Only two sytles of blade for sale?

[Metallitron]

I keep hearing about xwing's blades and a few other but I only see Corbin's and TCSS blades for sale. Is this simply because they are out of stock or are they sold somewhere else?

[Barmic Rin]

Some people make their own blades.

Tim does sell 4 types (if memory serves).

I have several Tim, Corbin, Do-Clo, Erv & Ultra Blades & I personally love the TCSS Battle blade.

[Metallitron]

Thanks, I am looking for the 1" thin walled blade with some cellophane in it to get that nice even look.

[xwingband]

Correct, TIm (TCSS owner) only sells two... the standard milky white diffuser and Corbin's.

What you can do is buy a Corbin film one and add the cellophane/PolyP/mylar/whatever to get what I've been calling "Erv's style". Erv seems to shy from that so how about "dual-film"?

There is also "Ultra/Gelu's" which is a single film like acetate or PolyP. I'm making a nylon blade also... BUT I will not discuss me or others selling them because I feel it's disrespectful to Tim. I will certainly dicuss how to make them though. Then your still using parts that you can get from TCSS. :)

[Eandori]

I buy all the parts for my blades from TCSS, then add in the cellophane/Polypropolene myself. I even made a video showing the results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyJVyRDm0Y4

Since it's almost entirely using parts from TCSS it's respectful to Tim. He should sell Cellophane wrap.

[Metallitron]

Thanks guys! I saw your youtube video btw Eandori, it really helped.

And I'll do just that xwingband, buy here and add to it later. Thanks again.

[xwingband]

For reference... I've been told that I'm unwilling to put my money where my mouth is... SO:

Follow Eandori's tutorial and replace the PolyC Blade with nylon and that's "my" blade. I use the TCSS tips with mylar just like Erv's tutorials. So if a person wants they can try my nylon blade.

Eandori's tutorial/review is right on.
For thin walled 1" I use a double wrap and 40" of PolyP
For thick walled 1" I use a quad wrap and 32" (or so I measure about there) of PolyP
For thin 3/4" I used a quad wrap and 24" of PolyP (again about there, only the 40" I use for sure as I use the width of my PolyP roll)

[BhujangiJedi]

I got some Highland Supply Corp. Clearphane from Michael's. It is a real pain to work with. The stuff looks just like in Eandori's video. It's smooth and slick, but it seems to stick to itself. I wrap it around the dowel and then put it inside the blade, but it is very difficult to get the dowel out of the wrap. Then the wrap itself gets all stuck to itself and cannot be loosened/unwrapped inside the blade to get it to expand out against the inner walls of the blade. I'm using around 5' - 6' - too much? (I'm using that much b/c I don't have any TCSS film.)

[Novastar]

Experimenting with differing lengths is actually a good idea--it yields different results that end up being more or less ideal for particular LED colors. In example--you might find that "less is better for red" and "more is better for green". I'm not saying that in particular, but I *AM* saying that I've tried differing lengths, and it has an effect on things (naturally).

Working with the "gift wrap" kind of diffuser *IS* a pain if you are just starting out, do not have fairly specific "helper tools" (like the right diameter dowel), and especially tough if you have no patience.

What's worse is... one mistake can ruin the WHOLE bloody thing! As you found out with wrapping the film too tightly. In that case, it will not expand easily enough to "match" the inner diameter of the tube with which you are working.

Keep experimenting. Eventually, you will find the "Step A to Z" method that best works for you. I can safely tell you that... I *STILL* hate making my own blades, because it is both irritating and overly-meticulous. However, the benefit it lends to your saber's illumination is VERY impressive.

If you prefer to skip all that work (which is not *SO* awful in the long run)... see if you can't purchase some blades from ultra. I believe they are $25. You can be the judge if that is too much or just right or whatever.

[Chen]

I buy all the parts for my blades from TCSS, then add in the cellophane/Polypropolene myself. I even made a video showing the results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyJVyRDm0Y4

Since it's almost entirely using parts from TCSS it's respectful to Tim. He should sell Cellophane wrap.I'll be honest. Before this video I'd thought that the cellophane wrap everyone had been talking about was Cling Film.

http://www.marksapnik.co.uk/page-images/clingfilm.jpg

http://www.thingsithrewaway.com/pics/Cling_Film.jpg

http://www.chuan-hwang.com.tw/img/ch-300h2.gif

I feel like a right noggin'

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

Yeah, that stuff is a real pain to roll up in a blade, but if you wrap it around the outside, it will keep your blade fresh and crisp. ;)

[DarthFender]

Obi-Dar, you made me spray orange juice from my nose. (the Snarf as we call it).

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

Excellent! Happy to oblige!

[Sohryu76]

Is there a written out tutorial for doing one of these home made blades?
Id like to try to do my own...
just not sure it wont be worth it to just buy a Corbin Style off of TCSS...
(might be alot less headache! but Im interested in trying out the nylon method too... or even the Erv method...)
I just dont know!

[Malaki Skywalker]

This should help:

http://www.plecterlabs.com/catalog/article_info.php?articles_id=1

This to:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VyJVyRDm0Y4

[Hasid Lafre]

An erv style blade is corbin film and polyP.

[Sohryu76]

cool thanks guys...
i think I read Erv's explanation and i think my eyes glazed over...
maybe im not cut out for blade building... or maybe it was just really really late...

but I will look again!

[Novastar]

Building a good blade (and I mean a complete one from raw materials) is actually relatively tedious work. I wouldn't call it hard... but... it's not easy. More of an experiment in patience and precision rather than a technical super-wonder.

[Sohryu76]

Building a good blade (and I mean a complete one from raw materials) is actually relatively tedious work. I wouldn't call it hard... but... it's not easy. More of an experiment in patience and precision rather than a technical super-wonder.

there we go..
Tim!
I'm buyin a blade...
thanks Nova