Most durable blade?? Vniti??

[yearsofwisdom]

Hey guys, i looked through a lot of the searches and they all seemed really old and I'm sure things have changed but yeah I have a problem with having a hard touch so i go through blades like hell. I am improving but i just broke my BF white in 2 months. I was wondering what the most durable blade was and i heard it was the Vniti. I also read from the searches that this durability has gone down? What are your thoughts on what to get?

and we are talking about foils here

[noodle]

epee? vniti.
foil? maybe bf white. maybe vniti.

[yearsofwisdom]

sorry always forget. foil

[chinbeard]

Here: http://www.fencesmart.net/mycofoelcowe.html

They sell quality products, and are a pleasure to deal with. I sure am glad I tried to do business with them that one time!

[foibles]

...I have a problem with having a hard touch so i go through blades like hell. I am improving but i just broke my BF white in 2 months.
and we are talking about foils here

Like your protective glove question, this is again symptomatic of imperfect distance.

Just sayin'.

[Nolano]

Best way to keep your blade from breaking is to work on your distance. If you're breaking an FIE blade in two months, that's most likely your problem. It would improve your fencing and make it cheaper to fence.

Yes, Vniti blades are durable, but they're also heavy and they feel like a wet noodle.

[fencerchica]

I used FIE vniti foils for a few years before switching to epee. Absolutely loved 'em. I tended to have 1 weapon at a time that I designated my practice weapon while my tournament weapons were set aside. My practice weapon would get 3x or more hard use weekly for a couple hours or more at a time, with very little maintenance. With all the (ab)use I dished out, I think I only ever broke 1 Vniti foil blade, and that was after well over a year of this kind of treatment.

In contrast, I would go through LP Golubitsky FIE foil blades in ~6 months, and Chevalier/Prieur blue FIE foil blades in more like ~4 months. When I discovered Vniti foil blades, I actually liked the feel much more than either of those. Vnitis are a little heavier but not in a bad way; the balance is perfect, the gradual flex point in between the middle and the foible allows some flicking without being too noodly or shortening the lifespan, and the slightly heavier weight especially towards the forte seemed helpful for firmer parries especially against heavy handed opponents.

Oh, and I found it easier to train a correct bend in a Vniti. And when I put a bad bend in a Vniti, it was easier to fix than with the LPs or the Chevaliers. A bad kink in one of those guys was a forever thing, but a similar kink in a Vniti could be massaged away entirely without leaving any obvious weak point -- at least until I hit the very end of that one blade's year-plus lifespan.

[Eisley]

Hey guys, i looked through a lot of the searches and they all seemed really old and I'm sure things have changed but yeah I have a problem with having a hard touch so i go through blades like hell. I am improving but i just broke my BF white in 2 months. I was wondering what the most durable blade was and i heard it was the Vniti. I also read from the searches that this durability has gone down? What are your thoughts on what to get?

and we are talking about foils here

It's like you never believe me when you ask me a question

/hurt .. lol

[yearsofwisdom]

It's like you never believe me when you ask me a question

/hurt .. lol

????

i made this question/post last night before you answered me? kinda?

[D'Art]

Hey guys, i looked through a lot of the searches and they all seemed really old and I'm sure things have changed but yeah I have a problem with having a hard touch so i go through blades like hell. What are your thoughts on what to get?

A coach who'll work on improving your distance and timing would be a start...

[yearsofwisdom]

mmm too bad its a matter of me listening or actually working on it. and yes it is progressing though.

[parrythis]

Like your protective glove question, this is again symptomatic of imperfect distance.

Just sayin'.

Best way to keep your blade from breaking is to work on your distance. If you're breaking an FIE blade in two months, that's most likely your problem. It would improve your fencing and make it cheaper to fence.

With all due respect, these responses assume that the fencer is breaking their blades during some kind of lunging/attacking action. The reality, however, is that blades can break in variety of ways. Probably 75% of the blades that I have broken have done so in my hands while I was attempting to straighten a bend. Another 15-20% broke during some kind of unusually aggressive beat or parry action. Very few have broken during a lunge. Even so, if you lunge, and your opponent lunges into your lunge, distance is an issue, but not yours, rather your opponent's.

To answer the OP's question, Vniti blades are very resistant to breakage. Most of mine are on epees, but I do have one foil Vniti. Since I normally fence epee, the fact that the foil Vniti may be a little on the heavy side is of no consequence to me.

[yearsofwisdom]

and yeah my BF did break in my hands... not from a bad lunge either.

[Superscribe]

With all due respect, these responses assume that the fencer is breaking their blades during some kind of lunging/attacking action. The reality, however, is that blades can break in variety of ways. Probably 75% of the blades that I have broken have done so in my hands while I was attempting to straighten a bend. Another 15-20% broke during some kind of unusually aggressive beat or parry action. Very few have broken during a lunge. Even so, if you lunge, and your opponent lunges into your lunge, distance is an issue, but not yours, rather your opponent's.

The blade breaks usually from fatigue, not from a single catastrophic hit. ALL the abuse the blade has taken up until the instance of break is what contributed to the snapping of the metal. What contributes to this abuse? Bad distance, bad technique, aggressive fencing, etc.

The problem is still poor/overly aggressive fencing. The problem may be revealed through different ways, like breaking the blade in your hands or breaking the blade on a touch.

[cplmontana]

We should probably ask Tagliariol. See about 1:55...

Jeannet v. Tagliariol

[CvilleFencer]

We use Vniti blades for foil at my club. They are pricey (for loaner blades) but we have yet to have one break since we switched over a couple years ago. That is 5-6 nights a week of noobs abusing them in all manner of ways and they are still going strong. Vniti is the most durable foil blade on the market IMHO.

[yearsofwisdom]

and where is the cheapest place to get a bare one?

[yearsofwisdom]

and once again have any of you seen a difference between the lifespan of a max vs the normal?

[Sins of the Fleche]

and where is the cheapest place to get a bare one?

Leon Paul's website usually has a good selection of Vniti blades (both FIE and normal) in stock. If you happen to catch them at a sale, then you can do fairly well for yourself.

I'm an epeeist, so I can't speak as to the best place for foil prices, but in the epee circles I travel in, Vnitis (especially the FIE type) are considered a fairly upper-mid to upper market weapon, and so as such it's expected you'll have to part with a fair bit of coin to buy one fresh out of the forge.

But like I said, if you are looking to buy, I'ld check out the LP site. Vniti blade with the oh-so-comfy LP grips is hard to beat.

[yearsofwisdom]

more of a ulhmann belgian guy but thanks. 100 bucks??!!! at absolute its 80.