Prieur FIE foil blade

I used two of these last spring, I liked them but they developed all sorts of bends and curves that I constantly had to fix and they never lasted as long as I expected them to, Perhaps only a a few months.

The blades are Light and fairly flexible

Switched over from Vniti about a year ago and haven't looked back:

These blades are lightweight and flexible in all the right places. Balance is spot on. Price is perfect. I have broken two but I attribute that more to my crappy fencing than to the blade design. The next two blades have faired much better-I have been using them for 8 months now with no breakage (2-3 hours four times per week + tournaments).

If you want a light, top quality blade at a good price I wouldn't hesitate to go for one of these!

Good Stuff: Very light, quick feeling blade. Dark blue coating fights rust. Relatively cheap for a maraging blade.



Bad Stuff: Durability is not up to par with other maraging blades. Will take bad bends that can be difficult to smooth out.

I've used these blades exclusively for about a year now. I started using them because they were cheap and just kept up with it because it was the blade I was comfortable with. My first one lasted about 9 months and my other two are still going strong.



They're about average weight, and very flexible in the foible. Unfortunately the flexibility in the foible means it bends there and stick easily. A lot of times I have to fix a pretty severe bend after a touch (which is just a matter of hand-bending, but can still get annoying). Also, that point of bend is exactly where the blade will break about 4 months down the road.



Overall it's a good blade for the price, but I wouldn't recommend using them exclusively.

I picked up one of these just to try them out and as a backup blade. I have been using it lightly for about six months now and others at my club have been using them for about three but much more heavily than myself. They are very light and thin for an FIE blade. In their feel they remind me a bit of the LP Budget Maraging blades. The finish is a nice blue color that is fairly durable.



The blades are fast and agile for me. They balance and flick well, with most of the flex coming from the foible, as it should be with the forte being rigid enough for parry work. Durability has been good with not to many nicks or dings in the metal itself.



The price is nice as well, since you can find them for around $60. I think that if you are looking for an FIE blade on a budget but the Vniti is a bit too heavy for you these would be an excellent choice. They are one of the more popular blades at my club and one has yet to snap.



On the downside both of the ones I have used tend to take a slight lateral bend. It is not extreme but it is persistent. You can straighten it out but it will return on a hard hit. I am not sure if this is a side effect of the weapon of my technique but I have not had this problem with any other foil blades including non-FIE ones. I also received one that was entirely to thin in the foible to be safe and had to return it. As such I would suggest picking one out for yourself if possible.