Chevalier D'Auvergne Maraging FIE épée blade?

[JayhawkPawn]

From the Leon Paul USA website, is this the same thing that nearly everyone else sells for $90 or less? I know that epee blades other than LP are prohibitively expensive on their website, but that's a bit rediculous.

[jjrenaud]

chevalier d'auvergne blade are very soft and for me the quality is poor all of my students who have use them have broken them in less than 2 weeks, you'll have more satisfaction with BF blade.

[erooMynohtnA]

Maybe since Prieur bought out France Lames, they've changed the blade somehow, thus making it more expensive and less crappy.

[BySword]

Originally Posted by JayhawkPawn

From the Leon Paul USA website, is this the same thing that nearly everyone else sells for $90 or less? I know that epee blades other than LP are prohibitively expensive on their website, but that's a bit rediculous.

at 200g(heavier than viniti?) and $134? I doubted it, it looks like it though

[CvilleFencer]

It is the same blade and yes, it is much more than you can get them elsewhere. They have a few on hand presumably because:

A: K-mart shoppers don't buy LP gear to begin with.

B: LP USA gear includes shipping and no one else (except Craig) that I know of will give you a factory assembled BF or Vniti blade with a GT Barrel complete with LP's excellent wiring job, LP Socket, LP pad and LP guard. If they do, you will pay through the nose for those parts and shipping.

C: LP stocks off brand blades as a service to a small group of customers. Those customers understand that it is a special service and don't mind paying more.

So nothing seems wrong to me. If you want Chinese crap parts (or worse) on your BF or Vniti blade order through AF, BG, PC or Blade. If you want top quality parts you will probably pay as much or more. Either way LP stocks those items as a service to its loyal customers. Many folks don't mind paying a little more in exchange for great, personalized service and brand loyalty. LP stocks a handful of other brands blades for those that buy everything from them. From my point of view it is just another way that LP makes it easy to make them your one stop shop even if you don't prefer the feel of LP blades. I certainly don't understand why it seems to be presented as a negative...

[KD5MDK]

Well, from the way people are describing it, it's like saying "Smithblundergrass Lincoln is such a great dealership, they keep Ford Pintos in stock in case you want one!".

[CvilleFencer]

Originally Posted by KD5MDK

Well, from the way people are describing it, it's like saying "Smithblundergrass Lincoln is such a great dealership, they keep Ford Pintos in stock in case you want one!".

Okay, point.... However, I don't think the slamming of the Prieur blades is very justified. I will very quickly say they are not a good blade for newer fencers or fencers that hit very hard or heavy. They will kink or snap pretty quick, Vniti's they ain't.

What they are, in my experience and I sell a fair number of them, probably more than any other FIE epee blade, is a very light, buoyant blade that has a very "lively" feeling to it. For balance and overall geometry they are similar to BF's, although they usually have more flex and flex for more of their length, than BF blues. They balance a little closer to the point than a BF as they are lighter and some of that weight comes out of the shoulders and tang, but they are good flicking blades and for people who keep an active, mobile point they handle very quickly.

Downsides are that initial QC was pretty bad on the first runs, although it seems to be much better now. Also the fact that these blades do not do well with "hard" fencers. I don't use one for example, even though I like the feel very much. However I have 5 or 6 regular customers, all but one of whom are active Div I fencers, who swear by them. For the cost, they are a good alternative to BF's and overall a better blade IMHO than the StM's which are about all that comes close to their price point. However, due to the QC issues from early batches, I would really suggest you hand inspect them or buy them from a vendor you know will hand inspect them to make sure they are quality blades and in the flex range that you want. You know, someone like me, Craig or LP...

[clonardo]

Personally, I like the balance and softness of the Chevalier blades. We have a few as team weapons, along with Vniti and Prieur FIE blades (as well as various cheap-o Chinese blades).

I can't see much of a difference between the Chevalier and Prieur blades, and I had assumed that they were pretty much the same thing before I read here that Prieur owned France Lames. While the Vnitis are great blades in their own right, they feel to me like fencing with a wet, heavy towel after using a Chevalier or Prieur.

[erooMynohtnA]

You're right, the Prieur and the Chevalier are the same thing.

[jjrenaud]

prieur blades and chevalier blades are the same because they're made in the same fabric

[erooMynohtnA]

I believe they're made of metal, actually.

[KD5MDK]

Given he's from France, (and they can be awful French, as Eddie says), he probably meant from the same fabrication site, or factory.