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Zhi-don
05-03-2006, 06:25 AM
I just wanted to give you guys my take on LED blades. I've been dueling with Lightsabers since the toys came out. Of course, they broke pretty quick. I went to the 1/16 inch walled, 40 inch x 3/4 EL blades next. Pretty good looking, but acted like a whip. Bent way too much. These were Jedi Loreen's [Lori] first EL blades. I got a Parks 1/8 wall, 40 inch x 3/4 next. Didn't bend as much...good. Black line in the blade because of the paper...bad. Cap came flying off and hit someone...bad. Moisture got in and the edges started shorting out...small back spots...bad. Then Lori got new 3/4 inch x 1/8 inch walled EL blades made....much better. Dueled with these a lot. Still whipping a little, but not too much. Can't lock up with shinai, because the blade bends too much under stress.

Then someone brought in a MR saber. Nice light...good sound. Short blade though. Shortly, LED's went out...blade dented....very bad. No more MR's for dueling.

Then the Lightsaber gods smiled. LED was born. 1 inch blades...40 inches long...1/8 thick walls. SWEET! No blade damage at all. No LED in the blade to break. No thin walls to dent. Lock up with shinai's...not a problem, blade barely bends at all. True, this LED blade is a bit heaver than what I'm used to. Just as heavy as a shinai, which is what I use to warmup with anyway. I can get used to it. The other advantages more than make up for the slight weight difference. Why am I ranting like this? I just got my first duelable LED saber. From Ultrasaber. I took it to the San Diego Star Wars Society anniversary dinner. There were all kinds of Lightsabers there. Even the new Maul dual one. This one blew them all away.

Much brighter than any Parks. Brighter at the hilt than MR, although just as bright at the end. Just as bright as Lori's newer EL blades. More powerful than a locomotive...oops...I got carried away there.

I dueled with several people. All were impressed. I forsee the buying of many LED lightsabers in the future.

*Gets off soapbox*

My work here is done.

Zhi-don Aquintas
XO RL Sunrider Base
Treasurer/Head Instructor
Lightsaber training OCSWS

informalmyx
05-03-2006, 08:02 AM
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I just got my first duelable LED saber. From Ultrasaber. I took it to the San Diego Star Wars Society anniversary dinner. There were all kinds of Lightsabers there. Even the new Maul dual one. This one blew them all away.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Try building one now you will be even happier with it cause you add the i am a pimp cause i made i factor

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gundamaniac
05-04-2006, 03:00 PM
Hahaha, sweet. Nice to know someone's having fun with LED sabers. How well do the tubes hold up to dueling anyway? (IE how hard do you smack em etc. I'm still waiting to hear on a decent estimate of a breaking point for these things; I'm afraid to try it out myself)

A Jedi gains power through understanding; a Sith gains understanding through power.

UltraSWG
05-04-2006, 03:11 PM
FYI, the saber he's referring to is my Ultra Saber Stunt, which is made from the MHS and Tim's thick walled blades. Whether buying them pre-made or making them yourself, they are still the most powerful sabers in the galaxy.

http://www.ultrasabers.com
Corbin|Strydur|Ultra
The Holy Luxeon Trinity
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xwingband
05-04-2006, 03:30 PM
Kind of taking Parks' saying there.[;)] Although I'm sure it was stolen from somewhere else.

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gundamaniac
05-04-2006, 03:37 PM
Hahaha. Sweet. Since I'm ordering MHS parts and have got a 1/8-walled 1" blade, I think I'll be fine then.

A Jedi gains power through understanding; a Sith gains understanding through power.

Nightwing
05-04-2006, 03:40 PM
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by xwingband

Kind of taking Parks' saying there.[;)] Although I'm sure it was stolen from somewhere else.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">Pssshh. Parks' saying? ParksSabers... most powerful? Gimme a break...
Don't get me wrong, some of his hilts look amazing, but until he starts making LED sabers with LuxVs or K2s, they'll never be the "most powerful". Especially with those floppy blades.

xwingband
05-04-2006, 03:44 PM
I know it's all boasting. Ultra does have a pension for marketing himself well. When Parks started he did have pretty hot stuff though. I doubt he's up on the latest stuff though. He's making his money and he pretty much doesn't like the lightsaber building community.

<center>Read the FAQ (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/sabers/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=552) or x-wing won't be happy. :(
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informalmyx
05-04-2006, 03:54 PM
i think his sabers are to busy looking i like my saber like my car simple and sleek

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shiky
05-04-2006, 08:51 PM
i think the whole problem with the bending of the blades is the length. Personally i think fourty inches is too much. between 32 and 36 inches is more than enough. This will stop the bending under pressure, so locking up would work.

A Jedi feels the Force flowing through him..

Zhi-don
05-05-2006, 09:45 AM
I have personally broken a Parks blade. It was because the wire [not EL] hooked up to the paper EL, that wound tighter and tighter until it caused a stress fracture that snapped the blade off right about the emitter. Please note the Jedi Loreen[Lori to those who know her personally] makes much better blades. Besides the tension problem, the caps fly off and the blade shorts out [black spots] add that to the ugly black line where the paper ends. In short not good.

Now as far as the 40 inch x 1/8 wall x l inch OD, these are sweet. I went full impact against shinai and other sabers. Nada! They just bounced off. You can lock up with these poly blades against a shinai and they don't bend anymore than the shinai does. My only problem is the weight factor. Much heaver than an EL, but worth the extra effort in my opinion. After 3 hours of duels, circle and line battles, I came to the conclusion that added weight in the hilt would balance it more. I am adding either fishing weights or heavy steel washers to the pommel. That should end the problem. Of course adding the extension section or a sound unit to the hilt wouldn't hurt either.

Final conclusion. The best dueling blade I have ever used. I need the length due to the longer arms of some of my students [they are using 40 inch EL or shinai]and I like the thickness [no whipping or bending] only drawback...weight. I think this can be compensated for. Overall...MOST IMPRESSIVE!

Zhi-don Aquintas
XO RL Sunrider Base
Treasurer/Head Instructor
Lightsaber training OCSWS

james3
05-05-2006, 10:14 AM
I think you may want to keep in mind that the LED blade tops pop off as well, if you do anything outside you will be well advised to have a few spares as those things can take off and fly. There is still a missing tip in one of my neighbors yards, never did find it.

I understand your feeling on needing the longer blade but I would add that one good dual with my son and his downright scary use of one or two 25" blades would blow you away. The only people he duals with are bigger kids and adults who normally hold back untill they realize he is merciless. If I could just get him to do those flippy things...

Enjoy that new saber, I like seeing these things used as they were ment to be[:)]

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Ambo
05-05-2006, 11:05 AM
I have found that at Hobbytown USA (RC/hobby store) they have those alead wieghts that they use for the modernized pine wood derby cars....the lead weights are little rectangles and could be easily mounted into a MHS pomel and even out the weight....or mounted just inside the MHS beyond the treads and would probably still allow the battery pack in and out....pluss the lead may hold the pack more secure.

Again...my two cents.




"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
Albert Einstein

Zhi-don
05-05-2006, 01:44 PM
You gotta watch out for those little kids and even the younglings. I was at FIDM for the STARWARS costume show. Some young boy...about 13 i believe, seeing my EL saber, wanted to duel. I thought to myself, just take it easy he's only a kid. That was before the little S**T hit me right between the eyes. He had been practicing since he was 5 years old. After that it was no more Mr. Nice Jedi. I didn't hurt him, but I didn't let him hurt me anymore either.

Thanks for the warning. If those nice tips fly off, then I will seal the end with silcone, like we do for Parks and Lori's blades and bevel the edges slightly with a dremmel. Then I will go right back and resume dueling with them.

Zhi-don Aquintas
XO RL Sunrider Base
Treasurer/Head Instructor
Lightsaber training OCSWS

Jedi-Loreen
05-06-2006, 12:34 AM
<font size="3"><font color="blue">Um, Don, keep in mind that in the tip of the LED blades there are usually mirrors, so if the tip comes off simply sealing the end with silicone, like I do with my EL blades, would not be desirable unless you could put the mirror in there somehow.

I've heard of people using mylar in the ends too, I don't know how well that would work with the silicone, but you do want to try and reflect some of that light from the LED back down the blade tube.</font id="blue"></font id="size3">

In order to see the Light, you must sometimes risk the Dark.

informalmyx
05-06-2006, 02:15 AM
Master Loreen is here!!(Kneels down on one knee) You honor us wiht your presence.[:)]

<center>http://webpages.charter.net/myxmyth/infomyx.jpg
"Many claim to have found serenity, and through serenity to have overcome anger. Such arrogance is astounding."</center>

Jedi-Loreen
05-06-2006, 11:09 AM
<font size="3"><font color="blue">Yeah, I'm around.

I know I only have 25, now 26, posts, so far, but I read most of the stuff here and like to look at the pics of people's sabers.

Hopefully soon, I'll have some of my own pics to post, once I start personalizing my LED saber with some of the new parts (extension tube and pommels, different colored LEDs) I just got from Tim. I need to make a few interchangeble sleeves that I have in mind. And I can't wait for the new emitters to become available! [:D]

Am I the only girl that posts here, by the way? </font id="blue"> </font id="size3"> [?]

If there are other girls here they haven't admitted it, lol.

In order to see the Light, you must sometimes risk the Dark.

Nightwing
05-06-2006, 12:06 PM
SaberGirl is around, though she rarely posts anything.

Zhi-don
05-06-2006, 12:58 PM
Uh...duh, Lori. Since the mirror sits inside, I would put the mirror in first, then move it down a bit, then seal the end with silcone. If I didn't use the mirror, then it would look like an MR. Tim has promised polycarb end caps soon, so that would take care of the problem for good, I hope. We all should have known that Tim has been on top of this problem since the beginning. See you at class on Sunday.

Zhi-don Aquintas
XO RL Sunrider Base
Treasurer/Head Instructor
Lightsaber training OCSWS

Mi Gin Gonn
05-08-2006, 02:43 PM
I've found that tips flying off is the first thing that happens during even light dueling. Simple solution: wrap a layer or two of transparent scotch tape around where the tip meets the blade. With the blade lit up & swinging around you'll never notice it.


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"You, you idiots! You're our loyal minions! SO START ATTACKING!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"

GFORCE13
05-08-2006, 11:05 PM
Cool thanks I have reglued mine on my 1" Led Saber 3 times now at least this way you don't have to figure out where it flew off too.[8D]

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Zhi-don
05-09-2006, 06:37 AM
I noticed that Jeff Parks has a new type of blade end. Instead of the yucky rubber tip, he is using a clear plastic end. This looks suspiously like Tims. Hmmmm.....is it possible?...Naw! He wouldn't do that. Anyway his seems to have a lip on it that sets into the blade itself, thereby keeping it from easily flying off. Tim has already indicated that he is looking into polycarb tips. I think thats a good idea. There are glues that won't break off. I recommend JB weld. Darn stuff is pretty indestructable. Tape seems a bit tacky to me. No offense gentlemen, but the idea of a saber held together with tape, baleing wire or chewing gum is not working for me. Before I go that route, I will silicone the mirror in place and dremmel the tips like I do my ELs.

Zhi-don Aquintas
XO RL Sunrider Base
Treasurer/Head Instructor
Lightsaber training OCSWS

xwingband
05-09-2006, 08:47 AM
Where are you seeing new tips? He's got those new stunts... but I don't see anything else.

It's not like the tips Tim sells are anything new though. They're acrylic Cabochans (half balls). I'd be very interested in if Corbin comes up with the mushroom tips made out of a semi-solid material. PolyC tips in that "mushroom" style certainly would help though.

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Zhi-don
05-09-2006, 10:24 AM
One of my students bought his new Obi-wan EP4 style EL saber. It's one of his newer conversions. It has brass sections in front and the grenade part is anodized black. She had the new style blade with it. I am assuming acrylic tip, but it seems to be inset into the blade a bit. This is a good idea and would help it from flying off. Tim had mentioned somewhere that he was working on getting poly tips. That sounds like he is on top of it as usual.

Zhi-don Aquintas
XO RL Sunrider Base
Treasurer/Head Instructor
Lightsaber training OCSWS

informalmyx
05-09-2006, 11:25 AM
hum mushroom style tip wonder if he just had a hemispere machined down a little for the lip wich mean mor contact area which mean better hold

<center>http://webpages.charter.net/myxmyth/infomyx.jpg
"Many claim to have found serenity, and through serenity to have overcome anger. Such arrogance is astounding."</center>

Jedi-Loreen
05-09-2006, 12:30 PM
<font size="3"><font color="blue">Don, you said "his" in your first sentence, when you should have said "hers". I don't think Liz would like being referred to as a "him". lol [:p]

Don didn't realize that the hemisphere on the end wasn't flat on the bottom, till I noticed and pointed it out. [;)] It reminded me of the tip that Corbin is working on.</font id="blue"> </font id="size3">


In order to see the Light, you must sometimes risk the Dark.

Zhi-don
05-09-2006, 05:20 PM
OUCH! [B)] My apologies to Liz. I was using the serviceman's habit of refering to all students as he. Not buying that are we? Ok...I guess I just screwed up. Yes, Lori you were the one who noticed it. Sorry I didn't give you the credit. [:I]

Zhi-don Aquintas
XO RL Sunrider Base
Treasurer/Head Instructor
Lightsaber training OCSWS