’s $89.0
(People here said that all JL lames are copper)

b) MSUH31 Uhlmann, Electric Sabre "Extra", FIE 1600N w/ removable bib $232.00
(I think Leon Paul is the only manufacturer that makes masks with removable bib, at least there is no such musk (w/ removable bib) on Uhlmann's web site)...

[_fence(1)]

I am a China fencer, in China, the price of sabre lame you have mentioned before is around US$60-72, according to the manufacturer, the quality is similar, but the cutting you must beware. Some of them large in Chest, but small in waist.

I have never heard JL has Stainless steel metal vest, is it really made by S.S.???

(P.S. As I know, the stuff of absolute and BG are manufacturing from the same manufacturer in China)

Who manufactures JL lames? Does S.S. have a web site?

Thnx!

[Inquartata]

Hmm. In this case it looks like the Fencing Post is selling something that does not exist:

http://www.thefencingpost.com/Uniforms.htm

a) LSJL20 JL Washable Stainless Steel Sabre Lame, Men’s $89.0
(People here said that all JL lames are copper)

Assuming it's a JL ( the other letters are confusing ), then either (a) Whoever wrote the catalog didn't know wha they're made of and assumed they're like most sabre lames, (b) It's a typo, or (c) JL has a stainless version now.

All the ones I've seen have been copper.

[Wanda]

Hmm. In this case it looks like the Fencing Post is selling something that does not exist:

http://www.thefencingpost.com/Uniforms.htm

a) LSJL20 JL Washable Stainless Steel Sabre Lame, Men’s $89.0
(People here said that all JL lames are copper)

b) MSUH31 Uhlmann, Electric Sabre "Extra", FIE 1600N w/ removable bib $232.00
(I think Leon Paul is the only manufacturer that makes masks with removable bib, at least there is no such musk (w/ removable bib) on Uhlmann's web site)...

Uhlmann has removable bib mask, my 1996 mask is removable "uhlmann".

You can determine on the color of rust of copper & Stainless steel, rust of copper is brown green, rust of stainless steel is brown red. I don't think you can buy a Stainless steel sabre in US$89, For the copper sabre in China is needed US$60-70 according to your quantity. The price of stainless steel raw material is three to four times of copper, according to the quality of Stainless steel.
I don't believe it is Stainless Steel.

[_fence(1)]

I was just browsing ebay, looks like this store http://stores.ebay.com/AlexandrSport-Store sells stainless steel, INOX lames for $59.99 + $14.99 shipping. Can't believe the price.

[penguin_2000]

Alas, they aren't making them anymore. I saw two at the Blue Gauntlet table at the Pittsbugh NAC, but both were for foil. Slim pickings.

Thats weird... I saw a few there over the weekend, and they were all for sabre (one was a women's 48 or something). Wish I was fencing sabre these days...