Quote Originally Posted by Fencergrl View Post
You're joking right??? Beginners are really, really hard on blades. Sure they may not fence as often but between ignorance and bad distance, they can screw up blades faster than a squirrel on crack.
Hm. I haven't noticed a difference in how hard I hit between my very-beginner stages and now (2.5 years fencing). But I didn't break a single blade until I'd fenced for almost a year, and those were all crap blades! Now I break FIE blades pretty frequently. I'm sure the difference is that I fence a lot more frequently than I once did, which I think is true for most fencers as they develop. Also, I am more likely to develop a favorite weapon and fence with that one until it fails or breaks, and I'm almost certain that's harder on all the weapons than it would be to rotate among them.

Turning my anecdote into advice: I think FIE blades are worth the cost because they will last you much longer. But if you really can't put the money into it now, buy a cheaper one and make sure you switch between your weapons frequently; they'll last longer overall. I second the recommendation for German tips and extend it to say German wire as well. I have seen no reason to buy anything other than a store-brand guard or socket -- and to save money you can easily cut your own bell pad from felt or something else around the house.

Vendor-wise: I like fencing.net.