noob blade advice after research for final decision

[cordaroyfog]

Hey guys, I am about to order my first blade. I have decided on thin walled since it will be mostly a display blade not for dueling.

My primary concern is brightness above all else, evenness is good as well.

I don't particularly care for the coring effect but am not opposed if for some reason it improves brightness or evenness. I am using a 5W green ledengin.

I am 5' 11" and have very large hands. The length of my hilt from end to top of blade holder will be ~14".

A.) What length of blade would look the best/normal? My initial thought was in the 36-39" range? But I am open to suggestions.

B.) After doing a lot of reading I had settled on 2 wraps of corbin and 6ft of cellophane. Will that dim the blade too badly? Do I even need the corbin, or would just cellophane alone be brighter and even if I did not care about coring?

C.) I am using a 5 degree lens, will that be a problem for the range of blade length I am considering?


Thank you all for all your help.

[Obi-Ben]

39" seems VERY long to me. Most of the sabers I have seen have blades around 32 to 34 inches. You may find a shorter blade to be better balanced if you're going to be dueling with it. Mine is 36" (about 35" when inserted in the blade holder) and I've found that to be a little too long and unbalanced for my tastes. It's a personal decision of course.

I'll let more experienced members answer your more technical questions, because I'm really not sure.

[cordaroyfog]

For your 35" exposed, how long is your hit from bottom of blade to bottom of hilt?

[Rhyen Skytracker]

The way I usually determine the length of the blade by holding the saber where you normally would grip it and rest the tip of the blade on the ground. From tip of the blade to where you are holding the saber your elbow should be slightly above 90 degrees. This will help to make sure the blade is not too long to do some of the spins. But, that is just the way I determine the blade length, I am sure other people have their own ways. Hope I was of some help and didn't confuse you.

[cordaroyfog]

not sure I know what you mean

[FenderBender]

double wraps will dim it some, If you don't have a driver that does the extend/retract effect then you're wasting money IMO. Make the blade 36" or less with your height and go with the 10 degree lens. If you're going for brightness, than just use Poly-P in the blade and sand the outside. That'll get you what you want.

[Shadar Al'Niende]

I did a 36" for my first blade (i am 5'11" as well) and found it too long personally, i did some measurements and will be doing a 34" (32" exposed) length for my next saber...


If you are looking for brightness and don't mind loosing the coring effect (not THAT noticeable anyway) just do as the wise fender says and skip it, use poly-p and sand the blade. You will not be disappointed.

[cordaroyfog]

Good advice, thanks guys. I will pass on the corbin which is fine. And I guess I will sand when I get it. In terms of length if I am getting the 1" thin walled, how hard would that be for me to cut once I got it? If I get it uncut and then see how long I would like it?

Also, how notice will the difference be between the 5 and 10 degree lens as I already have a 5 and would have to buy another 10?

[Shadar Al'Niende]

Not much, the 10 deg has a little more flare at the bottom and for longer blades (36 - 39 exposed etc) bleeds out a little at the top.

[cordaroyfog]

ok I am going with the 40" and will cut it myself when I see how long I need it and I guess since I already have the 5deg lens I will just use that to avoid spending extra money, thanks guys!