In one time or another we have all bent or kinked a blade. For some of us those blades costed us as much as $150. What I'd like to know is what people do with them? Can some of them be fixed at all or are they totally junkable?
In one time or another we have all bent or kinked a blade. For some of us those blades costed us as much as $150. What I'd like to know is what people do with them? Can some of them be fixed at all or are they totally junkable?
I once bent a foil at almost a 90 degree angle. I ended up having to use a vice, my foot, and a hammer (not all at the same time) to get it back into a reasonable shape. It is soft now, and it tends to take a bad bend easily, but it's still usable. Of course, it was a fairly new FIE blade when it first got kinked like that.
Depends on the blade. All blades will eventually break. Do your best to straighten it safely. You might as well break a blade trying to straighten if the alternative is just to throw it away. If you can get it straight enough to fence with it, use it. If you're using a blade that you just know is "about to go," please be sure that your opponent is wearing decent gear.
if the weapon needs a rewire heat the blade up to like 300-400 degrees and bend it back straight very carefully. What the heating does is losens the grain of the steel so it won't hurt the blade as much straightening it out. If it is only like 10 degrees bent then it is not worth it but if it is a new BF FIE then it may be worth trying. I would not heat any gold, multicolor, or blued blades...just white blades. I hope that helps.
building an epee with bling that will blind any opponet
No rule against that is there?
In one time or another we have all bent or kinked a blade. For some of us those blades costed us as much as $150. What I'd like to know is what people do with them? Can some of them be fixed at all or are they totally junkable?
BTW, this question belongs in the Armory section, where you'll may get better responses.
In one time or another we have all bent or kinked a blade. For some of us those blades costed us as much as $150. What I'd like to know is what people do with them? Can some of them be fixed at all or are they totally junkable?
Just bend it using your foot. Watch and listen for cracks and breaking, because if your blade is broken at all, it's unsafe to use. Most $150 blades can take serious bends and still last for a time.
It depends on the exact blade, of course. I've heard that BF blades, for example, occaisionally break early. (Though they're very long lasting otherwise.) And prieur FIE blades are cheap but take ridiculous kinks.
if the weapon needs a rewire heat the blade up to like 300-400 degrees and bend it back straight very carefully. What the heating does is losens the grain of the steel so it won't hurt the blade as much straightening it out. If it is only like 10 degrees bent then it is not worth it but if it is a new BF FIE then it may be worth trying. I would not heat any gold, multicolor, or blued blades...just white blades. I hope that helps.
You can heat colored blades just the same, you just won't be able to take off the oxidation without the rest of the coating too. And if the blade has been blued, you could always just reblue it.
just fence with matchsticks ^_^
and when u break/bend a blade beyond repair, tie a pretty ribbon around it and show all your non-fencing friends it makes them not want to upset you
"endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.” -buddha
I think this technique is mentioned on there, but I'll mention it again. Take a crescent wrench (or any type of wrench that has a hole in one side) and slide that hole down the blade to where the bend is. Then use the wrench as a lever to straighten out the blade (i.e. bend it the direction you want the blade to go). It makes bending the blade a lot easier on your hands.
And back to your original post about what to do with kinked blades, well, I think my answer is obvious - bend them back into shape! Oh, and also heed the warning that that blade may soon break, so make sure your opponent has proper gear (although this should be certain at all times).
How easy getting the kink out depends on where it is on the blade. the further away from the tip, the eassier it will be to correct, and this isn't going to be able to explain using a text medium.
The easiest way to striagten your blade is to lay the weapin down on the floor with the bend you want to correct curving towards you (ie if it's an upwards kink in your blade, you want the wire facing upwards to you) and put step on it using your instep. At this point you want to heat the blade up so DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BEND IT YET, you do this by pulling the blade back and forth underneath your shoe, pressing down with your foot on the floor, over the area around the kink (not the whole blade), and the friction created will heat the blade. Do not touch the blade, you can get it surprisingly hot this way.
Once you've heated the blade, turn it over so the kink is curving away from you, place it back under your shoe so your instep is before the kink (closer to the guard), and pull the blade upawards and through with your other hand, putting a curve into the blade that will correct the kink, but don't go to much beyond the kink. This will correct the kink a bit more gently than forcing it with tools and ligthers or burners, and while you will put a gradual bend in the blade it doesn't put as many weaknesses into the blade itself, and any excess curvature you put inot the blade is far more easily corrected.
If it's right up next to the tip, you're gouing to have major problems getting the kink out. I'll get back to you in a while on this , as I've got something pressing I need to attend to.
I think this technique is mentioned on there, but I'll mention it again. Take a crescent wrench (or any type of wrench that has a hole in one side) and slide that hole down the blade to where the bend is. Then use the wrench as a lever to straighten out the blade (i.e. bend it the direction you want the blade to go). It makes bending the blade a lot easier on your hands.
And back to your original post about what to do with kinked blades, well, I think my answer is obvious - bend them back into shape! Oh, and also heed the warning that that blade may soon break, so make sure your opponent has proper gear (although this should be certain at all times).
I think this covers it. Somevbody in that thread mentions using a cloth to warm up the blade, this works fine as well, and is easier on your shoes as well.
indeed. be sure to heat the blade before you try to bend it back straight...otherwise it can very easily snap since you haven't loosened the grain of the steel with heat.
building an epee with bling that will blind any opponet
No rule against that is there?
I have a few 90+ degree super bent blades in the "heap" of broken blades. most of them are un-straightenable or they feel to be too close to snapping to make them safe for use. I'm currently saving broken/worn out blades to take to the Art department scupltors and see if they can weld up something fancy.
Being a budget-limited club, we try to get the most out of our gear, even though we have to buy the cheapest stuff we can find. So I can spend lots of time with a square of rug and my shoe warming blades for "realignment". Too bad the kids just return them to me shaped like S's
haha...good luck on welding them...I have tried with very little sucess.when you try to weld the metal it just gets eaten up by the arc. I have tried MIG and TIG welding them but the welds can be busted bare handed...lol I made a stick-man fencer out of blades but it broke apart. I tried bending blades with a parts bender but IU could not make a bend more than 30* or the metal would start to tear. Just make kinks in the blade the entire way down.
building an epee with bling that will blind any opponet
No rule against that is there?
haha...good luck on welding them...I have tried with very little sucess.when you try to weld the metal it just gets eaten up by the arc. I have tried MIG and TIG welding them but the welds can be busted bare handed..
Very curious, because the tangs are welded on. I wonder what process that uses.
Theres a nice bend for ya.... Took some work but we got it straight. It broke a week later. haha The trick we use is with a close ended wrench slid down over the blade and to slowly bend it back to the propper shape.
-Mike
check this out..this is the latest epee I busted...still has a bit of the opponets jacket...lol
it still scored too until I ripped the wire out. Happened during warm-up for a big tourney...bummer.
this one kinked to the side before and was getting a little soft but not anywhere near as bad as my fleche blade is now...it has no company markings either...weird.
building an epee with bling that will blind any opponet
No rule against that is there?
Very curious, because the tangs are welded on. I wonder what process that uses.
I thought welding it back on was also kinda illegal... I'll have to look at my blades next time I do a rewire, but I can't remember seeing a weld at the tang... I thought they were all aone solid piece...
Could be wrong
the tangs must be either forge welded on (most likely) or welded with resistance welding...
resistance welding just presses the two parts of metal together and runs a large current through them welding them together. That process is most likely automated...
building an epee with bling that will blind any opponet
No rule against that is there?
Originally Posted by Preacher 
it makes them not want to upset you 
