Foil Blade identification help?

[Windsor]

So a coach at my club has this batch of bare foil blades for $25 a pop, not a bad deal I'm thinking. But I know absolutely nothing about them except that they're from Ukraine, and they're completely coated in this gold/brass type finish. I mean its not the "gold" BF color it actually LOOKS gold/brass plated, never seen them before. Anyone help with this?

[downunder]

these?

[Pho]

Given the price and your description, I think what you have are the STM blades that allstar and uhlmann have begun to sell. Check at the base of the blade, should have a little stm imprint on them. I just bought a couple sabre blades that were stm and they had the blue and brass plated color you describe. I suspect that the foil blades have that coating as well. As to how they hold up, my experience has been with STM Epees (maraging and non Maraging). The Maraging ones hold up pretty well and the non maraging ones are decent for their price range although both tend to take a lot of kinks

[C.J.]

Hey, they look really cool! How's their quality?

[Windsor]

Thats the thing, I didn't see a marking at all. The finish is the same as the one posted in the link, so I guess STM is a safe bet, since they're a ukrainian company AFAIK. One of the few unmarked blades I've ever seen.

[schlager7]

It is interesting that, while it does not seem to directly help identify the blades you are concerned with, a friend of mine just started this site:
Fencing Weapon Blades

[Swordmaster]

A lot of Ukrainian blades are unmark, especially if the coach made a resent trip overseas. StM and Vostok produce the majority of the blades that you see with Allstar and Uhlmann stamped on them (non-FIE and some FIE). This coating that is being applied to the surface of the steel is an electrically applied finish. It can be rubbed off and the blade can still rust, although not as readily as it will with out the coating.
It's like my dad always told me, "you can charge $10 more for a good paint job!"
As far as there durability, they will last as well as any non-maraging blade will.
Best of Luck,
Scott

[Windsor]

Hey, thanks for the info Sword Master. For now I've decided that I'm gonna try to fix what weapons I have right now and think later about those blades. I'm not sure if the coach took a trip or not, its a possibility, him being from the Ukrainian area and such.