Difference between Polycarbonate and Trans White PolyC blades?

[3188931899]

Hi all! New here with a quick question. I'm looking to add a blade on my first custom lightsaber (my avatar) for dueling with a friend. The main thing I want it for is battling, so it has to be a thick-walled, but if I'm going to order one, I figured I might make it look decent while I'm at it. So I'm looking at these two blades in the CSS, the Thick Walled 1" Polycarbonate 40" long and the Thick Walled 1" Trans White PolyC 40" long. I've tried researching a little but as you can tell I'm new to this. Is there much of a difference? Can you please explain the differences?

With whichever blade, I'm also planning on purchasing the shouldered 1" thick walled blade tip with reflective disk. I really don't want to mess with wiring LEDs (and paying for it -- I have a very low budget here), so I'm going to try to take off the plug at the end and slip in a 9-LED mini-flashlight. Will this be enough to have a decent light in the lightsaber? I read about the diffuser tube. Do I /need/ this? As in, how shabby would it look without it? Would it be better to use cellophane(?) in the tube? Also planning on purchasing the color disks to change color of the white LEDs.

So, much feedback would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!


,~))~'

[Bradman9]

Yes there is a difference between the two. If you are referring to just the tubes and not the complete blades, the polycarbonate 40" blade is just a clear tube that you MUST use some sort of diffuser material otherwise it will look really bad and open and wont light up the blade well at all. The trans white polycarbonate 40" tube is like the clear one just it is white instead of clear so the blade itself sort of acts as a diffuser and looks nice. Personally for my trans white 40" all I did was add 4' of cellophane to it and it evened out the blade quite nicely. Haven't experimented with the diffuser tube in the shop yet.

I don't know about the LED though. Just know a little about blades.

Hope it helps!

[Jay-gon Jinn]

I doubt the flashlight will light up the blade very well, but it may be worth a try.

[3188931899]

Yes there is a difference between the two. If you are referring to just the tubes and not the complete blades, the polycarbonate 40" blade is just a clear tube that you MUST use some sort of diffuser material otherwise it will look really bad and open and wont light up the blade well at all. The trans white polycarbonate 40" tube is like the clear one just it is white instead of clear so the blade itself sort of acts as a diffuser and looks nice. Personally for my trans white 40" all I did was add 4' of cellophane to it and it evened out the blade quite nicely. Haven't experimented with the diffuser tube in the shop yet.

I don't know about the LED though. Just know a little about blades.

Hope it helps!

Alright, so if I use the trans white, I need cellophane also? And by 4' of cellophane, you mean continuous wrapping around on the inside (or outside?) Of the blade? Finally, would clear cellophane work since I would intend to change the blade color frequently? Thanks!

[Twigz]

First off, welcome to the board! I understand you are on a low budget, but I will still definitely recommend saving up what you can to at least make a simple sink tube stunt! The sink tube, adapter, and electronics need will average out to about $50 bucks, then you can save up for a blade. Sabers are definitely something you want to save for and take your time when needed. This place is full of useful information regarding saber craft, and I'd like you to know that you picked a great starting point. Another good thing to point out would be that you don't NEED to buy a blade for every hilt you build, for the record.

[3188931899]

I doubt the flashlight will light up the blade very well, but it may be worth a try.

I've used that method before on a duct tape hilt and blade from a flagpole box. It wasn't near as quality as this new chrome tube and polyc blade w/ reflective cap, but I thought it did the job before and figure it can on this. If not, I'll wait until I have a little more money to spend and invest in a real LED system. Thanks!

[3188931899]

First off, welcome to the board! I understand you are on a low budget, but I will still definitely recommend saving up what you can to at least make a simple sink tube stunt! The sink tube, adapter, and electronics need will average out to about $50 bucks, then you can save up for a blade. Sabers are definitely something you want to save for and take your time when needed. This place is full of useful information regarding saber craft, and I'd like you to know that you picked a great starting point. Another good thing to point out would be that you don't NEED to buy a blade for every hilt you build, for the record.

Thanks! Right, I spent a little money making the hilt (not $50 though... :P) this week. I used a 12" x 1 1/2" chrome sink tube and cut off 3" from the top, then used this 3" again by cutting four rectangular holes and splitting the back in half vertically, then slipping it over the tube and ontop of a layer of tennis racquet overgrip. There is more overgrip on the bottom, and then I used a PVC plug and adapter for the bottom and top of the tube, spraypainted black, and there are somewhere between 15 and 18 O-rings for decoration. I took a picture of it and made it my avatar but it isn't a very good picture. I understand I should probably invest more time and money into the hilt, but this is my first saber and I really just wanted a dueling saber for cosplay/roleplay. Later I will prpbably make a proper one when I have a larger budget, but for now I figured this would do fine for my first lightsaber. Instead of adding all the electronics I thought I would go the easy route on this first one and just use a flashlight fot starts. I may go back later and even redo this one, but I wanted it as soon as possible for now. Thanks!

[3188931899]

So I need to decide between either the trans white or the clear polycarbonate. Also between cellophane or a diffuser tube for whichever blade. I've heard cellophane is hard to deal with is my only thought on that.

Any and all thoughts appreciated, feedback, and hey -- even pointing out the "obvious choice" would be great. :P Thanks!

[bigkevin61]

So I need to decide between either the trans white or the clear polycarbonate. Also between cellophane or a diffuser tube for whichever blade. I've heard cellophane is hard to deal with is my only thought on that.

Any and all thoughts appreciated, feedback, and hey -- even pointing out the "obvious choice" would be great. :P Thanks!

A few thoughts:
1) I have both types of 40" "thick" blade material from "the other guys" (before I discovered TCSS), and I'd say which is "better" is a matter of personal preference. The clear gives more of a "tube within a tube" effect when lit, and some effects like shimmer and pulse are more noticeable with the naked eye in "daylight" conditions. Also when unlit, has a silver look. The trans white does tend to more uniformly light up the length of the blade, but is a smidgen more "washed out" in "daylight" conditions. Also when unlit, looks white like the toy blades. With that being said, there are many MANY variables that go into how a completed blade will look. Your LED, (color, and how much juice you drive it with), the diffuser/cellophane and how much you use, the LENGTH of your blade (most people don't think about that) and the reflective (or semi-reflective) tips.
2) if you are trying to do this "on the cheap" (or a budget) a cost benefit analysis may help. As yes, it may be cheaper to build your own blade, IF you get only the exact materials you need (and don't mess up), but I've read that like most parts of this hobby, proficiency comes with practice, and trial and error, and that means materials and $. For the record, the store sells complete blades (like this: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/LE...-OD--P198.aspx) that isn't too much more than building one yourself, AND you KNOW it will be done right, and may be worth the few extra $, and saving of the headaches.

[3188931899]

A few thoughts:
1) I have both types of 40" "thick" blade material from "the other guys" (before I discovered TCSS), and I'd say which is "better" is a matter of personal preference. The clear gives more of a "tube within a tube" effect when lit, and some effects like shimmer and pulse are more noticeable with the naked eye in "daylight" conditions. Also when unlit, has a silver look. The trans white does tend to more uniformly light up the length of the blade, but is a smidgen more "washed out" in "daylight" conditions. Also when unlit, looks white like the toy blades. With that being said, there are many MANY variables that go into how a completed blade will look. Your LED, (color, and how much juice you drive it with), the diffuser/cellophane and how much you use, the LENGTH of your blade (most people don't think about that) and the reflective (or semi-reflective) tips.
2) if you are trying to do this "on the cheap" (or a budget) a cost benefit analysis may help. As yes, it may be cheaper to build your own blade, IF you get only the exact materials you need (and don't mess up), but I've read that like most parts of this hobby, proficiency comes with practice, and trial and error, and that means materials and $. For the record, the store sells complete blades (like this: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/LE...-OD--P198.aspx) that isn't too much more than building one yourself, AND you KNOW it will be done right, and may be worth the few extra $, and saving of the headaches.

Oh right, I didn't think about the lighting conditions. That's a good thing to consider, thank you.

I looked at "complete" blades, but I didn't really notice a difference, to be honest, other than the price. ( :P ) When I looked, it made them appear as if just the blade itself were $30 and then you had to add the reflective tip (and something else you need... I forget, and it is telling me the site is down) for an extra cost to you. Doesn't make any sense to me -- am I reading it wrong?