Sabre blades

[Alcibiades]

I plan to buy a new sabre blade. Price is not an object, and I am trying to decide among several:

1. Chameleon Sabre Blade with Y-Shaped Cross Section

2. Pozdnyakov Pro

3. LM Saber blade with Y shaped cross section

4. Blaise Frere Maraging Sabre blade with Y shaped Cross section

What do you guys think?

[Craig]

1. Chameleon Sabre Blade with Y-Shaped Cross Section

This blade is identical in cross section and weight to the StM rainbow sabre blade, though $40 instead of $30.

2. Pozdnyakov Pro

Good luck finding one.

3. LM Saber blade with Y shaped cross section

Decent blade. Haven't fenced much with it.

4. Blaise Frere Maraging Sabre blade with Y shaped Cross section

Overkill. The meeting of the tang to the blade is still the weak point, so you don't get the same lifespan difference between a maraging and non-maraging blade in sabre as you do with foil and epee.

Craig

[Alcibiades]

Good luck finding one.

But if I could find a Pozdnyakov Pro...they are ideal, or at least very good?

[CvilleFencer]

The Poz blades are a love em or hate em blade. They are heavy compared to some of the cheap Chinese blades, but they have a very solid forte but flex well in the foible. They are to me the Vniti of saber blades. As mentioned, good luck finding one. I got one of the last ones available from LP a while ago and it is now in my personal collection of fencing blades that are no longer around. Although IIRC LP still has the machine for it, so one day them may start up again. Anyway, the LM is the closest in fell to the Poz blades IMHO, so if you like the Poz give the LM a try. A bit lighter, but an overall similar feel.

[Craig]

But if I could find a Pozdnyakov Pro...they are ideal, or at least very good?

Ask Peach - I remember we built her one before. I believe that if you search the forums you can find other opinions of the Poz blade.

[Sean Butler]

I found that the LM blades were very stiff compared to the StMs or LP blades of the same type. It is a well-balanced blade, a bit heavier than the StM and hard to give any sort of a bend. The downside is the price and the fact that since it is stiff, it is probably going to break if you use the point often. Mine broke after about 4 bouts with it when a PiL arrived and bent it beyond its capacity.

Since sabres will break (usually at the tang), it's only a matter of time, my feeling is find the one that performs the best for the least amount of cash. So far, that has been StM for me. It's cheap, it is lightweight, decent balance, and it's got a rust protecting finish.

[Alcibiades]

I found that the LM blades were very stiff compared to the StMs or LP blades of the same type. It is a well-balanced blade, a bit heavier than the StM and hard to give any sort of a bend. The downside is the price and the fact that since it is stiff, it is probably going to break if you use the point often. Mine broke after about 4 bouts with it when a PiL arrived and bent it beyond its capacity.

Since sabres will break (usually at the tang), it's only a matter of time, my feeling is find the one that performs the best for the least amount of cash. So far, that has been StM for me. It's cheap, it is lightweight, decent balance, and it's got a rust protecting finish.

What are LM and StM, respectively?

[Purple Fencer]

What are LM and StM, respectively?

Russian forges....LM is Lammet and StM are the initials of the founders (the names I can't recall)

[SJCFU#2]

Russian forges....LM is Lammet and StM are the initials of the founders (the names I can't recall)

More accurately "Eastern European forges".

LM may be Russian (aren't they based in St Petersburg, same as Vniti?), but STM is Ukrainian - totally different country (a point which some individuals within the Kremlin may view as a minor technicality which will eventually need to rectified).

Also, technically the initials are simply S and M. The "T" in the middle is actually supposed to be a sword but it looks enough like a T that most English speaking people refer to the company as "STM" (in fact it may even appear that way on the English language version of the company's website).

[headcut]

Try this link...
http://www.clfc.org/armory/blades.htm

[Piste_Pearl]

I'm a big fan of the Chameleon blades, but what you should get, to me, depends on how you fence and what you want.

I use the Chameleons because they are very light, having small hands and wrists it gives me a lot better control. The forte and middle are firm, but the foible has a really nice flex that's great for whipovers and hand shots. (I'll take allthe extra help I can get.)

I'm not a hard hitter, unless it's be accident or you totally piss me off, so the blades have held up well for me. One did break a couple weeks ago before Sectionals when my coach was putting a little more of a cant in the blade, BUT it was the one I used all the time in practice and lesson for the past year and we found had a tiny flaw in the tang.

Good Luck with Deciding.