New idea for blade diffusion?

[Novastar]

Ok... thin-walled vs. thick-walled. Got it.

[Eandori]

In my opinion, the experiment blade on the right definitely looks better. All personal opinion though.

On that note, there still seems to be a large amount of flare at the hilt which I'm not a fan of. I much prefer a very evenly lit blade the entire way up.

[xwingband]

Given that the left is Ultra's which in person doesn't have noticable flare... I'd say the right one is pretty danged even.

[Novastar]

Ultra's looks pretty much like the one on the right when it is a thin-walled blade.

Granted, yes, sanding the outside of a blade will somewhat visually "remove" the outer edge of the blade and cause it to catch more light.

When I've tried this, it can tend to dull the color in my opinion, but then again I haven't taken photos of them--I simply looked at the differences.

[vortextwist]

I like the flare with evenness.

[killphil]

Ultra's looks pretty much like the one on the right when it is a thin-walled blade.

Granted, yes, sanding the outside of a blade will somewhat visually "remove" the outer edge of the blade and cause it to catch more light.

When I've tried this, it can tend to dull the color in my opinion, but then again I haven't taken photos of them--I simply looked at the differences.

The experimental blade was a thinwalled Ultrablade before. I can definetly say that the new look is an improvement.

And the sanding completely removes the outer edges.

To compensate for the color dulling, I simply used less film. ALOT less. I'd say there is maybe 2 feet of Ultra's film in there: 4-5 revolutions.

[Firebird21]

I don't have much time to make a big post, but I did sandblast the inside of one of my blades and I gotta say, if used with Tim's diffuser it doesn't looks half bad!

Doing the inside of the blade will give you the same "solid" look you're looking for but you don't have to worry about defects after dueling.


Here's some pics...

Stock...


After Sandblasting with "Black Beauty"


And, while the pics are dark, the texture shown is true to life. The grain is what you see when you hold it in your hand.

Again this is the INSIDE of the blade sandblasted with Tim's diffuser.

[killphil]

On the inside. That's interesting. Could I see a pic of the entire length of the blade?

[Luke-SkyMarcher]

The inside. hmm, that's interesting. You may have noticed the similar experiment I did, phil: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/fo...pic.php?t=3041
My idea is that if this idea of getting rid of the look of a tube with the blade inside it can be made to work, than 3/4" thick wall blades can become common for LED sabers, making blades lighter for one, and for another, it opens up flexiblility in OD's of custom machined hilt designs. Of course there will still be those who prefer 1" blades.

I'd suggest getting Krylon Matte Spray.

I've also been thinking it would be great if there was some kind of rubberized spray with which we could spray the outside of the blade, for the express purpose of keeping the blades from sliding on each other.

Firebird - approximately how much did the sandblasting run you?

[Firebird21]

Sorry, I don't have any pics of the entire blasted blade, but it's not much different than the "stock" one in regards to flare and evenness.


As for the cost, it didn't cost me anything; I had the blaster and the sand.

I think you can pick up my sandblaster for about $20, and the sand depends on what media you use and how much you get. I think I used about a pound on mine, but if you have a recovery system you can use even less by reusing it. (like blasting into a bucket with a cover) All my sand ended up in the back yard...

You could try asking a local Auto Body shop or Machine shop if you can fill a coffee can for $5 or something, they may even let you borrow the blaster, but I wouldn't count on it... Go to your local auto parts store, they should have one. You just need an air compressor.



This is the one I have… $61.99



Here’s a cheaper one... $29.95



(Photo links)