TCSS Translucent white 3/4" blade v. 1" UltraEdge blade

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Here's a couple of comparison pictures of Tim's new white translucent 3/4" blade compared to a 1" white UltraEdge from UltraSabers:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/100_7046.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/100_7047.jpg

The UltraEdge is a bone stock direct from Ultrasabers blade, while the 3/4" is one that I put together myself. I modified the blade tip on the 3/4" myself so it is lit up as bright as the rest of the blade. It has about 6 feet of polypropylene film installed. Both sabers are running CF soundboard and have the same led settings for 1200,a w/the same flicker settings as well. Both sabers are running Seoul P4's, too.

You'll notice that the white core on the 3/4" blade in the pictures dims a bit in the middle....that is a slight drawback to modifying the blade tip mirror to allow light to pass around it and light up the blade tip. I think it's a fair trade off, and the camera makes it look worse that it does in person. That said, I think Tim's got a real winner here for those of us that prefer 3/4" blades for show/costume sabers rather than dueling.

[Darth Midian]

Thank you Jay for the blade comparison. I think this new blade stock is awesome. I'm looking forward to using it.

[Lord Dottore Matto]

I have found this comparison to be exactly correct. thanks for posting Jay!:mrgreen:

[USJMB]

I have always had really good luck using chrome window tint in the tip of the blade. It allows the light to pass through and still reflects the light so that the color is even. I know some guys at a local auto tint shop and they give me the scrap pieces of the tint.

[eastern57]

Obi-Dar had a great idea to eliminate blade flicker/pulse for taking photos: paused on iSaber. ;)

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Obi-Dar had a great idea to eliminate blade flicker/pulse for taking photos: paused on iSaber. ;)
Yeah, that would certainly do it! I hadn't seen that posted anywhere, though, and just didn't think of it since I rarely ever use iSaber.

[Crystal Chambers]

I'm glad to see this thread but I think the comparison is underselling it. I got a 1" thick walled trans white blade 40" long and...I put it in a lux 3 direct drive saber...no diffuser,film, or tip and it lit up almost perfectly base to tip with very little fade. The tint diffuses so well you can tell it's thickwalled. Can't wait to finish it. The only downside is the pastel look that the white gives some colours. I'm also looking forward to trying it on a white p4 with discs/filters.

[Strydur]

I would like to hear more feedback from people using these without a diffuser or with the corbin film etc as I will then offer to sell complete blades based off the white tubes.

[Darth Midian]

I just ordered two pieces of the new thin walled blade stock today. I'm using them for my first led string experiment, but before I do that I'll put one of them in my kids saber with out any diffuser in the blade and post pics.

[Darth Midian]

I just received my translucent blade stock today. The blade in these pics are not cut down. They're the full lenghth, I believe it's 40 plus inches, and its 1" thin walled. I just put the mirrored tip on it and put it in my wifes saber. There isn't any diffuser in it at all. Her saber has a LuxIII blue, 5 degree lens, cheapo hasbro board and is powered by 4 AAA nimh batteries sold at the shop. The top of the blade looked a little dim, but I'm sure after cutting 10 plus inches off of it, that will make a huge difference. The first pic was taken w/out flash and the second obviousley with the lights out and no flash. I really like this blade stock. This is the stuff I'm going to use from now on. Thank you Tim for finding this stuff. I hope these pics help. Thank you again Tim.

[Crystal Chambers]

My results were similar...it does fade without film/polyp but it carries the colour nicely. The only reason you'd wanna sand them, even a thick walled is too knock out any other light shining on the outer tube. I'll post some pics soon too. I just wish I could show how it looks in what might be my contest saber.

Is it possible to get matching tips? The other ones work ok with the new blades but that would be awesome! I took some test pics with a smaller mirror and you can only see the mirror on a few angles. Otherwise in some pics the tip blends in.

I'd hate to see the other blades phased out but I think these will bring more business from those who buy blades from the competitors. I could see myself using either depending on the colour LED but I have to test them out more.


For a fair comparison to ultra I think it would be best if we could see them with the same size blade and with all of the other specs the same too.

[Jay-gon Jinn]

For a fair comparison to ultra I think it would be best if we could see them with the same size blade and with all of the other specs the same too.
I plan on doing that when my next order arrives....should be over the weekend.

[Jin Ke]

I plan on doing that when my next order arrives....should be over the weekend.

Sweet! I was waiting to here some feedback on these blades before I purchased a few...

[Darth Midian]

OK, same saber, same specs. No diffuser in the blade I just cut it down to 32". Thin walled 1". I was right about cutting down the 10". Light goes to the top with no diffusser. Very awesome blade stock.

[Strydur]

I built and tested a 36" long 1" thin walled tonight as well and was very impressed with how well it lit up. Anyone try the thick walled yet?

[Crystal Chambers]

I got the thick walled...I mean what wall?..lol Can't see the tube at all.

36" thickwalled cyan lux3 resistor 3/4 mirror in tip. No film or polyp. I blacked out the hilt because it's not finished. That makes 4 now. lol I'm not sure how charged the batteries are. I'll charge them and update this post if it differs. I'll also try to post up pics with other LEDs too.
http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad28/Karentoomuch/cyantranswhite.jpg

[Jay-gon Jinn]

I got my thin-walled stock yesterday. I pieced one together using just the stock tube and a blade tip, without a diffuser, and although it lit very well, I didn't like the transparent look it had. I could see the mirror on the tip, and also the bright spot at the emitter where the led is. I'll still be using blade film in mine.

[Jin Ke]

I have a 1' thinwall on the way.... I was thinking about 4 feet of polyp... I figured that should be good since its already diffused a bit... I'll post up a pic later this week, when I get it built....

[Shadar Al'Niende]

I have a 1' thinwall on the way.... I was thinking about 4 feet of polyp... I figured that should be good since its already diffused a bit... I'll post up a pic later this week, when I get it built....

Looking forward to seeing your results as this was my thought as well.

[xl97]

sub to post.. interested in results too.

[Crystal Chambers]

I got my thin-walled stock yesterday. I pieced one together using just the stock tube and a blade tip, without a diffuser, and although it lit very well, I didn't like the transparent look it had. I could see the mirror on the tip, and also the bright spot at the emitter where the led is. I'll still be using blade film in mine.

So true but it's neat to see what it looks like empty. It's a very impressive start to a nice blade. The only down side is you wouldn't be able to get a bright core, so the other blades are still useful.

[Jay-gon Jinn]

The other nice thing about the white blade, though, is if you do use clear gift wrap in them and get a few pet hairs or dirt on the film, it doesn't show as much. ;)

[Jin Ke]

Alright, my blade should be here today... I'll get it built after work, and post some pics tonight...

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Here's one of my 1" TCSS Trans-white thin-walled blades:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/Chrome%20Saber%2027/100_7506.jpg
I like these a bit better than the UltraEdges from Ultrasabers. I modified the blade tip to allow it to light up, and used about 6 feet of polypropylene film as well.

I'll take a couple of comparison pictures in a bit of the two white blades.

EDIT:
Here's the UltraEdge and TCSS Trans-white comparison pics I took:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/100_7507.jpg
UltraEdge on top, TCSS Trans-white on the bottom.

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/100_7508.jpg
UltraEdge on the right, TCSS on the left.

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/100_7509.jpg
UltraEdge on the left, TCSS on the right.

The UltraEdge is installed on Brass saber 2, which is running the low-bin Rebel blue from my earlier Rebel test topic, since it is about the same shade as the blue P4 running in the test stunt saber with the TCSS blade. The Rebel in BS-2 is a bit over driven at 1200ma, and the Seoul P4 is running at 1000ma in the stunt, powered by a Corbin v1 board.

[Jin Ke]

Looks good! Is that a P4 or Rebel Jay? The saber I'm building my blade for is running a P4 white... Looking forward to seeing the results I get... :)


***Edit*** Nevermind... You edited your post with the info... :)

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Looks good! Is that a P4 or Rebel Jay? The saber I'm building my blade for is running a P4 white... Looking forward to seeing the results I get... :)


***Edit*** Nevermind... You edited your post with the info... :)
LOL...Both!

[Crystal Chambers]

Nice pics Jay!
Here's my new pics. Fully charged, resistored. Unfinished hilts are censored.

The first top two are lit with a lux 3 cyan, no film, just a 3/4 mirror in a 1" thick walled trans white blade but to 34".

The middle cyan is the same LED in a 1" thick walled blade cut to 32" with a quad wrap of film and 3-4 feet of poly-p. 3/4 mirror tip

Lastly is the P4 white with a yellow, orange, and green TCSS discs. Same blade. It looks much more even and not even near blue in person.

http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad28/Karentoomuch/transblades.jpg

These pics were taken with no flash. The lighting was very dim from the next room. All use a 10 degree lens.
I have 3 other LEDs but for various reasons wasn't able to get shots this weekend.

The only thing I'm not too crazy about is the lack of texture. They almost light up too perfect. The TCSS blades with diffuser and poly-p leave an outer edge that give a nice glow when sanded and when you use blade film with/without poly-p with a sanding it makes a nice texture/core. I will definitely be using these on some of my sabers depending on the look I'm going for but I'd all too happy if they remain a permanent option from TCSS.

[Jin Ke]

As stated, these blades def need a diffuser.... While they will light up decent, they are still too "see through" to use stock.... As Jay-Gon said, you can clearly see the tip and main led while lit.... As soon as I got the blade I installed the tip, and threw it on.... I'm not even gonna post any pics of it as is now... I'll put film in it later tonight, after the glue on the tip sets a bit.... I'll get up a few pics by the end of the night.... As I said before, this is for my latest build with a P4 white, so you'll see how this will look with about 4 feet of film...

[Crystal Chambers]

I totally agree regarding seeing the mirror and the LED being visible. I just think it's neat that it diffuses as well as it does and that you can't see the tube itself in a thick walled blade.

[HAVOK]

so i decided to go with the 1" thick walled Frosted White blade from the shop, I love I got it today, and Im so happy I went with that blade. I also got the mirrored tip for it. I am so happy with it, it looks fantasic.

It needs no diffuser and its super bright.

check out pics here (rather than posting more pics)
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?p=167856#post167856

[Jin Ke]

Okay....
I ended up using 6 feet, instead of 4..... The glow wasn't where I wanted it to be at 4... Overall, I'm happy with the blade..... IMO it really makes the P4 white "pop" .... :)

Lit room
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc298/jinkexian/sabers/enb.jpg

In the dark
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc298/jinkexian/sabers/enb1.jpg

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Okay....
I ended up using 6 feet, instead of 4..... The glow wasn't where I wanted it to be at 4...
I did one with 4 feet as well, and didn't like it...added another 3 feet to that one inside that and the next three I built I used 6 feet. the one in my pics above was one of the 6 foot film rolls.

[Shadar Al'Niende]

I really appreciate all of your feedback here guys, i usually use Polyp with stock blades as the only diffuser, so this really looks attractive to me! I think i will be ordering a few of these...

[Vlad Doon]

Okay....
I ended up using 6 feet, instead of 4..... The glow wasn't where I wanted it to be at 4... Overall, I'm happy with the blade..... IMO it really makes the P4 white "pop" .... :)

Lit room
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc298/jinkexian/sabers/enb.jpg

In the dark
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc298/jinkexian/sabers/enb1.jpg

Yeeees, That's what I was waiting for. I have my new saber waiting for a blade and I've ordered this transparent white blade with a diffuser and mirrored tip. If my blade lights like yours (it's a white led as well) , so it will make my day.
Thx for the pics. They make the wait until monday easier.