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Thread: Thick Walled Blade Comparison Pictures

  1. #11
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    Xwing's are the best hands down. The difference between his and Ultrafilm/geluKhan is more defined in person. Look at the hilt to tip shots for Xwing's and Ultra's. You'll notice that Alex's blade has a bit of a bulb whereas Xwing's is perfect still.
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  2. #12

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    Hmmm, the ultra blade seems more evenly lit along it's length to me. Look at the bright core in comparison to Xwings blade... that's a dead giveaway. I bet a Lux-meter would prove that too. Seriously, look at the hilt on Xwing's blade.... much brighter then the middle and tip.

    HOWEVER...

    Xwing's blade is a bit more "even" across it's width (in comparison to length...) Xwings blade does not have a bright core with dimmer sides, it's kinda uniform like a Master Replica. I find that you get that effect when you sand the outside of a blade.

    Remember that a camera will show any color of light as near-white when it's over-saturated. That's a DIRECT indication of brightness. All the parts in a lightsaber picture that look closer to white ARE the brighter sections.
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  3. #13
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    I'd disagree with that. Take this picture for example


    Ultra's blade has a clear dimming in the upper section and a light bulb effect whereas Xwing's just gets steadily dimmer.

    The blade tip lighting up differently is due to the tips construction. The Ultra film blade has an aluminum disk in its tip (it was originally a TCSS blade) whereas Xwing's blade has a semi reflective film in the tip (fairly sure at least...).
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  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Maul View Post
    @Phil: I'd do a combo blade comparison but I don't have one handy unfortunately. When and if I get one I'll get pictures of that too. My tips are just the standard TCSS tip with the aluminum reflective disk added. I don't know about Xwing's, maybe he can chime in here.
    TCSS tips and mirrored mylar I steal from electronic baggies for the mirror. I don't use reflective disks generally because they are a pain to get on perfectly and tend to light the edges. Semi-reflective lights the whole tip a bit better in my opinion. I haven't made a blade yet since Tim started to put them on by default so I'll probably give them a try.

    Personally I think most are tricked into thinking that the Ultrablade is "even" by the edge glow it gets on the film. The core if you take a good look at it isn't even the whole length IMO. That being said 100% is not possible, but a flare and the rest being even is the best we can get. That is why I prefer Erv's or mine (both are internally the same as I make them).

    EDIT: I've said it before, but our eye's are logarithmic. So a difference is going to be diminished a bit by that. So while it appears mine is dimming the whole length dramatically that is because the camera shows brightness in a linear fashion... which is true in reality, but not to our eyes. By that stroke also unless the "bulbing" is bad it will be harder to see.
    Last edited by xwingband; 09-03-2008 at 09:16 PM.
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  5. #15

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    What about this image comparing the two?

    I agree with you that the tip on ultras is not as good as Xwings Tip. I like Xwings tip method better too.

    However, the "closer to white" color of the blade in this image pretty much means the camera was getting more light per unit-area on the Ultra blade. That's the beauty of a side-by-side comparison. You get to see where the "whiter" sections are. I actually DID some testing with a Lux meter on lightsaber blades and what I can tell you is that every single time I noticed a "whiter" section on a picture, sure enough that area ALWAYS produced a higher Lux value on the meter.

    After doing that for hours, I became pretty convinced that what we see in pictures... is what really is happening. Like Xwing said, our eyes are different and they can play tricks on us, but pictures and light meters tell the real story.

    I personally think the "best" luxeon saber blade for straight up looks is this...
    - 30" viewable
    - Thin-walled
    - Mylar mirror tip (like Xwing)
    - Polycarbonate tube, internally sanded very evenly (like frost)
    - 4 to 6 feet of gift wrap inside (Gelukhan style)
    - Luxeon III, or K2 LED.

    The statement about which LED is because I think I finally root-caused the hilt flare I get with my Proto3A saber (seen in my signature). It's because the bulb on the Luxeon V is slightly larger, and the focal point inside the same 5 degree lens is not the same as the luxeon III and K2's. A green K2 with everything else the same is more evenly lit then a luxeon V in my saber. Having said that... I really like the brightness of the lux V
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  6. #16
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    Meh, make whatever conclusion you want about the pictures. Personally, I think it's a plus to look the same from every angle. I don't want to bend my blades to a certain angle to get the best. It's like people saying they can't give up Ultrablades becaus they look metallic when off... it's just a plastic tube when off who gives a flip what it looks like off?!?!

    Also, camera's aren't are eyes. That's good and bad. Most haven't tried my blades (or Erv's for that matter) so basing a desicion on pictures is foolish. I've tried more styles of blades than 99% of people and Erv's and my nylon are the best IMO. You say sanding is going to make the "best" blade... well, sanding and nylon do the same thing.
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  7. #17

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    I agree that blades that look the same from every angle are better. I would prefer that too. I don't really care how my blades look when off as long as they don't look bad in some way. Like dented, or smudged with paint from things I have been hitting :P

    If sanding and Nylon do the same thing, yet a sanded Polycarbonate blade is far more durable then Nylon... then I prefer a Sanded Polycarbonate blade.

    I agree with you that comparing pictures is not the same as comparing in person. Pictures really are different then real life. It's not true that pictures convey 100% of the human experience. However... it's also not true that pictures convey 0% of the human experience. You really can get SOME idea of how the blade will look. Just not exactly. Hopefully you would easily agree with that.

    The light flaring on the carpet is also a dead giveaway of the actual brightness coming from the blade. To my eyes, the ultra blade has more carpet flaring then the Xwing blade in the middle/tip. I think that ultra blade would benefit by having an internal sanding job and the same tip as the Xwingblade, but it does appear to have more light in the middle/end of the blade.

    Please note, the blade that I'm suggesting as my favorite isn't represented in these pictures. I described it exactly above, with the hardest part being the very even sanding job "like frost" on the inside.

    I'm not knocking your blade Xwing. You do great work and your stuff looks wonderful. I love how even your nylon blade looks across it's width. It's very cool

    Cheers,
    Edwin Tracy (Eandori)

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  8. #18
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    Okay, I now have a blue Rebel LED if anyone wants comparisons with that saber. It can be against a 3W red, Vader, or 3W blue. My 5W saber is being rebuilt.
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  9. #19

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    Please do. And I'd love to see it compared to a blue III.

  10. #20
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    Which comparison specifically? And what blade type(s)?
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