Broken gear

[Sunflash]

How many of you have broken blades on an opponent during practice? Had people break blades on you during practice?I ask because last night at the class I help teach one of the club fencers showed up to see what was going on and decided to fenc me. He lunged and hit hard enough to break a foil half way down the blade on my arm. I know that foils break during serious comp but this was pratice, infront of the Fencing 1 class!

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Sunflash
Relizing more and more why living in the middle of no where sucks!

[Mergs]

During a 4-month period I practiced every day with a guy and we managed to break 8 blades! Granted many of them were on their last legs anyway, but two of them were new France Lames (which seem to have gone to crap for quality lately). I've broken a fair number over the years during practice, but again they were all pretty well on their way to the scrap heap anyway.

[foilist]

recently at a practice i saw someone do a light beat with an epee blade and it broke about half way down... the blade was only about a year old and hadn't had too much use... it just didnt wanna be an epee anymore... so these things do happen... just a weak blade probably.

[saberkid]

blades break quite a bit in practice... just think about the blade everytime somebody hits the blade or it hits somthing it makes a micro fracture and stress points in the blade and after a wile they just break i had a saber blade break with a light beat of the blade (very light) and poof it broke, one person (martin zagunas) broke a blade in two over my head where the mask begens and where it ends on my mask... well the moral of the story is many many many blades break in practice wether its saber foil or epee they all break at one time or another


oh i didnt mention that some blades get bad tempors in the steal and can brake easyer than others (like the first s2000 blades!)

[Mergs]

Weirdest breaks I've ever seen: Twice (Max Wright in New Orleans, 1998 and Veteran's World Championships, Godollo, HU, 2000) saber breaks at the tang/blade interface. Rather humorous, fencer left holding the handle and guard with blade on the floor, opponent trying to decide whether or not to wail the crap out of them for the touch!

Second, french foil blade breaks one inch into the HANDLE! Fencer knows something is wrong and tries to tighten the pommel but it doesn't improve the situation. Goes to beat and the blade flies across the strip with fencer holding just the handle!

[HilandDoug]

Hiya, Zack! Yep, blades break all the time. At our last comp (webpage update comming soon) in November, we had 3 guys break sabre blades at the tang. Very strange.

[Fleche]

At my very first comp, I was fencing a girl who was a lot bigger and stronger than me, so I figured I had to get in there, with fast and hard attacks . . . I did that, got a hit right in the middle of her chest, went back to en guarde, and was all ready to fence again, when my opponent told me my blade was broken in the middle of the foible bit . . . I thought it was quite funny, especially because it wasn't my blade. I think if my personal electric foil broke, I'd be devastated.

[Mengarath the Dragon]

I have seen many blades break. Usually epees and usually from the middle of the blade up. I have broken a blade about four inches down when my opponent parried. I have also had one broken on me, on my elbow to be exact. Luckily, it was at an angle so that after it snaped, the now broken and sharp blade didn't get me. That was durring a class too, we were fencing in the background while our instructor was teaching a beginners class in the foreground. He took the now sharp blade around and let everyone feel the end in order to reinforce wearing a plastron. Highly effective.

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Mengarath the Dragon

Life is to short to be ordinary.

[sabreuse]

Just to add my two-cents worth...

So far, I haven't broken any blades (knock on wood) but have had two broken on me. Yeah, that's ME not my weapon. That tends to improve my reputation as a feel-no-pain sabre fencer.

[Moonitic]

I've been fortunate enough not to have any blades break on me (although, looking at my arm after some bouts makes you wonder how the blade stayed together), & haven't yet nailed someone hard enough to break my own. Just broken wires. Nothing serious.

[tsalyards]

You will break blades on other fencers and blades will break on you. That's just the way it is. I've fenced for about 12 years and have long lost count of how many.

-Tad

[This message has been edited by tsalyards (edited 01-04-2001).]

[epeetaph]

Ugh, today I broke my first epee blade! It was horrible. I even named it (it's name was epeetaph btw) ! We had a great relationship, it won me many battles, and it broke by a careless swing by a fellow fencer. Oh well, all good things must come to and end, and I can always build it a memorial in my room!


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"Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est."
Latin: "A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand."
-Seneca, "Letters to Lucilius"

[fencingguy]

blades break all the time, it has nothing to do with it being in competition or practice. It all depends on when the blade gives out. Some are weaker than others and don't last as long, others just refuse to break not matter how much you may want them to. I know I'm lucky if a blade lasts me a whole season. I usually end up breaking 2 or 3 a year (this begins to hurt when they are $110 uhlmann BF blades).

[Gav]

I have broken many blades. Most blades seem to lost me at least 14 months (this is the shortest time between buying and breaking I've had). I've also had some lucky near misses with being impaled (my coach has had a blade through the shoulder though - ouch!).

[saberkid]

well yeah iv broke blades on my coach and he's broken more blades on me but my longest blade lasted 12 months and the shortest is 5 minutes (god damn 2000 blades!!!) but at 2000 joniur olmpics i caught an epee blade flying throught the air i just looked up and saw the blade flying and was like "oh **** !" and BAME it was in my hand didnt cut or scratch me just landed in my hand it was kinda funny and wierd to

well im done l8r

[introspective]

i bought a santelli practice foil in 1979 and fenced three times a week and took it everywhere with me until 1984 and it eventually broke, but that was because i was putting TOO much bend in the blade. I still have a practice santelli and another from trippler, and i suppose i'll have them for the same lengh of time. don't put too much bend in the blade, just a little, it keeps it from breaking. electric weapons are different, i don't put a bend in it.

[Lumberg]

Sunflash said "...I know that foils break during serious comp but this was pratice, infront of the Fencing 1 class!"
News flash, blades break during practice.

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Lumberg.
"...ahhh, we have sort of a problem here... yeah, you apparently didn't put one of the new cover sheets on your TPS report"

[weezelbit]

Yeah,
Blades break all the time, but I usually break mine all about the same time. I hate to buy new ones and tinker with them so I just use 'em up and then replace them all at once. When one breaks, I know all the others will go pretty soon.

Same with light bulbs. Let 'em all burn out before replacing any. Then they all go at once.

[Lumberg]

weezilbit said, "...Same with light bulbs. Let 'em all burn out before replacing any. Then they all go at once."
News flash, light bulbs burn out.


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Lumberg.
"...ahhh, we have sort of a problem here... yeah, you apparently didn't put one of the new cover sheets on your TPS report"

[weezelbit]

Well, sometimes they do. Though my grandmother put a set of flower shaped bulbs in a hall light in our house in the '20s and the last one of those didn't fail until 1987.