Last week I had a blade break within the handle on my electric foil. This blade was less than three months old and not a cheap one at that. This is not the first time this has happened either. Manufacturer does not seem to matter.
They always break at the transition point from smooth to thread so clearly there is a stress/weak point here. In the days of slots and brass collets the bladed would almost never break at this point and would generally die of old age before snapping somewhere on the foible.
I took this up with the vendor who said…
“While it is not common it does occur at a noticeable rate with French Grips. Depending upon how the fencer holds the weapon, the stress point switches to the tang area of the blade. Most fencers who use a French grip will now specifically buy a grip with a metal core, which relieves some of the stress on the tang.” (My italics)
I take exception to how the fencer holds the foil remark. I have fenced for 50 years and never experienced a blade failure rate like this. The tang is under tension between the pommel and the blade shoulder and does receive shocks as the blades meet etc. Perhaps the lower failure rate with pistol grips has something to do with the shorter handle hence moment around the transition point.
Anyway, other than point to metal lined handles (which seem a tad expensive at $34-45 a pop) the vendor seemed to expect me to accept this as a normal part of fencing. Further I do not see how a metal lined handle would help as the tang would still be under tension and the fencing forces would still be transmitted down the blade into the tang.
Would some form of reinforcement to the threaded part help? Perhaps a tube running from the smooth part to just below the threaded area needed for the pommel and welded to the tang might help? Anything which effectively moves the pivot point into the unthreaded part must help.
Am I alone in this problem?. Am I doomed to buy a new blade four time a year?
