Received my first TCSS parts and....

[Chal'Mek the Grey]

...I am concerned about the durability of the parts. They are thin and lightweight. Can anyone give me a testament to their durability? Are they suitable for dueling?

Admittedly, the parts I received, thus far, were just the pommels, but I would have expected them to have more weight to them, especially for a pommel.

Thanks

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

...I am concerned about the durability of the parts. They are thin and lightweight. Can anyone give me a testament to their durability? Are they suitable for dueling?

Admittedly, the parts I received, thus far, were just the pommels, but I would have expected them to have more weight to them, especially for a pommel.

Thanks

Let me put it this way... I used Apex (you can go search for the saber in the gallery) to do full contact sparring with Novastar (one of a couple of excellent combat saber specialists) a while back. Not the choreographed stuff he normally does, but full contact sparring - and we were NOT taking it easy on each other. Strydur, Madcow and several others were present for that. MHS parts hold up just fine as long as you don't do anything (cutting into threads, boring more space out of parts, etc.) to compromise their integrity.

[JakeSoft]

The reason they are so light is that MHS parts are made of aluminum. Aluminum has a very good strength to weight ratio. It's deceptive, but the parts can take a good beating. I'm sure others with more hardcore dueling experience will chime in here, but I have personally had no problems with MHS parts after several moderate duels. The parts are somewhat easily scratched (unless protect them somehow with powder coating, clear-coat, grip tape, etc.) but not easily bent or broken. The threads are the most vulnerable part that you actually have to be careful with (don't cross-thread or force a piece). It's a good idea to put a dab of grease on the threads to help keep them nice too.

[snilam]

Duel fiercely, have now fear the parts are plenty strong. Just dont do soemthing silly like strike the hilt with a claymore or something

[MrCafe]

I beat the crap out of mine and they still look and work great. Ask my wife I am not a gentle person when it comes to saber sparing. I would say TCSS parts are the best in the business for a reason. Ask any saber smith anywhere on teh internet.

[Bark]

...Aluminum has a very good strength to weight ratio...

10814

[blkmorgan]

I thought the same thing when I got my parts in the mail too. Once you start adding in the electronics and the blade and throw a few coats of paint on it it will feel all sorts of right in your hand.

[Chal'Mek the Grey]

I have worked with 301, 305, 4130, 1035, 1045, 1050, 1065, 1095 carbon steels, bronze, brass, copper, titanium, 6061 aluminium hardened to T3, T6 and T7 (as well as the annealed version.) I have been a metalsmith for the last 11 years and am very familiar with aluminium and its many properties.

Thank you to the others that answered my questions.

[Chal'Mek the Grey]

Let me put it this way... I used Apex

Nice Saber. I like the cross-hatch work. Impressive...
Good to hear that the parts hold up.

[JakeSoft]

10814

You get a gold star for getting the reference! :-)