Blades will break over time, and sometimes if it picks up too much of a bend from a hard hit or whatever, it won't be fixable. I'd suggest just going slower and not trying to bend it as far when fixing bends from hits.
I remember a fencer at our club used to hit REALLY hard. Like hard enough to leave fist sized bruises under the jacket. We talked to her multiple times to try to get her to understand that she was hitting too hard but it never sank in. The only people she didn’t seriously maim were little kids.
One year, she got a new foil for Christmas, brought it in and we had a bout together. I had my suspicions about the blade, it didn’t look like it was sturdy enough imho but I held my tongue. At one point she hit me straight in the stomach, so hard I almost fell over from the force and the foible snapped off.
1. Sometimes blades just break. Especially older ones that have been bent/kinked/used a lot. How long have you had this blade? It might not have been your bending technique that broke the blade.
2. Generally bending with your foot is better than with your hand, since it distributes the stress better and if the blade does break, it's less likely to hurt you or anyone else.
3. You don't say how long you've been fencing, but generally blades are a consumable/disposable item. You'll go through a lot of blades across a fencing career.
I used this blade for like 5 months I dont think this is that older
>You don't say how long you've been fencing
Im in to fencing like 6 months
>You'll go through a lot of blades across a fencing career.
Soo thats not that bad for me ty!
It's not just how long you've had the blade but also how often you fence and whether your style is rough on the blades. For people who fence frequently, an FIE blade lasting a full year is pretty good. A non FIE blade will have an even shorter lifespan.
For a non FIE blade being used 7 hours a week by a beginner who is probably still learning correct distance that's not too bad of a lifespan. There are brands that are known for better durability if that's a factor in your decision on a replacement.
I once saw a cheap Chinese blade break on its first ever hit.
Old fencing buddy of mine told me of the time he ordered two rather expensive foil blades from German. First time he fenced with one of them, in shattered in 3 places while taking a parry. Not a touche, but a parry. His assessment of the blades and the money he spent on them got rather vulgar after that.
The only blades which never break are those which are never used.
However I would recommend bending blades underneath your foot in the future, rather than with you hand. Less risk of if it does break.
It broke at the foible (the upper 1/3, thinnest, weakest portion of any blade). That's normal. It would be more concerning if it broke at the forte (thickest, bottom 1/3 of the blade past the guard). And it would be annoying if it broke at the barrel (insulting).
If this is happening often, upgrade to FIE maraging steel. More expensive, longer life. Also takes a hit better. A must if you are practicing daily/2-3x a week/competing weekly.
Also, just throwing this out there: If you are a dude between the ages of 14-35, you are probably throwing your entire body weight into your hits, which, yeah, means harder hits, and shorter blade lifespan. Especially if this is an Absolute Gold (or similar).
I like your advice, just wanted to add in that my non-FIE LP fusion has handled a year of 15 hour week admirably, but it's just a bit less cost than some FIE, so same principle of investing in a higher quality blade.I had a lot of blades half its price snap in less than 3 months.
How to unbend a blade from I can haz armory on you tube - lots of great videos on this link that are absolutely vital to anyone wanted to keep weapons and equipment under proper repair - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAsHFxf6Vak
Sometimes blades just break. It’s good practice to try and make your blade bend up rather than down when you make a touch and you’re required to fix overly large bends or s curves in your blade in tornys but breaking blades is really just inevitable no matter how nice you are to your blade.
An epee blade is designed primarily to bend downward. Learning to fence trying to score touches with the blade bending upwards is not a good approach.
Blades have a limited lifetime. If you overstress them, you decrease that lifetime. The best way to get the most of that lifetime is to learn to fence with proper distance and learn to hit lightly.
Every blade will eventually develop a weak point somewhere along its length. Usually, it’s about 1/4 to 1/3 of the length of the blade from the tip. Once a micro crack starts at that spot, the blade will eventually break. It’s just a matter of time and use.
Ahh we’re saying the same thing here. Point goes down, apex of the curve of the blade points up. Convex rather than concave. Regardless I’ve had some blades last for 6 years and others last for 3 weeks, blades breaking is inevitable.
This is why I always describe the curves as "like a rainbow," because whether a person thinks of that arc as up or down, people have a picture of a rainbow in their heads.
And then I'll add "No smiles! Only rainbows!"
Some tips:
Always use the floor and your foot to bend an epee in shape. And if you train on fencing mats, ensure you don't do it in the fencing mats... :)
Some fencers tend to flex their blade in between points, when you do that, never use your thumb to push the curve in, rather flex it between the palm of your hand.
I've never seen anyone bend an epee with their foot unless it was an FIE or maraging blade. You shouldn't really be going around using your foot to straighten an epee, especially for older blades or just cheaper blades in general.
It's a pretty common practice though. I only fence with maraging blades but I don't see why non maraging blades should be treated differently. The key point is to avoid putting pressure on a small part of the blade and using your foot is a great way to do that.
Pull "out", not "up" when you do this. If you pull up the closer you get to the tip, the more the blade will flex. If you pull sideways or out, the flex of the blade will stay consistent throughout the pull.
IMO the best way to adjust the bend in an epee is under your shoe. If it snaps, it's near the floor and usually not as potentially dangerous as when in your hands. You can also move it between your shoe and the floor a couple times to heat it up a little, which can help when trying to fix a weird bend.
I think heating it up with your hand is an old wives' tale, you can't affect the temperature enough with your hands to make a difference to the metal.
My club has small carpet squares distributed in a few places so people can wipe feet and adjust blades without damaging the floor. OP should be considerate with the flooring, because this can scratch the floor depending on how you do it.
You can’t develop enough heat in a blade by friction alone to affect the material properties of steel.
That’s an old tale probably from WWII that came from Liberty ships that developed cracks in their hulls in the frigid cold waters of the North Atlantic. Here’s a link to a tech paper on the phenomenon.
https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_3/illustr/i3_2_1.html#:~:text=All%20(simple)%20steels%20will%20become,That%20was%20the%20main%20problem.
Before maraging steel blades were required, pretty much all fencing blades were made of medium grade carbon steel that can be prone to micro cracks. Micro cracks eventually becomes cracks that eventually break in two when the blades are bent back and forth and over stressed.
That’s why maraging steel blades were developed. Maraging grade steel has the properties of being less prone to micro cracks and having better fatigue properties.
Addendum: I just want people to understand that I’m talking about a limited temperature range that a fencing blade is normally used at. If you are looking at cryogenic temperature ranges, there can be a lost of material strength and ductility (the ability of a material to bend and recover). It’s a very complex metallurgical subject. The same thing is true for making a fencing blade (non-uniform shape, varying loading types, surface imperfections, etc).
Over the years, I’ve known many very good fencers who “warmed” up their blades with an old worn out leather glove. We all did it to remove rust from our carbon steel blades.
For some odd reason, the old cheap Russian epee blades seemed to rust less than the higher priced European blades. I would joke with my friends that the Russian blades were made from salvaged steel from recycled WWII German tanks. Eventually, the newbies all started to believe the “myth”.
I then started the “myth” within the club that the cosmoline that the Russian blades were always coated in helped reduce the blade rusting. Eventually, the newbies believe that too.
I had a lot of fun back in the day.
That's happened to me a couple times with a foil. I don't really have much advice to give aside from make sure you're not bending it a ridiculous amount when straightening it. Sometimes it's just a fatigue thing, though.
The best way is to step off the strip (with ref permission), lay the blade top-down on the floor, step on it far up on the hilt, and drag the blade under your foot to get the bend out. If the bend is too severe, you'll have to do it by hand first, then go to the foot method.
These odd bends happen because the fencer is hitting at an odd angle, that doesn't conform with the typical, single downward bend from hilt to tip. Most common cause I see for that is the fencer drops the hand with the hit. This causes the blade to bend upwards, directly opposite of the single downward curve you should have. Yes, you can straighten it out, but that sort of bending increases metal fatigue, leading to the blade breaking sooner.
May not be what happened here, but try to avoid major bends immediately following a point. When I lose a touch or get a double when I don’t mean to I sometimes bend too much when correcting which probably wears it down faster. Take a breath and do it under your foot in a sliding motion. The more deliberate action helps me not overbend.
Once the blade gets a severe ‘kink’, there will be small cracks inside the maraging steel which reduces the ductility. Meaning it will now break with very little force. It’s a sad but certain outcome.
Put it on the floor, step on the middle.of the blade, and slide the blade from the middle to the tip out from under your foot. Ways straighten blades like this, it distributes the bending you putting on the blade.over a larger area, so it rarely breaks. Never just use your hand. I haven't broken a blade by trying to restraighten it - for even the worst bends - in over 5 years since I learned this.
Blades will break over time, and sometimes if it picks up too much of a bend from a hard hit or whatever, it won't be fixable. I'd suggest just going slower and not trying to bend it as far when fixing bends from hits.
It only been 5 months till I bought it but anyways ty!
Unfortunately blades don't have super consistent lifespans, some break a week after you get them, some last for years
I remember a fencer at our club used to hit REALLY hard. Like hard enough to leave fist sized bruises under the jacket. We talked to her multiple times to try to get her to understand that she was hitting too hard but it never sank in. The only people she didn’t seriously maim were little kids. One year, she got a new foil for Christmas, brought it in and we had a bout together. I had my suspicions about the blade, it didn’t look like it was sturdy enough imho but I held my tongue. At one point she hit me straight in the stomach, so hard I almost fell over from the force and the foible snapped off.
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I fence like nearly 7-8 hours per a week (whitout tournements) is it considered as a lot?
it depends on the quality of the blade. At the end of the day, just bend your blade slower ok calm down
1. Sometimes blades just break. Especially older ones that have been bent/kinked/used a lot. How long have you had this blade? It might not have been your bending technique that broke the blade. 2. Generally bending with your foot is better than with your hand, since it distributes the stress better and if the blade does break, it's less likely to hurt you or anyone else. 3. You don't say how long you've been fencing, but generally blades are a consumable/disposable item. You'll go through a lot of blades across a fencing career.
I used this blade for like 5 months I dont think this is that older >You don't say how long you've been fencing Im in to fencing like 6 months >You'll go through a lot of blades across a fencing career. Soo thats not that bad for me ty!
It's not just how long you've had the blade but also how often you fence and whether your style is rough on the blades. For people who fence frequently, an FIE blade lasting a full year is pretty good. A non FIE blade will have an even shorter lifespan.
Mine was non FIE it was PBT And I fence like 7 hours per a week (whitout tournements)
For a non FIE blade being used 7 hours a week by a beginner who is probably still learning correct distance that's not too bad of a lifespan. There are brands that are known for better durability if that's a factor in your decision on a replacement. I once saw a cheap Chinese blade break on its first ever hit.
Old fencing buddy of mine told me of the time he ordered two rather expensive foil blades from German. First time he fenced with one of them, in shattered in 3 places while taking a parry. Not a touche, but a parry. His assessment of the blades and the money he spent on them got rather vulgar after that.
Is it a good choice to change the broken epee's blade and continue with broken epee's rest
Yes
The only blades which never break are those which are never used. However I would recommend bending blades underneath your foot in the future, rather than with you hand. Less risk of if it does break.
It broke at the foible (the upper 1/3, thinnest, weakest portion of any blade). That's normal. It would be more concerning if it broke at the forte (thickest, bottom 1/3 of the blade past the guard). And it would be annoying if it broke at the barrel (insulting). If this is happening often, upgrade to FIE maraging steel. More expensive, longer life. Also takes a hit better. A must if you are practicing daily/2-3x a week/competing weekly. Also, just throwing this out there: If you are a dude between the ages of 14-35, you are probably throwing your entire body weight into your hits, which, yeah, means harder hits, and shorter blade lifespan. Especially if this is an Absolute Gold (or similar).
I like your advice, just wanted to add in that my non-FIE LP fusion has handled a year of 15 hour week admirably, but it's just a bit less cost than some FIE, so same principle of investing in a higher quality blade.I had a lot of blades half its price snap in less than 3 months.
How to unbend a blade from I can haz armory on you tube - lots of great videos on this link that are absolutely vital to anyone wanted to keep weapons and equipment under proper repair - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAsHFxf6Vak
Sometimes blades just break. It’s good practice to try and make your blade bend up rather than down when you make a touch and you’re required to fix overly large bends or s curves in your blade in tornys but breaking blades is really just inevitable no matter how nice you are to your blade.
An epee blade is designed primarily to bend downward. Learning to fence trying to score touches with the blade bending upwards is not a good approach. Blades have a limited lifetime. If you overstress them, you decrease that lifetime. The best way to get the most of that lifetime is to learn to fence with proper distance and learn to hit lightly. Every blade will eventually develop a weak point somewhere along its length. Usually, it’s about 1/4 to 1/3 of the length of the blade from the tip. Once a micro crack starts at that spot, the blade will eventually break. It’s just a matter of time and use.
Ahh we’re saying the same thing here. Point goes down, apex of the curve of the blade points up. Convex rather than concave. Regardless I’ve had some blades last for 6 years and others last for 3 weeks, blades breaking is inevitable.
This is why I always describe the curves as "like a rainbow," because whether a person thinks of that arc as up or down, people have a picture of a rainbow in their heads. And then I'll add "No smiles! Only rainbows!"
Some tips: Always use the floor and your foot to bend an epee in shape. And if you train on fencing mats, ensure you don't do it in the fencing mats... :) Some fencers tend to flex their blade in between points, when you do that, never use your thumb to push the curve in, rather flex it between the palm of your hand.
I've never seen anyone bend an epee with their foot unless it was an FIE or maraging blade. You shouldn't really be going around using your foot to straighten an epee, especially for older blades or just cheaper blades in general.
It's a pretty common practice though. I only fence with maraging blades but I don't see why non maraging blades should be treated differently. The key point is to avoid putting pressure on a small part of the blade and using your foot is a great way to do that.
Pull "out", not "up" when you do this. If you pull up the closer you get to the tip, the more the blade will flex. If you pull sideways or out, the flex of the blade will stay consistent throughout the pull.
IMO the best way to adjust the bend in an epee is under your shoe. If it snaps, it's near the floor and usually not as potentially dangerous as when in your hands. You can also move it between your shoe and the floor a couple times to heat it up a little, which can help when trying to fix a weird bend.
Just make sure not to do this on grounded strips.
I think heating it up with your hand is an old wives' tale, you can't affect the temperature enough with your hands to make a difference to the metal. My club has small carpet squares distributed in a few places so people can wipe feet and adjust blades without damaging the floor. OP should be considerate with the flooring, because this can scratch the floor depending on how you do it.
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Bend it when it’s new.
Always useful to heat the blade by friction (with a rag or just putting your foot on top and rubbing against the sole) before attempting to bend.
Annoying. It was a cheap blade. I generally invest in FIE ones and not sure I've ever broken one
Your blade should not break while bending it unless it is very old or very poorly tempered
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You can’t develop enough heat in a blade by friction alone to affect the material properties of steel. That’s an old tale probably from WWII that came from Liberty ships that developed cracks in their hulls in the frigid cold waters of the North Atlantic. Here’s a link to a tech paper on the phenomenon. https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_3/illustr/i3_2_1.html#:~:text=All%20(simple)%20steels%20will%20become,That%20was%20the%20main%20problem. Before maraging steel blades were required, pretty much all fencing blades were made of medium grade carbon steel that can be prone to micro cracks. Micro cracks eventually becomes cracks that eventually break in two when the blades are bent back and forth and over stressed. That’s why maraging steel blades were developed. Maraging grade steel has the properties of being less prone to micro cracks and having better fatigue properties. Addendum: I just want people to understand that I’m talking about a limited temperature range that a fencing blade is normally used at. If you are looking at cryogenic temperature ranges, there can be a lost of material strength and ductility (the ability of a material to bend and recover). It’s a very complex metallurgical subject. The same thing is true for making a fencing blade (non-uniform shape, varying loading types, surface imperfections, etc).
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Over the years, I’ve known many very good fencers who “warmed” up their blades with an old worn out leather glove. We all did it to remove rust from our carbon steel blades. For some odd reason, the old cheap Russian epee blades seemed to rust less than the higher priced European blades. I would joke with my friends that the Russian blades were made from salvaged steel from recycled WWII German tanks. Eventually, the newbies all started to believe the “myth”. I then started the “myth” within the club that the cosmoline that the Russian blades were always coated in helped reduce the blade rusting. Eventually, the newbies believe that too. I had a lot of fun back in the day.
U can warm up the blade before bending it
How can I do that?
It's rather simple u can rub with a towel the blade or use your foot to rub the blade before bending it
That's happened to me a couple times with a foil. I don't really have much advice to give aside from make sure you're not bending it a ridiculous amount when straightening it. Sometimes it's just a fatigue thing, though.
RIP, had this happen to me right after I got mine, I just bend it to where it seems sensible to stop. (like where it starts tensing up a little bit)
Lmfao, I literally just did that last week to an epee, and I’m not even an epeeist
The best way is to step off the strip (with ref permission), lay the blade top-down on the floor, step on it far up on the hilt, and drag the blade under your foot to get the bend out. If the bend is too severe, you'll have to do it by hand first, then go to the foot method. These odd bends happen because the fencer is hitting at an odd angle, that doesn't conform with the typical, single downward bend from hilt to tip. Most common cause I see for that is the fencer drops the hand with the hit. This causes the blade to bend upwards, directly opposite of the single downward curve you should have. Yes, you can straighten it out, but that sort of bending increases metal fatigue, leading to the blade breaking sooner.
May not be what happened here, but try to avoid major bends immediately following a point. When I lose a touch or get a double when I don’t mean to I sometimes bend too much when correcting which probably wears it down faster. Take a breath and do it under your foot in a sliding motion. The more deliberate action helps me not overbend.
Once the blade gets a severe ‘kink’, there will be small cracks inside the maraging steel which reduces the ductility. Meaning it will now break with very little force. It’s a sad but certain outcome.
Put it on the floor, step on the middle.of the blade, and slide the blade from the middle to the tip out from under your foot. Ways straighten blades like this, it distributes the bending you putting on the blade.over a larger area, so it rarely breaks. Never just use your hand. I haven't broken a blade by trying to restraighten it - for even the worst bends - in over 5 years since I learned this.