Thinking of making a saber for a friend…

[thebigdb]

Hey guys!

1st time post… 1st time padawan/newbie. I just wanted to leave a post, & kind of get an opinion poll on an idea that I have.

I joined here a few days ago, & started making 1 of my 1st sabers. I got into this because I have been doing some house cleaning, & have come along stuff that I had packed up for a few years.

About 3-4 years ago, I came down with cancer… & my life kind of went upside down. Fact is the 1st time that I went in for my 2nd round of chemo, they almost killed me. If I went in, had the surgery… I most likely be okay right now. But the 2nd time that I went in, they gave me too much chemo… & almost turned me into the world’s largest French fry. I still have a lot of problems (nerve related) because of it… but taking it day by day.

I’ve been going through the house doing some house cleaning, & a couple weeks ago, I found a pair of master fx sabers that I had bought on eBay. Both work, but are incomplete & are missing pieces. To be honest… I bought both for just nuts & bolts.

But my 1st question is –

a. Has anybody taken any of the fx sabers (any make & mold), & reshelled them into a new blade? I have seen people do the upgrades, but I haven’t come across someone yet that used 1 for cannon fodder for a custom project. Has anyone used them for something like that before, & what are the pros & cons if you have?

b. And my 2nd question is that I would like to make a blade meant for a woman. I haven’t seen her in a year, but 1 of my friend’s nieces came down with leukemia. She’s doing better, but she has had a rough time. I thought that it would be a nice gesture to make her a personal saber because of the fact that she is a big Star Wars fan. I have to talk to my friend & see what color that she likes before I do anything; I am leaving the color of the blade open at this point, but I might decide to color the hilt a certain color that she might like.

But I was curious to know what parts do you guys think would make a good arrangement for a female blade? The thing is that she is tiny (under 4’11), & I would like to put light & sound in for her.

So can you think of any good arrangements that might look good for her?

Thanks again guys!

Derrick

[cannibal869]

Welcome to the forums!
almost all of the FX sabers can be modified to accept the high power LEDs (such as those sold in the store). It will require the purchase of an adapter / conversion kit, but after installing it, the saber should be able to accept 1" thick blades. There are lots of tutorials floating around here and also at FX-Sabers to help you in this.

As for a "female" blade, you can try for a thinner diameter and/or shorter blade, but other than that, there's really nothing that necessarily "makes" a blade more appropriate for a woman. There are some taller women who are perfectly capable of using long 1" wide blades, and I'm sure there are shorter guys who prefer thinner shorter blades. Judge me by my size, do you? ;)

The real key in my opinion is to come up with a hilt design that she likes, pick a blade color (I find asking what their favorite color is works pretty well), and go from there.

-C

[thebigdb]

*laughs to self* Yeah… you know… I know that I was going to get it about the size thing! *laughs* Years ago when I was still fencing, that was the 1 ‘type’ of person that really watched out for when I spared. A woman that was a lot smaller than me. The reason for it is that they were dangerous as heck! *laughs* (1) They were smaller than me…which made it harder for me to hit, & (2) Unlike most guys that are cool & are just hanging out… women seem to go for the jugular if they are going up against you. So I don’t count them out if they are smaller than me!

I was actually thinking of making her a Yoda type saber because of her size. I think that she is 4’10… 4’9… with maybe 5 inch hands. She’s a tiny little thing. Even before the chemo. I was laughing the last time that I saw her because she came up to give me a hug, & she barely passed my belly button. *laughs* Just to show you her stature.

But I asked my friend to be the in-between & get some info so that I have something to work with. I was just thinking of getting her a shorter blade because i know the length I am comfortable with would be too long for her. I know that she likes Jedi more than Sith, so I am most likely going to stay with the Jedi sound fonts. But before you said anything, I was already holding off on color until I got more info from my friend. Even style… because I don’t know if she would like something more traditional, or more sleek.

But thanks for the feedback & talk to you later!

Derrick