Lightest FIE Foil Blades?

[Flot]

I'm looking for the lightest possible FIE foil blade that won't shatter to bits after one lunge.
Suggestions?
Right now I use a BF FIE blade, but it's too heavy and too stiff.

I've had non-FIE blades, which I liked for their lightness and flexibility, but they became freakishly warped after an annoyingly short amount of time.

-Carey

[knave]

Leon Paul or Prieur are both pretty light. I think the Leon Paul FIEs last quite a bit longer than the Prieurs though.

[erooMynohtnA]

Originally Posted by Flot

I'm looking for the lightest possible FIE foil blade that won't shatter to bits after one lunge.
Suggestions?
Right now I use a BF FIE blade, but it's too heavy and too stiff.

I've had non-FIE blades, which I liked for their lightness and flexibility, but they became freakishly warped after an annoyingly short amount of time.

-Carey

Don't lunge quite so hard?

I have a Leon Paul Golubitsky Pro right now, and it's definitely the lightest FIE blade I've used. It's not whippy, but it has moderate flex. I've also heard from some people that it's a highly durable blade.

[Chafunkta]

I have owned 3 Prieur FIE foil blades. For awhile they were my exclusive blade. They're really light, feel great and they last about 9 months or so. The only really annoying problem is that they tend to develop a lateral bend (mine bent right) which is tough to overcome with angulation.

Overall I think it's a good blade. I've only recently switched to BF which is too expensive (I had a little extra money, plus BG stopped selling Prieur). It’s not as light as the Prieur but that lateral bend problem hasn’t shown up.

[Cerian]

From my experience with Prieur, they're really light. However, haven't been very durable and got really whippy really quickly. Cheap though.

[knave]

Originally Posted by erooMynohtnA

Don't lunge quite so hard?

I have a Leon Paul Golubitsky Pro right now, and it's definitely the lightest FIE blade I've used. It's not whippy, but it has moderate flex. I've also heard from some people that it's a highly durable blade.

I currently use 3 Golubitsky Pros and a Vniti. I've found a Golubitsky lasts me about 8 monthes of fencing 3-5 times a week and giving and taking lessons with it. The Golubitsky is very thin in the foible though, so if you kink it there, you can shorten its life a lot.

Originally Posted by Chafunkta

I have owned 3 Prieur FIE foil blades. For awhile they were my exclusive blade. They're really light, feel great and they last about 9 months or so. The only really annoying problem is that they tend to develop a lateral bend (mine bent right) which is tough to overcome with angulation.

Overall I think it's a good blade.

I had the same lateral bend problem. I got two for nationals in 2004 and after Div 2 and 3 foil, I had a lateral S in one of them and a strong lateral bend to the right in the other.

[peet]

Originally Posted by Chafunkta

The only really annoying problem is that they tend to develop a lateral bend (mine bent right) which is tough to overcome with angulation.

I've found that the lateral bend problem is associated with the groove for the wire not being exactly down the middle of the blade. My hypothesis: the off-center groove makes one side of the blade stronger than the other side, and so it wears in unevenly, causing the blade to veer towards the other side.

So when I shop for blades at NACs, I try to pick one with a very well centered groove.

Could be a fallacy, but so far, my empirical data support the hypothesis.

-p

[KD5MDK]

Makes sense I suppose, although when this thread gets moved to the Armoury the real experts can weight in.

[edew]

For a light blade, consider getting a #4 blade. It's an inch shorter and that makes quite a difference in terms of the center of gravity and overall weight. I use #4 BFs (from Cartel and Triplette) and have been very happy with them in terms of control, weight, lightness, flickability, durability and general quality of manufacture.

Now that France-Lame doesn't exist anymore, I guess I can b**ch and moan about them. Their FIE blades are just as shoddy and crappy as their non-FIE blades.

I have used a Vniti and have nothing but good words to say about them. StMs are hit or miss. One problem I have with StMs is the groove is sometimes too shallow and the wire doesn't completely fit inside the groove. Over time, the wire gets worn down by the beats and parries. Then it pops and breaks. A real PITA.