To build or to buy

[Lord Dottore Matto]

Many of you have bought form me and I have bought from many of you, that is why we call this a COMMUNITY.

[Novastar]

yeah, i dont fall under any of your 3 main types Novastar. i guess the closest would be A, but i dont build to duel, or for my kids, and i really dont have any practical useage for a saber

I wasn't saying it was the end-all be-all... in fact, I was inferring exactly the opposite when I said 3 main types, and also mentioned that people might be a mixture of them.

That being said--from what you said... I'm guessing you'd be more in the "B" thing. But that doesn't mean what I said magically encompasses everything--nor was it intended to do so. Far from it.

Still, in my personal experience...?? Everyone I've come into contact with regarding sabers "swings" closer to one of those three I mentioned.

[Onli-Won Kanomi]

I'd have voted "all of above" but voted 1 because besides my FX sabers I've bought "Cronx" by Randomsabers, 9 Ultrasabers including my coming Overlord, a "Golden Graflex" brass LukeANH hilt from King Of Parts because it was beautiful and the first saber i saw 30 years earlier and it was the anniversary, a Revan hilt from tattoosby5/conceptprops because I consider Revan the greatest of all SW characters, an Inquisitor hilt from Saberforge because I liked the design, and a secondhand Qui-Gon hilt made by Do-Clo so I guess I'd have to say I've bought more from other smiths than I've built [yet].

That said, from Novastars options I'd have to say I'm opposite him with mostly "C"...with a tiny bit of "A"...but like him I'm almost none of "B" - movie replicas dont interest me as much as original designs and of those I do have I'm not concerned if my FX arent 'exact' or how 'canon' various details are.

I'm more a DESIGNER than anything else but I will borrow and synthesize design elements and give fair credit as in voting option 2 and I'll build as much as I can but within limits of my toolz and skillz which are rather limited indeed so I see nothing wrong with paying those with skills and tools I lack to make parts for a custom saber that I couldnt make myself...

...afterall even in the movies it isnt suggested that all Jedi built their sabers from 'scratch' hand lathing it from solid stock [kudos to all those gifted smiths who can] and in one of the EU books they found an old crashed Jedi ship with a room full of saber parts so it seems even 'canon' Jedi often only ASSEMBLED their sabers from commonly mass-manufactured interchangeable parts - as we also see in the PT must be the case with multiple identical common-part-built 'clan sabers' popular among even high ranking Jedi masters [Apparently the Old Jedi Order had a 'Strydur' making modular MHS style parts? lol]

Theres no way in heck I could ever build an Obi TPM pommel myself but thank you Acerocket for making a few available, thank you Darth Morbius/Ultra for the Imperial Knight pommels, thank you RoysBlues/Ultra for the coming Oppressor emitters and above all Thank You Strydur for the great MHS system hilt parts they are compatible with so the sabers I do build can be nicer than a hardware saber...thats why its SO great there is a CUSTOM Saber Shop so we dont all have only a limited range of character replicas to choose our sabers from eh?

[SpectreT65]

Voted number 2 - largely because I can't afford the quality work that makes me drool from other sabermiths. If I had to describe my "type" it'd be somewhat from each of N-Star's types, but I also echo the thoughts of others here - at the end of the day, I want a hilt that's mine - my design, and as much handcrafting as I can do; Without Tim's MHS parts, though, I'd be up the proverbial estuary without a means of locomotion when it comes to a base for the sabers I'm making.

My (long-term) goal is to finish the arsenal for me and my friends, then (since I am addicted to this little hobby) start doing a few pieces to hawk on Fleabay to fund the next saber I'm going to build to fund the next saber... you get the idea.

[Swordlord]

Novastar -- I don't think you derailed the topic at all. In fact you added an important aspect to the general question I was asking by somewhat defining (at least in your/my shared opinion) of what type of saber fans/users/builders/etal are out there. I think it correlates directly to the poll.

As for the 'point' of the topic, it was to satisfy my curiosity regarding just one of the many facets of someone interested in any of the buildable saber forms (EL, LED, LED strip, etc). There are a number of things which drive people to take up certain hobbies, and I wanted some information regarding if/what people are willing to purchase within the saber realm.

As an example, I'm a metalsmith and potter (who currently has no studio space ). When I go to arts festivals and galleries, I'm always drawn to what other people are doing in metal and ceramic arts. I generally do not buy a piece of jewelry, a piece of holloware, or a pot unless I find something irrevocably special and unique about it. I believe in supporting my fellow artists, but unless every aspect of the piece rings true to me, I'll admire it and move on. If it does hit all the right chords, I'll probably - if it's within my means - purchase it and treasure it. So, if you were looking for a specific "how does this relate to building sabers" point, that's as close as you're going to get.

[Anavrin]

My fiance and I have purchased twin ALW hilts (She calls them "Need"), but normally I've got -0$- in spending *dies*

[Darth Siggious]

I would absolutely buy someone else's saber, and I agree with you Swordlord where you say pretty much only if its something truly unique and special.

There are a few on here that I'd love to buy, but I'm pretty sure their owners would not part with them, such as Grapixa's new curved double hilt (which so brilliantly blends Maul and Ventress), Arm on Fire's Anomaly, and Tobu's new custom.

Which brings to to my point, this is a hobby, and I'm a hobbyist, and most of the fun comes from designing, building, troubleshooting, and then ultimately marvelling at your creation. Which almost always means that the best sabers are not for sale.

I don't like the building of sabers strictly to make money though, a Jedi does not do this, even a Sith wouldn't (why would I want my enemies to know my secrets?). Art is not achieved when monetary gain is the goal.

[MasterRoop]

I don't like the building of sabers strictly to make money though, a Jedi does not do this, even a Sith wouldn't (why would I want my enemies to know my secrets?). Art is not achieved when monetary gain is the goal.

I agree!!! the light saber is a jedi's life.

[Anavrin]

Art is not achieved when monetary gain is the goal.

I disagree–art is easily achieved even when compensatory gain is ultimately desired (money is a narrow field of view). However it can only be so when the one creating is doing so purely the create and gain, and creates solely of their own free will with no external force. If I build a beautiful saber with the intent of selling it, it can still be art though I build it for sale. In that, profit and creation are sought purely, unwilling to compromise either.

However, I agree, if one makes some compromise to either, the art is lost. If I compromise the build for speed or cost, I obviously sacrifice my craft. But if I sacrifice my profit and part of my reason to build, then I sacrifice part of the drive that propelled me to create.

That isn't to say one can't create without an eye to profit, but rather that when building, whether for the build or profit, one can't compromise or the art is, truly, lost.

[Darth Siggious]

Interesting points Anavrin and spoken (or typed ) very well too.

I've always felt that art is inspiration turned into expression, and if you compromise either one of them (not even considering monetary gain), then you lose everything. Period.

I've also always felt that the best sabers to buy are those that start out by saying, "I really don't want to part with this one, but I have to" or "It really hurts to sell this one" - something to that effect. I'm not saying that I'd rather buy something that someone doesn't want to sell like some sadistic freak, but these sabers are usually better built, better cared for (you know they've been battle tested) and most importantly, pretty much and truly one of a kind.

I always click the back button on ebay when I see a listing that starts out, "Hey, new saber from our labs or forge" or whatever. I think that these sabers are usually uninspired and run of the mill offering little other than tweaking a standard hilt. This is my opinion and I know I'll take heat for it, but that's okay.

(This does not include sabersmiths that will turn your concept sketches into reality for you. Or Do-Clo, his sabers are extremely unique! Dirty, mean and totally totally sick!)