Need advice/input on a blade holder

[Darth Morbius]

Hello again everyone!

I'll cut to the chase here. A friend of mine asked me if it was possible to sculpt a dragon head around an MHS blade holder for her saber that I am going to build for her.

I haven't bought any parts yet, and I told her that I would look into possibilities, but I am at an impasse.

I was thinking of two options and wanted some input.

1. Use blade holder 3 or 6 since they have holes/ribs to hold sculpting medium to the blade holder. Then use sculpey, fimo, or even bondo (I know the last one can be done but it is time consuming) to sculpt the head around the holder.

I was also considering resin casting it in two pieces and using epoxy to bond the halves together around the blade holder.

2. Talk to my buddy that has a machine shop to custom cut one on the CNC (Expensive as hell)

I am leaning more towards the first option to reduce cost. This saber is more of a display/costume piece, but she wants an operating saber that she can swing around a bit if the desire should arise. She wants the blade to protrude from the mouth of the dragon to look like a breath weapon.

I also told her that I could throw in a second blade holder so she could use that one to duel with.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Constructive criticism?

It's not set in stone, but I was wondering if it would be worth my time to attempt something of this magnitude.

[Corbin_Das]

Hi there.
That sounds like an interesting project. If you're wanting the best sculpting material that doesn't need to be oven cured, has 0 percent shrinkage, strongly adheres to almost any clean surface and can be tooled, sanded or drilled later, then you need Apoxie Sculpt. It's some really cool stuff for the custom saber/prop maker. My custom blaster uses it and I love it.
As for which emitter to use, if you're going with a MHS, then I'd go with number 3. Number 1 or number 7 would give you a narrower end coming out of the Dragon's mouth however, but those two emitters are currently out of stock.
If you're interested in a more custom made saber, our new 1.25" adapter might be a good choice. It would allow for a narrower body on the saber, which would probably make it feel more "feminine". I personally like the narrower sabers though. They feel more comfortable to me.

I hope this helps.

Corbin Das

Corbin@TheCustomSaberShop.com

[Tenric Starkindler]

the narrower 1.25" emitter would also give you some extra diameter to play with (so the Dragon's head wouldn't be too much wider than the rest of the hilt.

also>
if it were me I would go for a pommel that resembled a claw holding a crystal (Krayat maybe?) to complete the look..............

I will look forward to pics of this project!!

[Darth Morbius]

Actually a narrower emitter was what I was thinking about today at work, because I don't want it to be too bulky at the balance point of the saber.

I'm just in the preliminary stages of design and I wanted to take my time and work out all the details first. I have lots of time since she hasn't really stated a deadline for it, so I really want to do this right.

I was actually thinking about the claw at the pommel. I like the Idea of a Krayt dragon pearl there. Perhaps frosted polycarb shere with some lighting to set it off. I could run the wiring inside the claw prongs to the sphere and put an accent LED in there.

That would actually fit her personality pretty well actually. Thanks for the Apoxie idea Corbin. I will definitely look into this.

Hoping to get started with an order for MHS parts soon.

Thanks again guys!

[Marsupial]

as stupid as it may sound, I'd look into a dollar store for plastic dragons from where to start the sculpture. the rigidity of the saber sould come from the main section, not the sculpture, and you can fill plastic with putty, and paint it.

but that's just me.

To go in the same direction as Corbin, I'd suggest the Apoxy Sculp. Works like a charm. Its like play-doh but dries HARD AS ROCK in 24 hours. Its a little sticky, but works great.

here's what I did on mine




this was my first experience with this putty. Holds well on metal and plastic, supposed to bond with both. Paint seams to hold better on it then on chrome or brass. You can also sand it or machine it after it dries.

Hope the info can come in handy.

[Darth Morbius]

Marsupial, I think you may have misunderstood. I was wanting to sculpt the dragon's head around an existing MHS blade holder.

The more I look into it it's looking like the Apoxie Sculpt and the new sink tube holder is going to win out on this one. I talked to her today and she likes the idea of the slimmer profile on the hilt.

I might get some drawings posted in a couple of days or so of my preliminary ideas for the sculpt. She's going to choose a style of dragon for me to base it off of, and get back to me by the end of the week. Looks like the project is a go.

[987654321a]

i think he knows what you are talking about he is just showing how he has used apoxie on his sabers. i would reccomend CNC machining so she wouldnt have to change the blade holder every time, i know how annoying that would get. but that would be too expensive i suggest using resin however because of its strengh and you can make anything out of resin, puttys are pretty hard to sculp. ive worked with them alot and my projects turn out to be crap. i guess im artistically challenged.

[Darth Morbius]

Yeah after I gave marsupial's post a second read, I understood it. I get a little testy after back to back shifts ( I hate swings ) and was kinda grouchy at the the time anyway.

Draconis wants this project to be a display/costume prop. She informed me today that she wants to go the route of the sinktube/MHS hybrid, nix the claw, keep the pearl. She also wants me to show her how to build MHS sabers so I directed her here first.

I even told her to read the FAQ and thread index before posting...

I think I have also convinced her to sculpt the head herself, to personalize it to her. She says she might even try her hand at more intensive aggressive negotiations with a soldering iron and dremel...
Now I'm off to partake of a little too much sake and get some much needed sleep.

EDIT- Marsupial, those that is a slick looking saber, I dig that look! Very organic!

[Marsupial]

Yeah after I gave marsupial's post a second read, I understood it. I get a little testy after back to back shifts ( I hate swings ) and was kinda grouchy at the the time anyway.

No problems, my english sucks most of the time, as I speak french. I often have to read someone's (or even mine) posts more then once to be sure to understand.

EDIT- Marsupial, those that is a slick looking saber, I dig that look! Very organic!

Thanks. It's mainly experimenting, but I think I like how its going. However, I think I'll give it a paint job with that prismalic cameleon paint that changes color according to the angle. I think it will make this look even better.

[gundamaniac]

Hm. This Apoxie stuff is really starting to intrigue me. How hard is it to work with? I've worked with honest-to-god clay in art class and FIMO for small projects; how does Apoxie compare to either of those two in terms of ease of use?