Cracked blade, brand new out of the box!

There's a tournament at SAS this Sunday I probably can attend. So of course I broke a blade last Sunday. It was the one that always wanted to bend the wrong way, so I was constantly straightening it. Last Sunday, before I even started fencing, I gave it a little straightening bend and snap, about two inches of blade broke off in my hand. Drat. Luckily, I had ordered two new blades and wires a few days earlier, in part because it is always smart to have extras on hand and in part because another epee seemed close to failing (although I think it's just a failed wire, so I should be able to rewire the blade).

Anyway, the two new blades arrived the other day, from Blue Gauntlet. I opened the tube box today, ready to start wiring, and what do you know, one of the blades has a nasty crack in the steel. Nice work, Blue Gauntlet! I just sent them an email with these photos. Generally, blades are not refundable or exchangeable, for obvious reasons, but when they come cracked out of the box, I assume an exception is made. An exception better be made!

At least the second blade looks fine, so I should be able to get two epees working by Sunday for the tournament. I'll probably need to futz with the tip before the tournament in the club armory, since I don't have shims or weighs or proper testing equipment. But that should, in theory, be a quick adjustment. The club might be rather chaotic before the tournament though. Hopefully I'll be able to access the armory.