Black blades?

[Jasher Kain]

Regardless of the purpose of either site, I can't understand for the life of me why it's either like it, love it,or say nothing at FX.

For three reasons:
1. The Administrator's vision. There used to be some MODS that railed into people. Harsh criticism scares people away. Most people at FX are interested in sharing, not being dissected or crucified. The Administrator removed those MODS from their places and changed the atmosphere of the Forum to make it more "family friendly."
2. To avoid flame wars. Flame wars also scare people away...and one harsh or misinterpreted comment is all it takes. A lot of people on the Internet say what they want without thinking because they can't see the other person. The impersonal nature of the Internet makes some people, well...impersonal.
3. What the site is for. FX is for sharing. It started out with major collectors sharing their personal reviews of the Master Replicas FX lightsabers. From there, it has expanded to customized stuff and everything else the hobby entails. However, most people at FX are satisfied being collectors and not builders. We're generally not interested in who won first or second place in a building contest, or whose saber involved more technical planning and "cram-fu." We're more interested in if it's aesthetically pleasing and if it's something we'd like to have sitting on our shelf at home.

As for posting comments, I only post if I like something. I never post just because I want someone to comment on my stuff. That's shallow. Maybe some people do (usually n00bs), but with the number of sabers that pop up over there every day...they get tired real quick. If someone doesn't post anything about your saber, take that as criticism. Silence = Disapproval or Dislike
[/threadjack]

I think a smoke or translucent black plastic could be used--like the white plastic inside MR blades--to give a nice black core effect.

[Crystal Chambers]

While trying to have a better understanding of all this its too bad this has somehow become such a big deal and is getting in the way of the topic. I would love to discuss this further but I think it is ruining the thread for those who want to skip all this and stay on the topic.

The problem with any black core is the core will not be visible because the diffused blade material or film will be so bright you won't see the black core behind it. Just like you can't see dark room on the other side of a hollow/clear illuminated blade. I'm sure this has been mentioned over and over and I haven't even read all of these posts. If this comment was deemed negative because I'm not supporting your idea and I felt I shouldn't post it then a bunch of people may get too excited and be very disappointed when it didn't work.

Sunrider posted an interesting find regarding a film type that to me sounds like it might have some potential.

[Sunrider]

Most people at FX are interested in sharing, not being dissected or crucified.

No offense Jasher but I find it sad that this attitude exists. I think there is just as much sharing happening here even if it may be more technical in nature. And I don't see people being crucified here. Noobs may get told to try the search function but simple questions are politely answered constantly.

If people are willing to jump out on the internet into a forum they should be able to take some polite constructive advice.

Niche; "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."

[Obi-Ben]

When I first read there was a "black blade" discussion, the first thing I thought of was that someone made a blacklight or UV lightsaber. Hasn't someone done that? I see some old threads that touched on it, but no one seemed to talk of spectacular results, which is kind of disappointing.

Rhyen, I like that effect. Rather than an blade of pure energy, it looks like red hot metal.




A hint for you guys who are confused why some people are offended by critical responses: don't use the word "noob". Ever. It's insulting and condescending. I know people rarely directly use that word when addressing posters, but even in casual use, it's often seen as unfriendly. I think it's the N-word of the internet. Please, wipe it from your vocabulary.

[Tyhm]

When I first read there was a "black blade" discussion, the first thing I thought of was that someone made a blacklight or UV lightsaber. Hasn't someone done that? I see some old threads that touched on it, but no one seemed to talk of spectacular results, which is kind of disappointing.

Rhyen, I like that effect. Rather than an blade of pure energy, it looks like red hot metal.




A hint for you guys who are confused why some people are offended by critical responses: don't use the word "noob". Ever. It's insulting and condescending. I know people rarely directly use that word when addressing posters, but even in casual use, it's often seen as unfriendly. I think it's the N-word of the internet. Please, wipe it from your vocabulary.

They don't make UV LEDs, apparently. Thus the dead end there.

For a real Black Lightsaber, I have a hunch it's going to have to play on the walls being thickest at the edges, and some way of sharpening the contrast between straight-on light and edge-on light. It might be a LED String for all I know.

As a recently (probably rightly) hazed n00b, I get their frustration; this site doesn't present itself as, but Is, the OCC of lightsaber building. This is where the elites circulate. This is the VIP room of the chopper convention. This is not the place to ask "So the chain goes to the back wheel, right?" This is where people are making TRON Lightcycles to well earned accolades, not where they find cheap and ingenious ways to patch up old Yamaha scooters. You can fight it and you can get angry about it, but the attitude prevails that when a newbie wanders in and asks a stupid question, they're trespassing. And we kinda are. But Tim put up a public link to the forum with the suggestion "If you're overwhelmed you can get help here", so in another sense this isn't the VIP room, this is the ticket counter outside, (to stretch the metaphor to breaking).

But it's all getting a bit Off Topic. Back to the video - what the heck, "You won't be able to tell when you're really swinging and twirling it"? Maybe in the sense that "If it's a moving blur you can't tell it's not black in the middle"...

[TimeRender]

They do make UV leds, and a cylinder doesn't have an edge to be thickest at.

I've been moving this week and only just saw that there was finally an end to this story. I really have nothing to add except that I am disappointed that even now he is getting compliments for experimenting, doing something "impossible", and creating an original idea. This had been done before, and was talked about here on this forum at least as far back as October '09. NOBODY ever said that THIS idea was impossible, only that this idea didn't adequately create the effect. All he did was build someone else's idea, or he failed to do enough research to realize that what he was doing had been done before. I don't have a problem with those forum members who genuinely think that his result is attractive because we all have different tastes, but to praise him for anything else is just plain wrong.

[Tyhm]

They do make UV leds, and a cylinder doesn't have an edge to be thickest at.

I've been moving this week and only just saw that there was finally an end to this story. I really have nothing to add except that I am disappointed that even now he is getting compliments for experimenting, doing something "impossible", and creating an original idea. This had been done before, and was talked about here on this forum at least as far back as October '09. NOBODY ever said that THIS idea was impossible, only that this idea didn't adequately create the effect. All he did was build someone else's idea, or he failed to do enough research to realize that what he was doing had been done before. I don't have a problem with those forum members who genuinely think that his result is attractive because we all have different tastes, but to praise him for anything else is just plain wrong.

You know what I mean: I can't post the illustration anymore, but if you view a cylinder with thickness x at the middle, your line of site passes through 2x of material; if you view it at the edge, it passes through considerably more, peaking at the point that the "line" passes through edge without hitting the hollow core at all, and diminishing to the very edge of the blade. I know it doesn't work yet, I'm conjecturing on hypothetical future technologies; if they come out with a contrast-film that cuts out everything below a certain brightness threshold, I imagine it will just be a race to Dim the core below that threshold - at which point "Why blades are always brightest in the middle and dimmer at the edges", and how to invert this property, becomes paramount.

[Matt Thorn]

I seem to remember Fender Bender talking about UV LEDs. Bottom line, if I recall, is that they are both dangerous and don't really create any interesting effect.

<soapbox>
I think the TCSS forums are arranged pretty nicely. If you use common sense and scan the index page from the top to the bottom, it is extremely easy to find out where to start as an intelligent newcomer to the hobby. The problems arise when we have newcomers who don't take that most basic first step, and instead post a "Which end of the battery is positive?" kind of question in entirely the wrong section or thread. Being a newcomer is not an excuse for being, well, stupid. I can think of any number of recent newcomers who settled in quite smoothly, not because they already had all the answers, but because they took the time to learn how to find the answers, and how and where to ask questions when they couldn't find the answers on their own. It seems to me that this kind of common sense applies almost anywhere (even in the Real World), and yet, particularly on the 'Net, it is woefully lacking.

When in doubt, fall back on the Golden Rule of Thumb: Good manners and common courtesy will get you through just about any situation.
</soapbox>

[Skottsaber]

I can think of any number of recent newcomers who settled in quite smoothly, not because they already had all the answers, but because they took the time to learn how to find the answers, and how and where to ask questions when they couldn't find the answers on their own.

*ahem*

[cardcollector]

Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back there Skott.