I've read that polypropylene and cellophane are two different things but on here it seems like people say they are the same.. what are you really using?
http://www.atlantacello.com/custom-bags/cello-vs-polly/
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I've read that polypropylene and cellophane are two different things but on here it seems like people say they are the same.. what are you really using?
http://www.atlantacello.com/custom-bags/cello-vs-polly/
This is the film that is sold in the store:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bradman9
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Blade-film-P197.aspx
Many that I know of tend to use the Polypropelene wrap.
Is that stuff polypropylene?
And is poly better than cello or do they both give the same effect just are two different materials that can be used?
I don't know exactly what the film in the store is made of. I'm just telling you what some of the experienced builders and saber smiths of this hobby have used that I know of. In the other thread Fenderbender told you what he uses and where to get it - he sells his blades and people generally love them. You could try some of each and report back with YOUR findings.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bradman9
Ahhh gotchya! Well I definitely will experiment.
The blade film sold in the store is awesome material, you wont be disappointed. Used that stuff for my first blade and the results are very good. On the same saber I actually think its brighter then the poly blade that i bought pre-made
Okay so I experimented as much as possible with what materials I have. Which are as follows:
- 40" transparent white thin wall polycarbonate tube
- 40" clear thin wall polycarbonate tube
- 2 bullet shaped tips (with refelctive disc already attatched)
- Two 3/4" reflective discs
- One 1" reflective disc
- Clear cellophane wrap (found at Joann's and it was a 40" X 25' roll)
- 1/2" X 48" dowel rod
- 3/4" X 48" dowel rod
- Hot glue gun and glue
- Acrylic weld-on type adhesive
My main goal overall was to get both blades as evenly lit as possible, get the tip to light up without a huge flaring effect, and be as bright and as dark of a red as I could make it.
I started by just putting on both tips to both tubes and putting them in my hilt to see what they looked like empty. The trans white tube was rather bright and looked like a deep red so check on that goal. However it was not evenly lit nor was the tip lit up at all besides the flaring so no check on those goals. The clear tube was (as I expected) weak without any kind of diffuser material. The blade was not evenly lit, the tip wasn't lit and had the flaring effect, and you couldn't really tell how bright or dark red it was because it just looked like a lit up tube of plastic.
I began with the trans white tube because it had the least amount of work to do on it with one goal already checked off. I decided I was going to roll 2' of the cellophane at a time into the blade and use the tip as is and test it. I used the 3/4" dowel rod to roll the wrap and stuck the wrap inside and unrolled slightly so it would push up against the sides of the tube put the tip with 1" reflective disc on and flipped the switch. The blade was pretty evenly lit, still that deep dark red, but the tip was still not lit up. I rolled another 2' into the tube and I tried one of the 3/4" reflective discs. The blade was even more evenly lit and still retained the deep dark red however the tip was way to lit up and had more flaring than with the 1" reflective disc. I decided I would try more wrap just to see what I would get (after all I am experimenting ;) ) and I used the 1' reflective disc again EXCEPT this time I took about 1/16th of an inch off of the outside diameter of the disc. The blade was evenly lit, check. The tip was lit with little to no flaring, check. The color however was looking a little on the pink side rather than the deep dark red I was looking for. I had 6' of wrap inside so I took out 2' and kept the tip with 1/16th of an inch off the OD and flipped the switch. The blade was evenly lit, the tip was lit but not flaring, and it had that deep dark red I was looking for! I found the perfect mix!
My 40" trans white polycarbonate blade had 4' of clear cellophane wrap and 1 bullet shaped tip with 1/16th of an inch removed from the OD of the reflective disc. Photobucket makes them look pink but they are really that color of the red on the wall in the dark room pictures.
http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/...psc1939a3e.jpg
http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/...pse02a3db8.jpg
http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/...ps14c847d3.jpg
Secondly, I tackled the clear polycarbonate tube. I started with just the 2' of cellophane and the bullet tip with 1" reflective disc and it still looked pretty bad. I decided I would shoot for getting the blade to light up evenly while retaining the deep dark red color before I would handle the tip. I kept adding 2' of cellophane until I had about 6' of it in there (using the 3/4" dowel rod still.) I liked where the evenness was going and that the tube wasn't causing the red to "pink out" like the trans white one did when I had 6' of wrap in it. I tested it with the 1" reflective disc and the blade looked pretty evenly lit but could be better, the tip was really flaring and not lit up, but it was still bright and had that deep red I liked. So I added another 4' of wrap and took about 1/16th of an inch off of this tips reflective disc and tested it. The blade looked even more evened out and the tip was a little lit up but still had a little of the flare that I didn't want. With the same amount of wrap (10') I tested the tip out with the 3/4" reflective disc and it looked really good. There wasn't a crazy flare and the tip was lit. To get even more evenness I added another 2' of wrap and that rounded out my three goals. An evenly lit blade, a tip without flare that was lit, and it retained the bright dark red.
My 40" clear polycarbonate blade had 12' of clear cellophane wrap and 1 bullet shaped tip with a 3/4" reflective disc. Again, Photobucket makes them look pink but they are really that color of the red on the wall in the dark room pictures.
http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5c2ae254.jpg
http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8b6273e2.jpg
http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9a8073f9.jpg
Overall, I like how each blade turned out. I would say the trans white blade is more evenly lit (blade and tip) than the clear blade, the clear blade is brighter and more dark red than the trans white blade, and that the trans white blade looks more uniform where the clear one has that slight silhouette of the tube that is visible while on (at least in person.) I can't wait to experiment with other blades and tips to see what I can get! :)
Transwhite blades has the effect of washing out colors. As you have seen, they all work, it usually comes down to personal preference. Also, blade length will effect he "evenly lit" issue.