Weak Foil Blades

[DamedEscrime]

Help! I seem to have gotten a batch of weak foil blades. They are Russian that were purchase in Poland so I don't forsee returning them.
Here is what happens. As I bend the blades, they will angle in to the left ot right. However, when I attempt to angle them slightly down, they snap off right at the tang.
Coach suggested they were improperly tempered. Can I heat the metal myslef to correct the situaion so they are still usable? If so what is the best method?
Thanks fellas,
Dame

[sallearmourer]

Your coach was dead on. They were improperly forge. Reheated them will even make them more brittle. Your stuck with them. Not unless you can find a true blacksmith in your area who knows forge mentals. Not that many left.

Tim

[neevel]

They're probably about 5 years old or so-- this was a very common problem with Russian blades from around that time. The furnace used for annealing/stress relief was was just a little too short to be optimal, and when the blades were put in the temperature near the opening (where the tang would be) often wouldn't get up to the correct level, leaving the tangs brittle. Forget about trying to redo the heat treat yourself-- unless you know what you're doing, know precisely what kind of steel it is, and have the right equipment you're just not going to be able to do it. And, for a batch of cheap blades, it's not worth the money to find someone to do it.

-Dave