A Sith Saber

[hapki]

Working on a Sith saber alongside some other projects. Did some etching today. The last one is a little out of focus, but it shows how much difference a little aluminum black can make.
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[Therion Jinn]

Definitely some nice etching.
Hilt's looking good, too

[hapki]

I used aluminum black to add some color. I sealed it with clear spray paint.
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I used acid etching to create the outline of the claw marks, and then I drilled the rest of the way through. A pulsing red light will filter through the holes. Sound will also vent through them.

[Silver Serpent]

Those claw marks look great.

[hapki]

Thanks. I'm not liking the black though. I think I'll go back to the silver/aluminum.

[rlobrecht]

Very nice.

[Tom Tilmon]

The black looks sithy! I like it. Nice etching. Someday, I'd like to try some etching.

Tom

[Therion Jinn]

Nice detail work

[hapki]

I made some changes to the design. This one has back story about a Sith apprentice who had a run-in with a Dathomir viper. It has some claw marks. Covered with metal band-aids. Sorta. Lots more to do, but here's the progress so far...
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[hapki]

I blackened it with aluminum black. The only problem is that the black keeps developing a white residue. Some sort of oxidation, maybe? I keep wiping it off. If I can ever get it to stay black, I'll add a clear coat to seal it.
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The claw marks re a little too shiny, but I can dull them easy enough.

[Tom Tilmon]

Where does one buy "aluminum black"? I like the look of this saber.

Tom

[hapki]

I got mine from Amazon.com. It isn't paint, interestingly enough. It reacts with the metal to result in a black color. I have trouble with the black rubbing off, unfortunately. They say you can seal it with clear coat, but I haven't had much luck with it so far. I'm going to keep applying, rubbing off the white residue that forms overnight, and then reapplying. I hope the white residue will finally stop appearing. Then I'll seal it to prevent rub-off.

[hapki]

I am beginning to appreciate weathering as a form of art. More fine tuning done today...
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[Darkmatter73]

Hapki, great work! I use Alu black quite a bit. Water will neutralize the chemical reaction completely. What I do is get the parts looking how I want them, run it under water, and air dry them. If you let it sit, it is still reacting with the aluminum.
Weathering is what I do =)

-Darkmatter73

[hapki]

Thanks for the tip. That’s gonna help me out a lot!

[hapki]

I added a panel to the "cover".
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Still more to do...

[darth_chasm]

Looking good hapki

[hapki]

The panel on the side of the saber comes off to allow full access to the core. Here's how that works:
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I'm using a 28mm bas speaker in the pommel. I'm using a stereo amp and different kind of bass speaker as well. The idea is not to make it louder but instead to get a richer, fuller sound. You can see the second speaker hidden in the chassis here:
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[hapki]

The aluminum black kept wiping off, and I couldn't get a good seal. I decided to use black for accents only. I also painted the chassis/electronics mount. I'll be wiring in a deep red/red/amber copper nova soon. I'm still using the stereo amp with two speakers. I finally decided to have an external kill key/R.I.C.E. port using Activation Box 15.
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[hapki]

The rectangular shape seemed more Sith-like. I don't know why.
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[Anvil]

very cool. im really wanting to do some etching on a build

[Tom Tilmon]

Looking good!

[darth_chasm]

DC approved. Not that means anything :p

[Therion Jinn]

Definitely a unique-looking hilt here.
Nice work

[hapki]

I'm finally finished with this saber. I put the CFv7.5 in it, because I wanted the pulse effect. I'm OK with the way the saber turned out, but I'm not terribly thrilled about it. I need to be done with it though. I do like the cool lava-looking effect from the pulse. I used leftover blade foam (neopixel) to diffuse the light.

The story behind this saber is that a master sent his apprentice to steal the egg from a Dathomirian viper. These vicious creatures only spawn eggs once every 500 standard years, and they are believed to enhance force abilities. The apprentice failed to retrieve the egg. Worse, the viper clawed his saber right out of the apprentice's hand. When he returned to his master, he got sent him back to fight the viper with only the Force. The master intended the mission to be a death sentence. The apprentice sought revenge. The apprentice returned, not with the egg, but also with his retrieved-but-damaged saber, a captured spawnling, and the skin of a slaughtered Dathomirian viper. It's told that such a skin has mystical properties and can withstand the blade of a lightsaber. What if one used such a skin in construction of a new saber....

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This video shows the pulse...
https://youtu.be/bp_bHP5_PdM

[Greenie]

This saber is a beauty. The etching and claw damage is awesome and that backstory conjures some great imagery. :cool:

Greenie.

[Tom Tilmon]

Its a very cool saber. I love it, and the backstory.

Tom