Fencing.Net - Your Guide to Fencing & Fencing Equipment

vinceat852 · 09-13-2008, 09:30 AM

Hey, I live in Hong Kong and I can't get my hands on any good fencing blades (except for really marked-up-on-middlemen uhlmann/allstar stuff). I can't afford them. I was told by my coach abt some manufacturer that made BF blades, but he said that he hasn't seen one in ages. He also told me that it was mostly exported to the USA in his days, so I was wondering if they still are in business or is the company already extinct, so to speak.
Could someone provide me with contacts/a website?

KD5MDK · 09-14-2008, 02:38 PM

BF (Blaise Freres) are a French forge and their blades are all made in France. BG is usually Blue Gauntlet, a US company with strong contacts to China and most (all?) of their gear being made there. Their website is www.blue-gauntlet.com and their gear is usually considered to be lower in quality than average, which is the opinion of most all gear made in China.

InFerrumVeritas · 09-14-2008, 07:24 PM

Of course, from what I've been told about saber blades, it doesn't really matter what company they're from because they all break rather quickly in comparason to foil or epees.

KD5MDK · 09-14-2008, 09:24 PM

Mine last around 6 months or so. For $25, that's perfectly acceptable.

vinceat852 · 09-15-2008, 10:20 AM

sorry abt the typo earlier. but yeah, I was wondering, which would you recommend. my price range is around <25 USD. I'm looking for something that'll whip around guards, but I don't want to get a European,esp with the HKD-EUR exchange rate so high. I was hoping to get something during summer when I visited the states. My coach recommended BG blades because they were the better quality chinese ones which they don't sell in HK (yeah. it SUCKS. I'm using crappy chinese blades and I have to go to USA to get good ones). so, to put it in a nutshell: wt's the best blade in my price-range?

ysbadadden · 09-21-2008, 02:50 AM

Does anybody know how many Chinese blade manufacturers there are? I know that there are several different Chinese foil blade manufacturers, or at least that there is more than one quality of blade. They aren't all junk. I don't know about sabre blades.

If OP is coming to the US, he could consider some Russian or Ukrainian blades. Allstar and Uhlmann sell these blades and charge a premium, but you can get them in the US without paying the premium.

Black Knight · 09-25-2008, 03:59 AM

I was born in HK but moved to England when I was 2. (I still speak your language tho). I'm afraid USD25 won't get you any blades. Well, try stm. they are quite well balanced and cheap. I also prefer pbt as some of their blades are heavy enough for work out. (it sounds like a crazy idea)

Delta · 09-25-2008, 11:52 PM

I thought BG's Mr. Chen pretty whippy compared to the StM.
I also think Triplette has some decent blades for what you pay, but it's not as whippy as Mr. Chen's in my experience. Hope this helped.

headcut · 09-26-2008, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delta

I thought BG's Mr. Chen pretty whippy compared to the StM.
I also think Triplette has some decent blades for what you pay, but it's not as whippy as Mr. Chen's in my experience. Hope this helped.

I'll have to agree that the Mr Chen is a decent blade and it's only $22. Light and reasonably flexible for what I'm used to.
http://www.blue-gauntlet.com/store/products/195
I'd love to find a whippier blade but I doubt that they make one.