Blades

Wow! It's been three years since I've posted here... and now I'm back with
another question about blades!

I was just wondering what sort of blades people have been using since France
Lames was... acquired? by Prieur, I believe. I've been using Paul Etoile
blades for a while, but now I'm intersted in something a little more
substantial, you know, that would stand up better to a strong beat, etc.

I had *one* FL foil I was using (I came by it by accident, and decided to
give it a shot) and it was pretty whippy, but felt heavier and stouter than
the Pauls. I'm looking to buy a few electric weapons, and FLs aren't an
option. (Yeah, I know, a lot of folks didn't consider them an option when
they were available, haha, very funny...)

I'm not too worried about blades breaking. I've fenced for four years and
broke a blade for the first time last month. (It was a TCA practice blade,
and you can't really fault TCA here, because the poor thing had been in my
trunk for hours and it was colder than hell even here in SW Ohio.) Mainly
I'm intersted in finding something stout that won't develop weird kinks. I
don't know if I have the funds to get into maranging blades. I know American
Fencers is stocking Vostok and I believe StM as standard foil blades, and I
remember the last time I asked about blades someone suggested Uhlmann
non-maranging blades from Blue Gauntlet.

Anyway, any suggestions would be welcome.
--JR