foils - BF and Leon Paul

Hey all,

I'm still fairly new at fencing (3 months now, I think), but I want to
get a foil to practice with at home, particularly to have a bit of a
go at flicking. I'm not sure what to go for in a blade though - for a
newbie like me is there any point in going for FIE Maraging blades?
Assuming not, the choice seems to be between BF Non-Maraging blades,
and the various models put out by Leon Paul.

Given that a Paul France costs about the same as a BF Blue
(non-maraging) which would people recommend? I never see much
discussion about Leon Paul foils, apart from the Golubitsky-Pro.

cheers,
Mike

On 22 Jul 2003 07:07:40 -0700, dixit michael.owen@hushmail.com (Mike):

>I'm still fairly new at fencing (3 months now, I think), but I want to
>get a foil to practice with at home, particularly to have a bit of a
>go at flicking. I'm not sure what to go for in a blade though - for a
>newbie like me is there any point in going for FIE Maraging blades?
>Assuming not, the choice seems to be between BF Non-Maraging blades,
>and the various models put out by Leon Paul.

Don't waste money on Maraging blades yet. Go through a few cheaper
ones before realising how utterly useless foil is. But don't let my
slight bias sway you...

>Given that a Paul France costs about the same as a BF Blue
>(non-maraging) which would people recommend? I never see much
>discussion about Leon Paul foils, apart from the Golubitsky-Pro.

My wife used them (PF, PE) for a while and, seeing their longevity
etc. gave LP stuff up as a bad idea. She is now well-pleased with her
new blades from, erm, Blades (in Staines, assuming you're in the UK).

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wreckferret ICQ#163264
UK-based Epéeist/Sabreur Make spammers pay... use CruelMail!

Maraging blades will more than pay for the increased purchase price with
their greater durability, but you
might want to wait a bit to find out just how intensively you become
involved with fencing before laying out
the money for them.

The Leon Paul Etoile blades are fairly light and flexible (they work
pretty well for flicking). They tend to stay in one piece longer than most
other non-maraging blades, but do become mushy and prone to taking kinks
as they get old. BF blades
are on the stiff side-- the point won't wobble around as much after blade
actions. They'll on average be a bit less
durable than the Paul Etoiles in my experience. I don't have much
experience with the Paul France blades-- the
few I've handled have been stiffer than the Etoiles, though not as stiff
as BF blades typically are.

-Dave

Mike wrote:

> Hey all,
>
> I'm still fairly new at fencing (3 months now, I think), but I want to
> get a foil to practice with at home, particularly to have a bit of a
> go at flicking. I'm not sure what to go for in a blade though - for a
> newbie like me is there any point in going for FIE Maraging blades?
> Assuming not, the choice seems to be between BF Non-Maraging blades,
> and the various models put out by Leon Paul.
>
> Given that a Paul France costs about the same as a BF Blue
> (non-maraging) which would people recommend? I never see much
> discussion about Leon Paul foils, apart from the Golubitsky-Pro.
>
> cheers,
> Mike

David Neevel <neevel@execpc.com> wrote in message news:<3F1DF019.4473DA70@execpc.com>...
> The Leon Paul Etoile blades are fairly light and flexible (they work
> pretty well for flicking). They tend to stay in one piece longer than most
> other non-maraging blades, but do become mushy and prone to taking kinks
> as they get old. BF blades
> are on the stiff side-- the point won't wobble around as much after blade
> actions. They'll on average be a bit less
> durable than the Paul Etoiles in my experience. I don't have much
> experience with the Paul France blades-- the
> few I've handled have been stiffer than the Etoiles, though not as stiff
> as BF blades typically are.
>

Thanks for both the replies - I'm going to give the BF blades a try.
We have a few Leon Pauls in our club, and they seemed a bit floppy to
me. This means I have to get to Staines... Is the Leon Paul shop the
only fencing store actually IN London?

cheers,
Mike

On 25 Jul 2003 05:28:43 -0700, dixit michael.owen@hushmail.com (Mike):

>Thanks for both the replies - I'm going to give the BF blades a try.
>We have a few Leon Pauls in our club, and they seemed a bit floppy to
>me. This means I have to get to Staines... Is the Leon Paul shop the
>only fencing store actually IN London?

Nope - there's Duellist too, near Chiswick.

Haven't you found the British Fencing website yet? There are plenty of
equipment suppliers' links there...

--
wreckferret ICQ#163264
UK-based Epéeist/Sabreur Make spammers pay... use CruelMail!