Allstar vs LP and BF

[Golden Chavelier]

I am in the market for a new blade, and would like some feedback on the allstar super epee blade, versus the LP and BF blades. I am a french grip user who pommels a fair amount, and would be wanting a blade that is nicely balanced for both pommeling and choking up on the blade, as well as being reasonably priced and moderately stiff. A note on the longevity of the blades would be helpful .

[DangerMouse]

FIE or non FIE? Non FIE LP are the best durability for the money, but feel really different from traditional designs. Non FIE Allstar super (I can't remember who makes them) and BF are not durable at all. FIE BF are the nicest blades on the market, but there is wide variation between them.

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[Golden Chavelier]

Sorry about that, I was referring to non-FIE LP. Also, what is an LM blade like, and who forges it, I have never seen the term "LM" before. As well, how are they for pommeling?

[DangerMouse]

LM is Lamett. I hear they have gone downhill recently, but they used to be nice.

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[Golden Chavelier]

Thanks for the help Danger Mouse. I suppose that I will be going with an LP, as a blade's life is very important to me.

[piste off]

Sorry about that, I was referring to non-FIE LP. Also, what is an LM blade like, and who forges it, I have never seen the term "LM" before. As well, how are they for pommeling?

The current LM's suck for pommeling. As DM pointed out, they changed recently and IMO are not suited for pommeling anymore. If you run across batch 04-10 of BFs, those are really nice for that use (lighter than normal).

R-

[Golden Chavelier]

Thanks for the response piste off. I don't think that I will be going with BFs after all, since they are very expensive, and I need a long lifespan:cost ratio Also, I have heard that there is no grove down by the shoulder of Leon Paul epee blades, and that it causes the wires to rip out. Is this actually accurate, or has other people experienced this as well?

[DangerMouse]

You need to use one of the plastic clips that LP sells ($.025 or something) to hold down the wire while gluing it. The reason I have had wires pop out on LP blades more than others is because they tend to be a bit more flexible. Also, because they last so long, you will have to rewire more often during the lifespan of the blade.

[Golden Chavelier]

Sorry, Danger Mouse, is seems that I have misstated my question. What I was referring to was the guard breaking the wire during assembly, or when the guard shifts. If you look on the traditional blades, BFs are a good example of this, there is a groove where the wire can safely sit without fearing damage from the guard. On Leon Pauls, however, I have heard that there is a lack of one, which can cause the wires to be pinched during assembly, guard shifts, and the like.

[jjefferies]

Sorry, Danger Mouse, is seems that I have misstated my question. What I was referring to was the guard breaking the wire during assembly, or when the guard shifts. If you look on the traditional blades, BFs are a good example of this, there is a groove where the wire can safely sit without fearing damage from the guard. On Leon Pauls, however, I have heard that there is a lack of one, which can cause the wires to be pinched during assembly, guard shifts, and the like.

Someone's been b.s.ing you. Never been an issue and I have over 6 LP epee blades.

[K O'N]

Sorry, Danger Mouse, is seems that I have misstated my question. What I was referring to was the guard breaking the wire during assembly, or when the guard shifts. If you look on the traditional blades, BFs are a good example of this, there is a groove where the wire can safely sit without fearing damage from the guard. On Leon Pauls, however, I have heard that there is a lack of one, which can cause the wires to be pinched during assembly, guard shifts, and the like.

No. If you let the guard shift when you assemble the weapon it can cut the wire. Ok, don't hoark the guard around when the weapon is wired and being assembled. What you're describing is not a problem. I have a half dozen LP blades, and have another twenty or so in the club I work on, this just isn't an issue.

I obviously like them a lot but they don't feel like the hallowed BF FIE, if that's what you're after. The best low budget way to simulate a BF FIE is StM FIE or Dinamo FIE-N, they're both pretty cheap and feel pretty good. I bought three Dinamo FIE-N epees (on ebay, for $120 from Phisical Chess, I think). One of them right away softened up way up the forte which makes it useless except for a club blade for beginners. The other two are very nice. The StM FIE is great, light and stiff, if you like a dead straight blade. The few I have never seemed to take any bend at all.

K O'N

[DangerMouse]

While I can't stand the feel of LP epees I have not had any more issues with the wire breaking at the guard than with any other blade. Having said that I love my FIE StM blades and they last almost as long as the LP.

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[Golden Chavelier]

Thanks for the help everyone! I didn't consider the StM FIE an option, due to some posts that I read about them not lasting as long as LPs, and the variability of them was pretty high, on top of being very flicky as the work in. If they are not that way anymore, however, I'd be glad to get one on the stiffer side (since I pommel, point control is very important to me!)

[TodG]

I've been using the LP FIE and non FIE for a while. I originally change over to address a shoulder problem that required a lighter blade. After using them for a while I am planning on switching all the club weapons over because the LP seem to last forever. I have a pile of broken STM and other 'low cost' club grade blades, but so far, after more than a year and a half, not a single broken LP - and these are the non-FIE. No problem with wires breaking at the guard either.

My main complaint with the LP is they could be stiffer, so I am anxiously waiting for the new SR-71. And while the light blade took some getting used to, after a while a standard blade will seem sluggish compared to the LP.

YMMV

[DangerMouse]

Thanks for the help everyone! I didn't consider the StM FIE an option, due to some posts that I read about them not lasting as long as LPs, and the variability of them was pretty high, on top of being very flicky as the work in. If they are not that way anymore, however, I'd be glad to get one on the stiffer side (since I pommel, point control is very important to me!)

I'm pretty sure most of those comments were regarding the non-FIE StM epee blades and the foil blades. I've been using the FIE StM epee blades for about 6-7 years. If I order them stiff (Absolute has been great about this), I have found them to be much more consistent than BF blades or even the LP non-FIE blades I used up until I switched. They are much stiffer than the LP blades, although they don't last quite as long and cost a bit more. When mine are completely broken in and at the end of their life, they are about as stiff as a brand new LP.

I've been using the LP FIE and non FIE for a while. I originally change over to address a shoulder problem that required a lighter blade. After using them for a while I am planning on switching all the club weapons over because the LP seem to last forever. I have a pile of broken STM and other 'low cost' club grade blades, but so far, after more than a year and a half, not a single broken LP - and these are the non-FIE. No problem with wires breaking at the guard either.

My main complaint with the LP is they could be stiffer, so I am anxiously waiting for the new SR-71. And while the light blade took some getting used to, after a while a standard blade will seem sluggish compared to the LP.

YMMV

These discussions always drive me a bit crazy because people seem to conflate the FIE and non-FIE versions of blades. The non-FIE StM blades are crap. So much so that for our club, I either order the cheapest house brand blades, which are about the same quality for less money, or LP epee blades for durability. The FIE-StM epee blades are very consistent and much much better than their non-FIE counterparts.

Also, to give an idea of durability, the LP last me about a year and a half to two years of regular use per blade, but I wish the blade would break after about 9 months to a year because they start to feel like crap. The StM FIE blades last me about a year to a year and a half and I wish they would last longer because they feel perfect for the last half of that.

[Golden Chavelier]

Thanks for the help guys! I assumed that the expectations of the blade and the company were consistent across non-FIE and FIE, so sorry about that . What is the weight comparison, though, between the LP non-FIE and the StM FIE blades? On a side note, does anyone know the weight of Absolute's heavy pommel as well (not much info out of Absolute!)?

[DangerMouse]

The LP is lighter than the StM FIE.

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[K O'N]

I bought a gram scale on ebay for about twenty bucks, and have for my own amusement been weighing various blades, bells, grips, pommels and whatnot. I've also been messing about with measuring rotational inertia of blades and complete epees. I suppose I could just post my results in a message here, but there's got to be a better way to do it than that. Ideally it would be a place more than one person could add data to, and would lend itself to grabbing the data in csv or other convenient form.

K O'N

[Golden Chavelier]

The LP is lighter than the StM FIE.

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Is there a large difference between them though, like with the Vniti vs LP blades?

[DangerMouse]

The big difference is that the LP feel crappy and the StM FIE feel nice. Weight is not all that important in blade choice.

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