Most even blade poll

[mihunai]

This poll is for future reference to get a view of the blade type people use most
or prefer for an EVEN blade, so no core effect and minimal base flare.
These do not take into account brightness of the blade or the quantity of the used materials,
just the diffusion method itself.

mTm

[Crystal Chambers]

When you say "even" you mean base to tip right? As apposed to core to edge.

[Novastar]

This is a good idea... but I think it's a bit problematic.

"Even" doesn't imply getting the most vibrance/brightness out of the saber. You can get quite an "even" amount of light overall from a saber/blade setup... while sort of "killing" the overall vibrance.

So far in my experience in trying:

* poly-propylene (gift wrap)
* poly-pro + heavy usage (meaning effectively: sanding!!)
* poly-pro + Corbin (I think I did 1 or 2 wraps for the testing)
* poly-pro... LOTS--like using TONS of wraps (thick overall wrapping)
* poly-pro... little--like using a scarce amount of wraps
* Standard TCSS single-material diffuser (milky white one, obviously)
* an "Ultraedge" blade (I only had one to try)
* MR standard diffusers... and the 616 variants
* MR diffusers with an augmented(?) mirror tip
* some other idiotics experiments that failed miserably...

I will PERSONALLY say that poly-propylene alone is my preference... for BOTH brightness + evenness.

Again... this is my personal opinion. I can assure you that it is neither "wrong" nor "correct"... it is what it is.

Besides... there are many factors into "filling the tube with light", which all get back to the multiple factors playing in:

~ LED type, fwd voltage, desired current of LED... "overdriving" too!
~ Blade length, mirrored tip, blade OD, blade ID
~ Optical solution (reflector, collimator, and is it the "best" for the job)
~ Battery solution, driver... are we providing what we need for the LED
~ Ambient light... wavelengths similar to LED?? Enhancing it?? Not??

But... despite all of these factors... yeah, I'd say poly-pro + ______ will yield fairly positive results. IN MY OPINION. :cool:

[Crystal Chambers]

I've experimented with ...

- poly...4 and 8 feet
- corbin film 2 and 4 wraps
- TCSS diffuser tube
...and nearly every combo.

I do like core and solid blades but go either way depending on what I think will suit the saber.

Maybe it's the tightness of my wrap but I found polyprop alone looked different on different angles and this bothered me, personally. So I got offended and kicked the snot out of my saber..lol

Also maybe it's just me but it seems various LEDs types and colours react differently to various blade diffusion methods.

[psab keel]

I personally prefer Nylon blades with a solid wrap of clear diffusion film to have the light come all the way to the edge and allow for the whole tube to be evenly lit. With a well driven LED the effect can be quite impressive.

[Crystal Chambers]

Wow that's confusing. Either you know something I don't or you're using the wrong terms.

the TCSS diffuser tube is nylon...but I've never heard of a nylon blade.

I've seen diffusion tubes, corbin film(not clear), and poly-propylene (giftwrap) that is clear but what does a "solid wrap" mean?

Diffusion tubes/film will fill a tube with light, possibly hilt to tip if done right, but only sanding will really bring it to the edge.

[cardcollector]

Whether you use thickwalled blades or not can make a huge difference too.

I like thin-walls because they are brighter and more even IMO.

[psab keel]

I use 1/16th Wall 1 inch O.D. Nylon tubing with my own special diffusion film. It does the same thing that cellophane does when you roll about 3-4 feet inside a tube. It evens the glow down the length of the tube.

Essentially it's an X-WingBand Style blade but without the Corbin film and substitutes the cellophane (polypropelyne) with my own diffusion film (for the same effect.)

Hopefully that makes more sense. haha

Psab

[acerocket]

Here is a picture of a nylon blade. 7/8" od x 1/16" wall with 3' wrap of cellophane gift wrap and a double wrap of Corbin blade film inside that.

http://www.orbitalmachining.com/assets/images/16.jpg

http://www.orbitalmachining.com/assets/images/group3.jpg


I don't know if I would bother with the Corbin wrap next time I do a nylon blade. It really didn't add that much to the blade in my opinion. But at the time I made these, there was no place you could get 7/8" clear polycarbonate so i tried the nylon. It gives a very good diffusion of light along the entire blade.

[Lord Maul]

When I stop being lazy (and get a LARGE chunk of free time) I will be completing my LED Blade Comparison Pictures. I have all of the blades and the saber ready to go, just need to set aside some time.

In my experience, white blades are most even, but I like Erv style for reds.

[Hasid Lafre]

On my thickwalled blade I had I used a tcss tube and about 4 to 5 foot of polyP, There was very light sanding on the blade, But after dueling for 30 min you couldent tell anymore if it was sanded, if your going to sand a blade sand the inside cause it will eventually smooth out again.

[killphil]

I like to use a combo of Tim's nylon diffuser, 2 wraps of Corbin film, and about 4-5 f of poly P.

That is the most even combo I've seen.

In my experience:

Poly P alone-illuminates the outer edge of the blade film, but the inside is darker.

Corbin alone focuses the light more towards the middle for a core like effect, but sacrifices even-ness (noticeable hilt flare).

Nylon diffuser alone has the brightness even from side to side, but gradually dims up and down (along the le3ngth.

I just put em all together, and I can barely notice any difference along the length or width of the blade.

[noslenpar]

How common is the use of a mirror at the tip of the blade? and does that improve evenness? or result in bright spots at the base and tip with a dimmer middle?

Has anyone ever tried other types of film like acetate or mylar?

[Goltar Bias]

How common is the use of a mirror at the tip of the blade? and does that improve evenness? or result in bright spots at the base and tip with a dimmer middle?

Has anyone ever tried other types of film like acetate or mylar?

To my knowledge a reflector of some kind on the tip is very common, though not always a mirror some one on here used the anti-static plastic as a reflector to allow light to pass through and light tip. It does improve the evenness in that it returns light back down the length of the blade. Otherwise the tip might light up well but the top end of the blade would be very dim depending on lenght. As far as other materials for the film don't know much there. Though you can use the spray frosting medium for glass on it to produce a frosted effect like sanding does but with out the directional issuse that sanding can create. Have heard it produces different looks depending on if you do it around the circumfrance or lenght.

[KuroChou]

Filter companies like Lee and Roscolux make specific diffusion filters, that would produce an even sanded effect from the inside, with very minimal dimming. Check out any of the Rosco "frost" series; they come in multiple grain styles and diffusion levels, anywhere from the basic full, down to 1/8th. I'll likely be ordering some "chicago frost, 1/4."

[Hasid Lafre]

With both my thickwalled blades I use mirrors cause of the thick nature of the tubes, IE It helps more.

[Novastar]

...Also maybe it's just me but it seems various LEDs types and colours react differently to various blade diffusion methods.It's not just you. This simply has to do with the way each diffusion material is made, and which light wavelengths are going to be "allowed through" more and which are coming through less. In most instances... this is impossible to measure unless you have some SERIOUS details about the materials themselves--or you want to go "uber-nerd" and get it all figured out with lightmeters, true darkrooms for testing and "control" samples, etc. etc. :P

I will say:

* I have PERSONALLY noticed that poly-pro + ______ doesn't do "as well" for Amber LEDs vs. diffusions such as the "Ultraedge" (custom-extruded white poly-carb) or the one from TCSS (inner core).

* I have PERSONALLY noticed that a certain amount of wraps of a poly-pro setup are "better" for reds & ambers... whereas it can actually make greens and blues WORSE with too many wraps.

* If I remember correctly from my experiments (and I'm not 'reversing' it by accident)... less wraps for greens, a larger amount for reds... but again... YOUR MILEAGE/EXPERIENCES may vary.

And that's about as far as I've gone with all of it. After a certain point it gets to be like: "Who cares. It's bright. It's pretty even. It's fine. If I need more, I'll get a better LED and/or upgrade the batteries/mA output." :)

[PhoenixReborn]

My experience is that Ultrasabers midgrades work perfectly for them all.