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killphil
08-19-2007, 12:29 AM
I have been testing some various ways to diffuse blades based on some info I have gleaned from others on these sites and decided to try a combo of a couple different methods.

OK, 1st off, I'm using a stock 1/16 MR blade with a thinwalled Ultra blade tip on top.

I heard that if you sand the outside of the blade, that can be a "poorman's" diffusion, so to speak. I tried that, with less than ideal results. I found that if you sand up and down the blade, it gives a more uniform glow, but if you sand sideways, ala Corbin's film, you get a makeshift blade coring effect.

For this experiment, my blade is using the up and down sanding, but I might try sanding it to see what the coring looks like with my final result.

Once I had sanded the blade evenly with 400 grit sandpaper(I tried 800, but it was too fine and didn't catch the light as well), I tried a makeshift method of diffusion: wax paper. Again, less than ideal. Very large base flare, and it bulbs quite a bit at the top. I didn't even bother with pics for this. Looked pretty cruddy, but at least you couldn't see thru the blade anymore.

Now for my second experiment, I tried a couple ft of Ultra's film, and wow! I can't believe my eyes!

It is perfectly even from base to tip. Extremely bright, and slightly frosty in effect, but still much brighter than any blade diffusion I have seen thus far.

But the most impressive and unbelievable feature I found from this was that you cannot see the wall of the blade. By this, I mean that the "laser beam" starts at the surface of the blade, with no indication whatsoever of the plastic wall that normally "contains" the blade within. It really looks like a beam of light.

I took some pics of all 3 of my blade styles(Corbin quad wrap in thickwall, Ultra's film in thickwall, and my experiment in the MR blade with Ultra's thinwall tip and 2 ft of Ultra's film)

I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

Corbin, day setting, medium flash:

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture036.jpg

Corbin, night setting, medium flash:

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture035.jpg

Corbin, night setting, lowest flash:

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture040.jpg

Ultra, day setting, medium flash

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture032-1.jpg

Ultra, night setting, medium flash:

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture033.jpg

Ultra, night setting, lowest flash:

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture031.jpg

And here's my experiment, day setting, medium flash:

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture037.jpg

Mine, Night setting medium flash:

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture038.jpg

And mine again, night setting, lowest flash:

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture039.jpg

As you can see, there are no indications of the plastic wall as the light emanates from the surface or the plastic itself. Also, you will notice that it has the LEAST amount of base and tip flair, regardless of the camera setting used.

Now I contructed this blade in less than ideal settings, so there is contamination in the blade and the sanding could be a little more even, but I think this at least proves it is a feasible and do-able concept.

Let me know what you think.

neophyl
08-19-2007, 02:43 AM
Thats funny as just from looking at your pics the ultra blade has the least amount of base flare and tip bulbing. Its also the most evenly lit with yours coming between Corbins and Ultras.

xwingband
08-19-2007, 06:49 AM
So the one you like experimenting with is a sanded blade with Ultra film? and you like it because the it makes the light seem more like it's coming from the surface?

If so I have many suggestions... sanding does suck. It's a bit of work and often uneven. I'd suggest getting Krylon Matte Spray. This is by far the easiest for immitating the sanding, and it's easy to get. Another possibility would be find a place that would sand/beadblast the blade... I still want to try that.

Also another idea I tried briefly that is that same aim is 1" 1/16" walled nylon. Then throw in any blade film to even out the blemishes of the nylon... it has the blade surface eminating and is tremendously even.

pockets
08-19-2007, 07:58 AM
im really happy with my ultrablade

Jay-gon Jinn
08-19-2007, 09:37 AM
I'm planning on sanding one of my blades as well, I like the appearance of the blade looking more like a solid beam of energy, not a light inside a tube.

Er Dan Gill
08-19-2007, 10:08 AM
My Dad and I sanded our blades using 800 grit wet sand paper in the bathtub. Definitely made a difference in the looks of the blade to me.

killphil
08-19-2007, 01:20 PM
Thats funny as just from looking at your pics the ultra blade has the least amount of base flare and tip bulbing. Its also the most evenly lit with yours coming between Corbins and Ultras.

Trust me, my blade is far more even than the Ultra. Pics annot do it justice, but simply look at my day setting pics, as mine has a near even color from top to bottom, while the others have a noticeable base flair. This is really evident in person.

@ X-Wing-I'm def open to suggestion, but I might not be the guy to implement them. I have less than ideal settings and tools. I just thought it was a neat experiment and hope to inspire someone with more resources and experience than myself to give it that polished, proffessional feel to it. I will say this is easily the best way to diffuse a blade that I've ever seen, though I still want to see a Erv style dual film blade before I commit to that statement.

goldsaberwarrior
08-19-2007, 01:23 PM
No offense but I don't think it looks that good. Anyway all new things have to start somewhere.

killphil
08-19-2007, 01:28 PM
What doesn't look good about it? I thought it photo'd real well.

goldsaberwarrior
08-19-2007, 01:32 PM
I mean i don't care that much for the day setting. Doesn't look lit enough to me.

killphil
08-19-2007, 01:36 PM
That's just the nature of that setting. All blades do not look lit in that setting. What I was pointing out was the even-ness of the color(not the brightness as it's portrayed in the pic, cuz believe me, in real life, it's there).

It's just the most accurate pic in demonstrating the even-ness of the blade. The overexposed ones should indicate how bright they are, and if you look close on any of them, you'll notice no indication of the walls of the blade.

xwingband
08-19-2007, 01:51 PM
Phil, I need to order from mcmasters soon so I'll get you pics of my nylon blade soon. If you like it I'll just send it along.

killphil
08-19-2007, 02:06 PM
Sounds good. Aren't nylon blades what Hyperdyne uses? I'm pretty sure this isn't the 1st I've heard of them...

Jedi Ranger
08-19-2007, 05:59 PM
Yes, Hyperdyne uses nylon dual-tube blades. I have one, but not installed it yet.

neophyl
08-19-2007, 11:13 PM
I must be seeing different pics to you then as just looking at the ones you have posted show that the middle set (ultra according to your description) is more evenly lit. You say your pics are true to life well its plain to see.

killphil
08-20-2007, 12:31 AM
I must be seeing different pics to you then as just looking at the ones you have posted show that the middle set (ultra according to your description) is more evenly lit. You say your pics are true to life well its plain to see.

You're putting words in my mouth. I never said the pics are true to life. Anyone who has ever seen a blade knows these are not true to life.

I said the day setting with flash shows more even-ness than the Ultra and it does in those pics, and it is much more even and brighter than the Ultra in person. Here are some more, all taken at the same time. the Ultra pics I showed yesterday were pics I had taken awhile back, but at the settings I needed, but I was lazy and didn't want to take new pics, but here are some more anyway, all taken just now, all at the same settings from same angle and distance.

With flash, Ultra on left, experiment on right:

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture045.jpghttp://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture043.jpg

Without flash, Ultra left, experiment right:

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture047.jpghttp://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/gambitholic/Picture049.jpg

Less base flair on my blade and the even-ness is probably the best I've seen. Also, since the whole blade lights up, there is a larger diameter, so more space to disperse light.

Hasid Lafre
08-20-2007, 02:15 AM
I dont see the blade wall on yours. Tell me hows the outer blade glow on your project blade there?

pockets
08-20-2007, 05:17 AM
I dont see the blade wall on yours. Tell me hows the outer blade glow on your project blade there?

read the first post?

Novastar
08-20-2007, 01:59 PM
One thing is for certain... on thin-walled blades vs. thick-walled blades of the same diffusion type... the thin-walled will indeed capture more light.

Just to be certain--I would like to know if we're comparing thin-walled to thick-walled here.

Although--I'm all for testing and experiments, and I agree that "frosting" and/or sanding a blade can improve overall evenness. In fact, sometimes it helps for the blades to "catch" inside of slide off one another!! :)

killphil
08-20-2007, 05:36 PM
Just to be certain--I would like to know if we're comparing thin-walled to thick-walled here.



I have been testing some various ways to diffuse blades based on some info I have gleaned from others on these sites and decided to try a combo of a couple different methods.

OK, 1st off, I'm using a stock 1/16 MR blade with a thinwalled Ultra blade tip on top.


I took some pics of all 3 of my blade styles(Corbin quad wrap in thickwall, Ultra's film in thickwall, and my experiment in the MR blade with Ultra's thinwall tip and 2 ft of Ultra's film)

Novastar
08-21-2007, 11:56 AM
Ok... thin-walled vs. thick-walled. Got it.

Eandori
08-21-2007, 03:38 PM
In my opinion, the experiment blade on the right definitely looks better. All personal opinion though.

On that note, there still seems to be a large amount of flare at the hilt which I'm not a fan of. I much prefer a very evenly lit blade the entire way up.

xwingband
08-21-2007, 04:11 PM
Given that the left is Ultra's which in person doesn't have noticable flare... I'd say the right one is pretty danged even. :)

Novastar
08-21-2007, 04:28 PM
Ultra's looks pretty much like the one on the right when it is a thin-walled blade.

Granted, yes, sanding the outside of a blade will somewhat visually "remove" the outer edge of the blade and cause it to catch more light.

When I've tried this, it can tend to dull the color in my opinion, but then again I haven't taken photos of them--I simply looked at the differences.

vortextwist
08-21-2007, 04:34 PM
I like the flare with evenness.

killphil
08-22-2007, 03:02 AM
Ultra's looks pretty much like the one on the right when it is a thin-walled blade.

Granted, yes, sanding the outside of a blade will somewhat visually "remove" the outer edge of the blade and cause it to catch more light.

When I've tried this, it can tend to dull the color in my opinion, but then again I haven't taken photos of them--I simply looked at the differences.

The experimental blade was a thinwalled Ultrablade before. I can definetly say that the new look is an improvement.

And the sanding completely removes the outer edges.

To compensate for the color dulling, I simply used less film. ALOT less. I'd say there is maybe 2 feet of Ultra's film in there: 4-5 revolutions.

Firebird21
08-22-2007, 04:46 AM
I don't have much time to make a big post, but I did sandblast the inside of one of my blades and I gotta say, if used with Tim's diffuser it doesn't looks half bad!

Doing the inside of the blade will give you the same "solid" look you're looking for but you don't have to worry about defects after dueling.


Here's some pics...

Stock...
http://www.yankeetoys.org/lee/Blue2.jpg

After Sandblasting with "Black Beauty"
http://www.yankeetoys.org/lee/Blue1.jpg

And, while the pics are dark, the texture shown is true to life. The grain is what you see when you hold it in your hand.

Again this is the INSIDE of the blade sandblasted with Tim's diffuser.

killphil
08-22-2007, 04:57 AM
On the inside. That's interesting. Could I see a pic of the entire length of the blade?

Luke-SkyMarcher
08-22-2007, 11:14 AM
The inside. hmm, that's interesting. You may have noticed the similar experiment I did, phil: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3041
My idea is that if this idea of getting rid of the look of a tube with the blade inside it can be made to work, than 3/4" thick wall blades can become common for LED sabers, making blades lighter for one, and for another, it opens up flexiblility in OD's of custom machined hilt designs. Of course there will still be those who prefer 1" blades.


I'd suggest getting Krylon Matte Spray.

I've also been thinking it would be great if there was some kind of rubberized spray with which we could spray the outside of the blade, for the express purpose of keeping the blades from sliding on each other.

Firebird - approximately how much did the sandblasting run you?

Firebird21
08-22-2007, 01:23 PM
Sorry, I don't have any pics of the entire blasted blade, but it's not much different than the "stock" one in regards to flare and evenness.


As for the cost, it didn't cost me anything; I had the blaster and the sand.

I think you can pick up my sandblaster for about $20, and the sand depends on what media you use and how much you get. I think I used about a pound on mine, but if you have a recovery system you can use even less by reusing it. (like blasting into a bucket with a cover) All my sand ended up in the back yard...

You could try asking a local Auto Body shop or Machine shop if you can fill a coffee can for $5 or something, they may even let you borrow the blaster, but I wouldn't count on it... Go to your local auto parts store, they should have one. You just need an air compressor.



This is the one I have… $61.99
http://www.jcwhitney.com/wcsstore/jcwhitney/images/imagecache/G_17604G_CL_1.jpg (http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product?storeId=10101&Pr=p_Product.CATENTRY_ID%3A2007604&TID=231000000&TID=231000000&productId=2007604&catalogId=10101)


Here’s a cheaper one... $29.95

http://static.zoovy.com/img/usfreight/-/9108eairsandblaster.jpg (http://toolprice.net/product/9108E?META=nextag-9108E)

(Photo links)

Novastar
08-22-2007, 01:24 PM
Firebird--I've seen some sandblasted blades, and I agree they are nice--especially from the inside, as you say!

Problem is... I don't have access to one, and I could be wrong but... are they expensive?

EDIT: Sweet, Firebird... although bummer I don't have an air compressor. Still--good ideas though, and possibly better than me just sanding down the outside of the blade by hand...

Firebird21
08-22-2007, 01:46 PM
Firebird--I've seen some sandblasted blades, and I agree they are nice--especially from the inside, as you say!

Problem is... I don't have access to one, and I could be wrong but... are they expensive?


I edited my previous post...

Barmic Rin
08-22-2007, 02:33 PM
Still--good ideas though, and possibly better than me just sanding down the outside of the blade by hand...

I kinda like the outer-sanded blade I done, though i've yet to see a full length one. May not look too great.

Firebird21
08-22-2007, 02:59 PM
Other than surface texture, sanding the inside or the outside will look almost exactly the same.

The biggest difference, the one that has me sold on the inside method, is durability. If you sand the outside, you have to do it again every time you hit something... ie. another blade. This is not an issue with sanding (or blasting) the inside.

However, it is considerably more difficult to sand the inside rather than the outside. But you only have to do it once.

Novastar
08-22-2007, 03:01 PM
Every time?

I don't know... I have an outside-sanded blade and it doesn't need to be re-done after every usage. In fact, I haven't touched it since I sanded the blade, although it's been used a good amount in my classes by the young'ins... ;)

killphil
08-23-2007, 01:36 AM
yeah, I haven't had to re-sand my blade-yet-but I have dualed a little with it, so I imagine that it would eventually be regular maintenance...

Proximal
08-24-2007, 01:35 PM
I dig the sandblasting. I'm interested in seeing pics of inner blasting with diffusion and without. I wonder if it even becomes necessary to have a diffuser in smaller blades (like a yoda 28"). It may be even enough without one. Firebird, If you could post full pics of both it would be great.

Jay-gon Jinn
08-24-2007, 10:17 PM
I like the sandblasting idea too. I may try something similar this weekend. I've been playing with Corbin's diffuser and Ultra's film and also some cellophane gift wrap and getting good results with it.

Jay-gon Jinn
08-26-2007, 10:28 AM
I haven't tried sanding one yet, but here's a one inch thin-walled blade that I have a double wrap of Corbin's film (for a 3/4" blade, so it doesn't quite go around twice) and about 5 feet of cellophane gift wrap rolled up in as well:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/My%20Polished%20Brass%20MHS%20and%20Sinktube%20Sab er/000_0124.jpg

I had to readjust the settings on the camera, but this almost exactly what it looks like in person.

Stinky Bantha
08-26-2007, 11:53 AM
Looks great Jay-gon, that's really even. I'm definitely going to try out the cellophane.

Hasid Lafre
08-26-2007, 08:59 PM
yep mine looks almost like that do but my "u;tra" style film is messed up.

Ravage179
08-27-2007, 08:20 AM
I tried sanding down one of my mr blades it looks pretty cool, my observation tho seems to be that it looks better with the cool colors ie. blue, green, purple, it softens up and makes the red, red orange, and amber kinda pastel like. cool but i think i'll stick to cellophane I like it the best.

Jay-gon Jinn
08-28-2007, 09:20 AM
I added a double wrap of Corbin diffuser with a full roll of Ultrafilm into a 3/4" blade:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/3-4-blade-film-test-2.jpg
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/3-4-blade-film-test-1.jpg
These are as close as true-to-life as I could get them, and next to the one inch thin-walls, look to be as bright and evenly lit to my eyes.

Hasid Lafre
08-29-2007, 04:56 AM
did you put corbins film on the outside of the "ultra" film?

Jay-gon Jinn
08-29-2007, 08:43 AM
did you put corbins film on the outside of the "ultra" film?

Yup. It results in a much more uniform blade than using either one seperately.

Hasid Lafre
08-29-2007, 09:11 AM
Yeah I had second doutes about mine so I took the last of the "ultra" film out and stuck it in my tcss blade with nylon diffuser. Iam prolly gonna do it again if tim gets a nylon style for the thinwalled blades.

But Iam still not happy with any blade setup. Iam not sure if Iam gonna be happy with any blade diffusion.

Novastar
08-29-2007, 11:17 AM
did you put corbins film on the outside of the "ultra" film?

Yup. It results in a much more uniform blade than using either one seperately.That's odd... when I tried it, it didn't seem to affect things all that much. Hmm... well, I guess this goes to show that many things come into play regarding light diffusion, and one of them is even opinion! :)

Maybe I should try again. Jay-Gon what the heck made it much more even do you think? I couldn't hardly tell the difference unless I was 6 inches away.

Hasid Lafre
08-29-2007, 11:21 AM
A double wrap of corbins with about 4 foot of "ultra" style stuff. it takes part of the flare out of the bottem and helps with the dim-ness twards the tip end.

But you can still slightly see the core effect and it gives a better ignition retract effect than without corbins film.

something about his style of film makes the ignition retract effect alot better than any thing else.

Novastar
08-29-2007, 01:03 PM
The ignition is helped by the horizontal grooves. It's basically a visual trick, since the horizontal grooves wrap circularly around the blade. So, in the center, the light appears most concentrated to our eyes.

Oh well, I've tried it (essentially) as described and haven't seen much of a difference. Except (as mentioned) when looking from about 6 inches away. Maybe it's my old eyes.

killphil
08-29-2007, 01:57 PM
did you put corbins film on the outside of the "ultra" film?

Yup. It results in a much more uniform blade than using either one seperately.

Which is the combination Erv and Gelu use, and I've heard alot that this is, indeed, the most even and bright diffusion short of sanding the blade.

Wonder what it might look like if you sanded the inside of the blade tube and used half as much Corbin and Ultra to compensate for the loss of light you would get from the sanding?

If I had the means to sand the inside of the blade, I would try it out in a second.



But Iam still not happy with any blade setup. Iam not sure if Iam gonna be happy with any blade diffusion.

To tell you the truth, I would be perfectly satisfied with Ultra's film if it were not for the ease of crinkling while dueling. Once this happens, you're pretty much screwed unless you wanna remove the film and try re-rolling it, but this is a pain. Wish the stuff was a little more duelable...

Hasid Lafre
08-29-2007, 03:28 PM
Well with ultras after a while it will perma crinkle. but yeah that crinkling on an impact does annoy me.

Anyone with celophain have this same problem?

AS for the sanding the blade thing. I heard that if you sand in an up and down motion it gives an even nell like ultras. if you circle sand it it gives a corbin film effect to a point.

I would try a circling moting with a rapid up and down motion. Easyer with say a gun barrel cleaner on a drill with someone holding it while you move the blade up down whatever really fast.

Jay-gon Jinn
08-29-2007, 09:01 PM
From what I can tell Hasid, Ultrafilm and cellophane are virtually identical. I have both on my table right now. Both are full of static making either one a PITA to roll up and both also have that chrome look when rolled.

As far as evening the blade out, I had a gradual fade with the double wrap of Corbin's film alone, and with the Ultrafilm alone, it was fairly uniformly lit, but you could see any imperfection in the film. Combining the two gets the best of both worlds, IMO. The Corbin helps hide the imperfections in the Ultrafilm/celophane, and the Ultrafilm/cellophane helps to even out the Corbin film. Or, it's just I'm seeing what I want to see! :D

Jay-gon Jinn
08-29-2007, 09:07 PM
Nova, the difference might be that I'm using thin-walled blades and I'll bet you have thick-walled, that may have something to with it....maybe....

Hasid Lafre
08-30-2007, 04:46 AM
Yeah, well so much for that idea.

Is there a style of film that dosent have any static to it at all?

Novastar
08-30-2007, 02:16 PM
Nova, the difference might be that I'm using thin-walled blades and I'll bet you have thick-walled, that may have something to with it....maybe....True, I should try doing that setup in some of my thin-walled blades. Oops... forgot! :)

As to static, I simply use a long dowel to wrap the film around before inserting it, and also use gloves or cleanly washed/soaped fingers to keep my fingerprints "dry" and only touch the ends of the film.

Works for me with little to no imperfections in the film: on one end where I touch... it's going into the hilt 2" or so... at the end where the tip is, I end up using clear packing tape to further secure the tip, so it's no big deal.

Hasid Lafre
08-30-2007, 04:21 PM
I tryed that once and I ended up having water spots all over my "ultra" film.

Novastar
08-30-2007, 10:40 PM
I wrapped myself about 6 blades so far (testing some thin-walled setups)... no splotches as of yet.

Although, I did mess up one wrap since I was also using reflective tape near the bottom of the blade (something Corbin taught me about, which I really liked) where it is to go into the emitter, and I sort of "caught" the film a bit. It's crinkled a little bit down near the emitter, but I'll give $100 to whomever can tell when the saber is in use... AND yet another $100 if they can tell on video or when they are more than 3 feet away.

Thus far, no audience member has wanted to stand (for example)... 3 feet away from Necrolosis... or Cael... or Novastar. This would be what we call *TOO* interactive for a show. :)

Jay-gon Jinn
08-31-2007, 08:49 AM
What I do for the static is roll the film up on a bath towel that I sprayed with end dust to catch the dust, and to help reduce the static charge of the film. I also wipe the top side of the film as I roll it with a rag with end dust on it, too. It helped a lot with keeping big pieces of dust or whatever off the film.

xwingband
09-06-2007, 06:44 AM
Pics later, but let me say I'm totally impressed with a blade I just made.

1" 1/16" walled nylon, TCSS tip, mirrored mylar for tip mirror, wrap of corbin's, and 35cm of PolyP.

I'd also like to say stop using mylar. Maybe it was my mylar but the thickness made it such a pain... the PolyP is so much more pliable. It made wrapping it a dream. It's no wonder I totally hated wrapping mylar...

My impressions though: nylon makes the light come off the surface and erv style film construction makes it even. I'm going to send it to a customer, but if reception is well I'm going to use it on all of my blades where people value evenness.

xwingband
09-06-2007, 07:20 AM
http://www.incomsabers.com/images/nylon1.jpg

Me likee. :D :shock:

Dim lit room no flash.

killphil
09-07-2007, 06:33 AM
Nice. I need to get me one of those...

Jonitus
09-07-2007, 08:47 AM
Where'd you get the nylon from? I'd like to try this experiment myself!

xwingband
09-07-2007, 09:47 AM
I ordered from mcmaster.com It's comparible to PolyC in price. I order from them for a lot of odds and ends... like I needed a weird metric screw and they had it.

Jonitus
09-07-2007, 09:58 AM
I figured it was mcmaster. I should have asked this in my previous question - what stuff did you buy? What's the mcmaster part number?

xwingband
09-07-2007, 11:32 AM
8628K67 White Nylon 6/6 Tube Tight Tolerance, 1" OD, 7/8" ID, 5' Length

I don't think thick-walled nylon would look as good, but there is a compromise in every blade I've ever made.

EDIT: I'm trying Erv's blades now, but I mostly stuck with that as my first film because Corbin's texture got rid of the natural blotches of the nylon. I've gotten two tubes so far and both always have nasty looking blotches if you light them nylon alone. I'm not sure how well PolyP (or whatever film) would work alone, but SOME type of film is needed to even the "complection" and evenness of light.

Jonitus
09-07-2007, 12:27 PM
Forgive all the questions, but is rigid nylon structurally sound enough to withstand dueling?

I know Jim uses nylon in his hyperblades, but let's not beat the dead horse about his blades and duelability.

xwingband
09-07-2007, 01:02 PM
It's okay. It's not like acrylic... is doesn't shatter. So in the sense of would I be afraid of wacking it around, not really. That is the worst downside to it that I can think of... just like the TCSS diffuser after serious dueling it will show dents and damage as white spider vein sort of things.

I don't think it's that bad though. If you are dueling that hard you'd eventually want to replace a PolyC blade too from the scratches and blemishes it would get.

Nylon bends before it breaks so in extreme dueling it probably be better in a way. It may not take the same amount of impact, but it would fold instead of sending potential shards your way.

I wouldn't beat the dead horse on hyperblades either. The problem is not the blade itself so much as what's in it. :wink:

Hasid Lafre
09-07-2007, 01:42 PM
Ya know I love how tims blades look with the nylon tube inside. but it just needs a little more....something to stand out better.

Novastar
09-07-2007, 07:16 PM
I wonder how diffusing Tim's with (fill in the blank.... Corbin's, Erv's, Ultra's, Gelu's, etc. etc.) would be?

I guess I could try it, as I have both.

I imagine someone ELSE has done this.... LOOOONNG AGO!

Hasid Lafre
09-08-2007, 10:09 AM
well on my 33" thickwalled blade I got tims diffuser with 3foot of ultras film in it and for reds and such it lihts up really well. I was impressed with it actually. but with blues greens not so well.

supertrogdor
09-10-2007, 07:43 AM
when you are wrapping pp film you need to remember that different colors require different quantities. I have 3 nearly identical blades with the exception of how much film i have in each of them. The red LED seems to do best with more and a filtered white (currently lee filtered purple) is optimal with the least amount of film, while my green does best with somewhere inbetween the two quantities. Don't hesitate to experiment with how much crud you are throwing in your blades, film is exceptionally inexpensive and you may just suprise yourself when you add or chop off 6 inches or so of your total length, the beauty of pp film is that you can always chuck it back in the middle without significantly noticeable differences in blade appearance. Perhaps this is a faction where a lumen rating may mean something, as those of us who have built a few sabers can attest, reds and greens react to our eyes better, but with a well constructed blade it matters very little in what color you choose.

Luke-SkyMarcher
10-05-2007, 01:01 PM
Hey Firebird, what grit did you use when sandblasting your blade?

Steeljack
10-05-2007, 05:30 PM
I have 3 nearly identical blades with the exception of how much film i have in each of them. The red LED seems to do best with more and a filtered white (currently lee filtered purple) is optimal with the least amount of film, while my green does best with somewhere inbetween the two quantities.

...

Perhaps this is a faction where a lumen rating may mean something, as those of us who have built a few sabers can attest, reds and greens react to our eyes better, but with a well constructed blade it matters very little in what color you choose.

My guess is that it's got less to do with lumen rating per se than with the refractive index of different colors. Different wavelengths of light are bent to differing when passing through same material transition. Red bends the least, violet bends the most, and green is somewhere in between. See the Wikipedia entry on optical dispersion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispersion_%28optics%29) for details and an illustration.

This lines up neatly with your observations: you need more material to diffuse red, the least for purple, and a middling amount for green.

Novastar
10-06-2007, 12:31 AM
*EXCELLENT* post Steeljack... I love it when I see posts like this, hehehe...

Another consideration, albeit possibly small, would be the material/chemicals that make up the cellophane/gift wrap itself, and which wavelengths they will "lean" toward reflecting/refracting... and which they will "let through"...

It's true that it can't be all THAT bad, but I would imagine there must be SOME bias--especially when we're speaking from Joe X who buys Store Y's film... and Anakin Z who buys Store Watto's film...

No jedi mind tricks here... just getting down to the nitty gritty of light!!!

Eandori
10-06-2007, 09:39 PM
That is a very interesting point/observation. I believe it's entirely possible too. That different wavelengths of light are bent more/less in different materials. That question was the essence of my other thread, Blade Evenness versus Color (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3321)

I was originally asking why nearly all the red saber pictures had more flaring then other colors. Then I built a saber myself and had red MORE even then my green was. But based on the information you linked above that could easily be due to my blade filters being (biased) for red more then green. Makes perfect sense to me and sounds very plausible.

Leigh
11-10-2007, 02:21 AM
I've been messing about with my blade & so far this is the result:

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i246/LJH74/0024-1.jpg

There's NO diffuser fitted in this blade.

The one on the left is the unmollested Anakin FX jobbie.
I used 180 grit rubbing down paper on the inside of the tube & 2000 grit (very fine) on the outside, Just dulls it down a bit :)

Edit, Pic taken with a cheep digital camera, No flash, Standard shutter speed In a daylit room.
Oh & its a 3w :)

Stinky Bantha
11-18-2007, 02:14 PM
Has anyone tried the polypropylene center wrap along with Tim's diffuser tube? I think I'm gonna go pick some up in a couple of days and wanted to see what kind of results people have gotten.

Novastar
11-20-2007, 02:48 AM
I was originally asking why nearly all the red saber pictures had more flaring then other colors. Then I built a saber myself and had red MORE even then my green was. But based on the information you linked above that could easily be due to my blade filters being (biased) for red more then green. Makes perfect sense to me and sounds very plausible.(Underlining above by me)

I thought about this some more, and at first I was puzzled. Then, it hit me... :) As far as *I'VE* been able to discern when I was researching cameras (to get a good low-light level one)... most of the extensive "nerdy detail" reviews with special color charts, and tests with varying exposure levels, etc. etc... showed that MOST CAMERAS LEAN TOWARD RED.

In other words, there is a certain "bias" that camera designers lean toward in color "balancing". Well, it isn't BALANCED at all. In fact, to simplify, it's more like 40% red, 35% blues and 25% greens. I'm sure there are reasons for this... but it again leads me to say (which I think I mentioned before):

When comparing sabers, you absolutely MUST isolate EVERYTHING except for the quality/detail you're trying to compare.

Basically, if I take 10 pictures with camera X in lighting Y from distance Z...
...well, if we ship that same saber to Bob Smith...
...and he takes the "same" 10 photos/angles with camera A in lighting B from distance C...

...you might actually see some WEIRD results. Maybe Bob's set of photos look astoundingly bright. Maybe mine suck monkey eggs.

Ok monkeys don't lay eggs. You get the jist everyone. Be careful... cameras LIE. :)

pipster79
11-20-2007, 05:04 AM
lol monkey eggs....I normaly say monkey spunk, but thats just as funny, lol

Ghostbat
11-20-2007, 09:54 AM
I come from a photography background and what Novastar says is very true. It actually mostly stems from Kodak who made their film with a red/yellow bias as it made skin look better and outdoor shots look cheerier. Most film companies followed suit for their standard consumer films (100, 200, 400) with AGFA being even warmer tone! Fuji favored blues and greens making their films a little cool, better for architectural or indoor shots with less people in them.

I personally always preferred Fuji but I avoided portraiture in favor of product and architectural photography. I have often been accused of coming back from vacation and making wherever I went look like people don't live there :)

Hasid Lafre
11-20-2007, 10:40 AM
Hello

Ok.

Tcss blade with very minor sanding inside the diffusertube and outside of the blade to get rid of some blemishes that I put into it when I smacked a concreat step.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb168/Sidneyious/Lightsaber%20Pics/TCSSstylebladewithlightsanding.jpg

Then this is with maybe 3 foot of polyP inside the same blade.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb168/Sidneyious/Lightsaber%20Pics/SD530359.jpg

No flash. the flower option was selected, and there wasent enought light in the room to make a difference in the image.

Iam gonna do more of this style as soon as tim gets some of the same tcss style tube for the thinwalled blades.

But for the sanding inside the diffuser tube iam gonna get a gun barrel cleaner and attach it to a drill and do it that way.

Oh and that blade was a thickwalled at 33 total inches and a mirror in the tip that has some of the backing missing.

EDIT

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb168/Sidneyious/Lightsaber%20Pics/TCSSstyleBladewithPolyPinlitroomnof.jpg

Another for some giggles.

this is the same settings. No flash with the flower selected but this time in a lit room.

I would say lit enought to make visibility enought to se the specs in the paint on the walls.

Sorry about the slight fuzz of the pic hand must of moved a bit mid shuter click.