Thick vs Thin

**Eco** · 11-06-2009, 03:28 PM

Okay, I'm getting a little irked by people dissing on thick walled blades.

I realize that they are indeed heavy, and that thin-walled blades are plenty durable unless you're working with Novastar.
But mainly I hear that thick walled blades are not as bright as thin walled blades.
I don't get this, because my brightest blade is a thick walled blade. It's 28" exposed, and uses Tim's polystyrene blade diffuser and 4' of cellophane.
It provides an insanely intense beam of light.

I understand that the thin-walled blades have a larger interior diameter, thus yielding a higher surface area for light to reflect off of, but I have not yet seen demonstrated that thin walled blades really are brighter than my thick walled blade.

Or, when people say that thin walled blades are brighter, do they mean noticeably brighter or just theoretically brighter?

**Malaki Skywalker** · 11-06-2009, 03:41 PM

I have a set of Frosted white tubes from Tim, one with Erv style and one with 8 ft of Cellophane. Their both Thick walled and seeing as they have the out-to-the-edge effect they catch so much light. The UltraEdge, which is thin walled gets its sock knocked off by the thick walled (Could be because its less opaque) but still, its a thick walled.

**DJMoonbass** · 11-06-2009, 03:58 PM

its not thick vs thin as it diffuser vs film.

i dont like diffusers. the dont work for me. i will alsways go with film.

but thin wall thick wall. it really doesnt matter to me. i used to have a thick wall and thin wall ultrablades and next to each other same color, new batteries couldnt notice a difference, put it next to the TCSS battle blade. HUGE DIFFERENCE! why? the diffuser just doesnt work very good for light and eveness. film winds hand down. IMHO

**psab keel** · 11-06-2009, 10:59 PM

My personal preference is thin wall, but whatever you like best is what you should go with.
: )

**FenderBender** · 11-07-2009, 08:20 AM

Note: Nova uses mostly thinwall

I have done this comparison, with film only and we sand the outside of all our blades. Thinwall won. Same LED, same driver, same length blade (34" exposed) thinwall wins.

**Shadar Al'Niende** · 11-07-2009, 09:32 AM

Okay, I'm getting a little irked by people dissing on thick walled blades.

I have done a lot of reading after purchasing my thickwalled. Thin and thickwalled blades both have their place, although now that I understand the differences I will always buy a thinwalled. You see, I do not duel with my lightsabers except maybe with my 2 yo who doesn't swing the things harder than maybe just tapping it on the table

Even if you did duel with these, unless you were going full speed against a wooden boken or a brick wall, i doubt you would truly need a thickwalled blade anyway. The brightness issue has been nicely put to bed by Fender's gracious comparison..

That being said, some people just like a heavier blade. Sure the weight is not truly that much heavier, but it is noticeable. It is just like some people want a longer blade than others, for me...32" visible is good. I would aslo imagine the longer the blade, the more pronounced the weight difference. I believe a thicker walled blade gives a more solid look and may lend some intimidation factor to a sith type saber.

**Rhyen Skytracker** · 11-07-2009, 12:41 PM

I normally prefer thinwall blades but since Tim started selling the colored polyC blades I have been using those. I like the added effect of having the blade itself colored too.

**Eco** · 11-07-2009, 05:09 PM

Yes, I see the point of diffuser vs film, but my thick walled blade, which is brighter than any thin walled blade I have, is a combination of film and the diffuser.

**ARKM** · 11-07-2009, 07:18 PM

Here's the thing... no matter what you use, the more you add to it, as in wraps of blade film or clear polyP wrap, the dimmer (overall) it will get. That's just plain scientific fact. The only reason to add more than one layer of either, is to diffuse the light more evenly along the entire length of the blade, making it more evenly lit. This means that at first, the dimmer areas closer to the tip will be brighter but the area of the blade closer to the base will be darker. Regardless, the brightest part of the blade is now darker so overall, the blade is darker/dimmer.

Now one could argue which is brighter, a blade diffuser by itself or a single wrap of blade film (remember, adding ANYTHING to a diffuser or single wrap of film will make it dimmer overall). In my extensive tests, the diffuser won hands down and had better light diffusion than blade film (both with and without clear wrap). However there are others here that have also ran their own tests and they insist that the film is brighter. Without the proper equipment, it will never be proven who is right. As such, most people will just agree with the majority... even if the majority is wrong. That doesn't mean that I'm saying that I am actually right, it just means that as far as my eyes and brain can discern, I am... even if I'm not.

That said, I suggest that you purchase a 1" OD thin-walled blade and test this for yourself as it appears that the answer to which blade (or light diffusion method) is brighter, is subjective to each individual person's interpretation of the visual data... instead of actual scientific fact.

Of course all of the above could be just the ravings of a madman. Please choose that which fits nicely into your version of the truth.