Blade Recommendations

[AgentRed]

Before I go off spending my hard earned money on a blade, what do you all think of France Lames blades? More specific, I'm looking at EE106 on blue-gauntlet:
http://www.blue-gauntlet.com/AWcatal..._complete.html

I often hear, you get what you pay for and that blade isn't cheap, nor is it very expensive, it's nicely in the middle.

Thanks,
AgentRed

[latenight]

I avoid France-Lames blades like the plague. They have some serious quality control issues. You might get a good piece, you might not. I'd recommend any of the BF bluestar blades.

[AgentRed]

Wow, good thing I asked first. My practice foil is France Lames but I don't use it much since I concentrate on Epee (and soon saber). What does everyone else think of BF blades? It's a little more pricey, but if it's worth the quality over the France Lames...I'll shell out the cash.

AgentRed

[neevel]

Go for the Uhlmann (many of which _are _ BF) or BF blades-- they're definitely worth the extra money, and Blue Gauntlet has good prices on them.

-Dave Neevel

[tsalyards]

I'm going to have to disagree with Dave on this one, although I almost always agree with him so perhaps he'll forgive me. Allstar doesn't actually make any blades, they just get first picks from several of the top blade producers and stamp their name on them. If you're on a budget, I wouldn't consider the extra money paid for the Allstar name stamped on a Prieur blade to be good investment.

Do stay away from France Lame blades though. They used to be very good blades but that just isn't the case any more.

-Tad

[neevel]

No disagreement at all, Tad. You're right that Uhlmann and Allstar 'badge engineer' their blades, and Blaise Freres is currently where they get many of their blades from. I was assuming that AR was wanting to stay with Blue Gauntlet. B.G. does get maraging blades direct from BF.
Another source for very good prices on BF blades is Triplette. I believe what they do is purchase excess production that didn't get sold to Allstar, Uhlmann, Prieur, et.al.-- sort of a 'factory outlet' for Blaise. This means that they've got just about the best prices on all types of BF blades (maraging and standard) anywhere. The downside is that they may not always have some of the high-demand models (like the Super Blue maragings) available. Also, BF makes a couple of different 'patterns' for many of their foil blades-- a square cross section balanced closer to the hilt, as is often preferred by the French, and the rectangular x-section, more point-balanced blades that Uhlmann and Allstar sell. Triplette more typically has the square x-section blades.

If you're looking beyond what B.G. stocks, AR, I'd be remiss in not mentioning Vniti maraging blades-- they're heavier and softer than BF blades (which are all on the stiff side-- some extremely rigid), very durable, and quite reasonably priced for maraging ($60-65 for foil, $85-95 for epee). Triplette and Blade sell them (Blade lists then as their "FIE Supreme" blades).

And if you have the money, maraging blades really are a better value overall-- the increased durability more than offsets the initial purchase price.

-Dave Neevel

[rusty epee]

The guys are right -- France-Lames are to be avoided. While I was fencing, they had a tendency to break along the forge of the steel, instead of across the grain. Admittedly, they didn't do this as much as the italian blades (yecch) but as far as I'm concerned it's still a safety issue.

You get what you pay for. Prieur is the way to go. Has been for years.

------------------
The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvellously.
-- Henry Kissinger

[fmackenz]

I hate to disagree with everyone, but
I've had pretty good luck with the
France-Lames F.I.E. Maraging foil blades.

Several other fencers in my division
use them also and have had no problems.

[neevel]

Most of the complaints have been regarding FL non-maraging blades. The maragings do seem to be less problematic in terms of breakage (should be anyway, since they _are_ maraging), but I know a number of people who got a batch of FL maraging foil blades with tang that were improperly annealed and just about impossible to put a cant into.

-Dave Neevel

[AgentRed]

What is so special about maraging blades? Is it just that particular name brand makes them better or is maraging a method of forging the blade? If it's both (Maraging brand name makes them differently) does anyone know what they do to it to make it such high quality?

AgentRed

[neevel]

Maraging steel is a class of high-tensile strength steel that is resistant to forming the sort of microfractures that lead to breakage. For the purpose of blades it is far more durable, much less likely to break when stressed, and when it does break more likely to not leave any really sharp edges. Since it's a type of low-chromium stainless steel, it's also rust-resistant to boot.

The compostion of the steel and heat-treatment guidelines for blades are spec'd by the FIE and can be found in the online rules at the USFA web page, or at the FIE website. The FIE requires maraging blades (or blades of other steels that meet their testing requirements) for international 'A'-grade tournaments (i.e., World Cups, World Championships, Olympic Games). Many other national federations also require maraging blades for at least the higher levels of competition. Maraging blades were one of the responses to the 1982 accident that killed the Soviet world-champion foilist Smirnov (a blade broke and penetrated his mask and eye socket, entering his brain).

If you go to a search engine like Google and do a search for maraging, once you get past alot of fencing and golf (the stuff is also used for faceplates of drivers) references, you'll find links to steel industry and metallurgy sites that can give basic information on maraging steels.

-Dave Neevel

[Clean Touch]

What about Hostin Plus blades? I've used for the longest while and find they work great. Has anyone had ay bad experiences with them?

[rjccj]

My personal blade favorites are Vniti blades. They are well balanced and feel great to me. They are also precut to pistol grip length, so don't plan on using them with a french grip. Tripplette sales them at a great price, as does Blade.

[Zelda]

I love my Uhlmann BF blade. Its just right for me. Never really had any others so I cant say!

[Stryder]

Hostin Plus are just France-Lames non FIE with a paint job and somehow made heavier!
They lasted slightly longer only because I hit less people with them!
Buy Vniti FIE or France-Lames FIE for $45-$60
and you will be happy!

And on the subject if you've been fencing a year or more, switch to FIE blades. Not only will they last long enough to make up for the difference in price, they will improve the quality of your fencing. No one can control a coat hanger well enough to do a tight disengage.

[Mr_Foilist]

Stay away from Hostin Plus. In the past, the blades were really very reliable. But, recently, I've had crappy blade after crappy blade, all of which varied greatly in stiffness and weight. All the blades that I have owned recently (a total of four) have broken after only a few months of use. As far as I'm concerned, Hostin Plus has become just as bad as France Lames.

[Lumberg]

You do get what you pay for. If you are looking for cheap stuff to get you on your way, FL blades are okay. Expect them to break and bend but at least you didn't spend a fortune. As for quality and less money, try getting Triplette blades made my Blaise-Freres. www.triplette.com
I have a France-lames maraging blade which is quite nice but I got it a very long time ago before they went to crap. If you are beginner, it may not be worth spending on maraging blades unless you have the cash. They aren't needed unless you are fencing A rated international events. You can get three or more blades for the price of a maraging blade.

[MikeHarm]

What about the 'glory' blades that blade is selling? Anyone have any good or bad experiences with those?

Mike