morning from toronto

[pogo]

hey, me and my son recently decided to get into a hobby, i wanted to do something along the lines of kendo, and he loves star wars.

So i do have a few questions im going to amalgamate into my entry thread.

pretty much ive read about these "battle blades" and was wondering if they can in fact take a decent amount of abuse, and does this site sell them?

ether way cheers! i hope we both become members to this forum over time.

[cardcollector]

Welcome!

To answer your questions, yes- both bades can take a huge amount of beating! I haven't seen a thinwalled blade break yet. My friends and I do a large amount of dueling.

And the store does sell them both. You should spend a hour or so and just look at all the products... It is fun!

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Bl...plies-C14.aspx

[Knighthammer]

Ya beat me to it CC - was just going to say the same thing =)
The think walled blade (which I have) are 1/8" thick walls - lemme tell ya they can take some damage (and hurt too).

[dgdve]

Welcome its great to have you and your son here, you should consider a "stunt" or Pvc(Yes Pvc is AWESOME!!) Saber as a starter project.. they are a great way to introduce the younglings to the project and to get them accoustomed to tools, wiring, voltages, basically you can learn (or teach) at any level of detail so its great for kids of all ages(even us old ones). And the day you build your first Saber is a great day. Anyway just type Stunt or Pvc Saber and while your at it, check the gallery for some... inspiration

[equinox13]

welcome! ^_^ i use the thick walled blades and they stand up perfectly to all sorts of abuse. i don't duel people often, but i've hit the cable troughs at work spinning them at high speed - they just bounce off. they are a bit heavier though. ^_^ i've heard they were actually chosen to go head to head with kendo sticks and bokken, but that may just be a rumor.

[pogo]

Well after searching around ive come across a few things.

what is the major difference between graflex and MHS? i have an idea of what i want to build using MHS parts. but i dont see many tutorials on this site spare your first saber. i know a fare amount of electronic modifications due to my psp/xbox work (custom led placement/wiring/cases).

i also see alot of these crystal chambers and was wondering on a dueling saber would it degrade the strenght of the hilt?

also one last question.
pretty much the hilt i want to start with is around 140 usd. now that in mind what would the price range be for adding the blade+electronics. (without sound for now)

[cardcollector]

Well after searching around ive come across a few things.

what is the major difference between graflex and MHS? i have an idea of what i want to build using MHS parts. but i dont see many tutorials on this site spare your first saber. i know a fare amount of electronic modifications due to my psp/xbox work (custom led placement/wiring/cases).

i also see alot of these crystal chambers and was wondering on a dueling saber would it degrade the strenght of the hilt?

also one last question.
pretty much the hilt i want to start with is around 140 usd. now that in mind what would the price range be for adding the blade+electronics. (without sound for now)

Graflex is a vintage camera part that was used in the original movies. MHS is custom machined Lightsaber part made by TCSS... Go with the MHS for you first saber...

If you use one of these... http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Do...lots-P397.aspx
YOu can make a crystal chamber fairly easily and it still be quite durable.

I don't want to get into specifics but you should be able to make a stunt MHS saber under $140. you will have to just toy with your design...

[pogo]

Graflex is a vintage camera part that was used in the original movies. MHS is custom machined Lightsaber part made by TCSS... Go with the MHS for you first saber...

If you use one of these... http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Do...lots-P397.aspx
YOu can make a crystal chamber fairly easily and it still be quite durable.

I don't want to get into specifics but you should be able to make a stunt MHS saber under $140. you will have to just toy with your design...

that is acually perfect, as i had that part in my design.

also thanks for all the answers guys

[dgdve]

Heya its great to see your thinking about your saber budget. My advice is (here's what I do) Dont set a build total.. its that type of restriction that will have your finished product be good(actually great) but to you it will just be.. ehh (because you had idea's that were pushed off to the side). Like "why didnt I get the navigation package?" (kicking yourself while sitting in a sweet new ride, but just not as sweet as one with the nav.. understand?)

now with that in mind (deep breathing)... seperate your build into 2 main area's and make a checklist for both, lets call area 1 Interior, area 2 Exterior(easy huh). There are a few choice questions I start with in each area and I think they are helpful(to me).

Interior:
Are you going for Soundless Stunt? Economy? Midrange? Or Premium sound?(because that takes premium investment, which is more then $140 even just for the card alone).. here's my list of soudcards from top to bottom

1) Crystal Focus, 2)UltraSound, 3)Hyperdyne Labs(I may have spelled that wrong and they maybe dont sell cards anymore.. I'm old.. sue me), 4)Hasbro Fx sabers (with removable blades) apparently they have new sound fonts so I'm tenatively giving them the 4th spot above the predessessor, 5) Master Replicas/Hasbro Fx(non removable blade), 6)2010 Hasbro lightsaber w/dvd(toy, but actually a super good card if you upgrade the sensors and speaker), 7-10+)---> various toy sabers including the "force action", "grievous" (dual bladed thing), Green Goblin (spiderman sword). The first 3 are not just rare but all over triple digits, numbers 4 and 5 are both mid range choices.. about $60-90(gotta find broken ones on evilbay or yard sales). Number 6 is actually a toy soundcard but has been used with GREAT success(just a few easy modification's, nothing hard) not only is this soundboard readily available(at your local walmart/target/kmart..blah blah) but its also incredibly cheap at $16(so if you screw it up, you just go to town and get another). I have no experience with the other cheaper or "trick" boards and I advise you away from those as a first build simply because there isnt as much information about those boards.. people who use them basically have to meter and test everything themselves(so if you run into a problem not many can help you). but once you get that question answered move on to the next question...

What type of power are you looking at? this is an easy one, first let me give you some backgroud info on the cards listed above (and this ones easy).. they all love 4.5v and infact most of the sabers or toys you take them from use... 4.5v.. so to me thats a natural starting point *except the CF she's power hungry(but you'll soon see its nothing like the other cards). Now that said you can run almost all of them for about 1hour(people will argue with me over this but) on 1(thats right One) 3.7v rechargable Li Ion cell.. now is when you must make some hard choices.. what hobby does saberbuilding most represent?? thats right.. you know those crazy old people who build ships in bottles.. well they are just training thier skills(Cram-Fu) for thier next saber build. So.. Rechargable or standard batter pack? rechargable give you that much needed space but its more then just buying the battery.. you must install a charge port (if you plan to do in hilt recharging) you must have(or purchase) a charger as well, so those are considerations(but simple to implement).. My standard sabers run off 3aaa remember your Hilt ID(Inner Diameter) has the ultimate say for whats going in there and what configuration it will go in, but those are some choices best made BEFORE you build a hilt around it. Moving on(your doing great lol)

Ok now we have our Soundboard and our power source figured out, lets move this to the exterior!!(its much more fun)

First question, Does this saber have a history or a story?(many do and I think its good either way).. sometimes the story is "I made this with the help from a bunch of people on the net out of some toys and junk from around the house(not a bad story..), but not quite as good as.. lets say the story behind one of our newest Sabersmith's new series builds (Caine).. the basic story is all these sabers were lost in the Spice Mines on Kessel, either way they are charred and beaten up and pretty Darn cool!!.. but if you chose/write a story try to follow the theme and incorperate some of that into the build..

Second question.. How much "Bling" are we talking about.. and I know it doesnt seem like it but (to me at least) bling has two distict catagories... "Blinkies" (accent Led's/Exposed Crystal Cores/Crystal Pommels/PLI's/Stobes/spinning things... you know that omg how did I get to the club?, thing)Now in defense if the "blinkies" remember back to days when you were actually in the club.. because man its some fun! The other subcatagory of bling is more subtle in its approach but no less striking in appearance and can not really be tied into one word.. its many things.. its details in a chassis core such as Master Yoda's, its found in the simple lines and down to earth beauty in the color scheme of the "BrassFlex" designs... its the mixture of metals and materials to produce something far greater then the individual... its.. mostly inexpensive but requires strict mental investment(sometimes for months you will just be trying to make something work correctly in a build before the idea "hits" you).. The first type of Bling is very very durable and can stand up to heavy dueling or it can be replaced! just like a weapon in the field when a light burns out you put in a new one, simple living weapon design(like an m16, need new stock, barrel, anything actually). The second catagory of bling is "sensitive" to words like... DROP(did he just?).. SCRATCH(omg.........).. man they are even sensitive to the word "Touch"(... put that back, Now).. sometimes living on the stand is thier entire life.. seriously.

Ok I know I'm longwinded but if you read (and possibly re read it) I think there is some good basic info in there for you to use to shore up the foundation under this momentous occasion..the first build!!(man mine was....... BUT those were big yellow box days, and I didnt have any experience so.. lets not talk about that ok). Once again Welcome and use the search bar its your best friend

[pogo]

well im not quoting the above post as it is massive. and very helpful

simply put right off the bat im going to be building three sabers.

my limit this month is 300 a peice.

first is mine

red blade with some bling (namly a sinktube "i beleave what that is called" with some custom engravings done by me) crystal chamber with a blood qwartz in it (i have that allready) id like to look into a power graph using some old airsoft mods i did.

also im power coating it flat black.

its going to be fairly plain past that. other then a tanto style wrap possibly.


second is my sons
white blade with a more darth sidous look (only way i can describe it)
nothing special about it ....yet

third is a new develpoment

and thats my brothers
this one is being covered by him.

pretty much its going to be based on a "shoto" lightsaber orange blade.
standard hilt nothing really customized other then a engraving of his airforce company.



all three will eventually have sound in them. ive been looking at soundboards the past few days and im going to attempt to but the darksabers sound effects in mine.

mauls in my sons

and qui gons in my brothers

now dont get me wrong this will change at some point as they are the ones designing and building them.