Well you can order those from mouser individually, but the price is still really high:
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Luminus-Devices/SBR-70-B-R75-KG301/?qs=MiqG6Kq1qKNd13KUbZOV%252bA%3D%3DI wonder what the reason is for that. At any rate, I totally understand the concern about color. I'm hoping that the colored polycarbonate tubing from TCSS will take care of that (I have both thick and thin blue 1" blades here awaiting testing with some leds that are on the way). There are others who have tried this method and shown that it can work well.
My main concern first and foremost is brightness. If we can just get high enough lumens (white will always be brightest), then we have the foundation. There are ways of adding color to the blade. I want enough lumens so that it actually is too bright to look at for more than a split second (even in a lit room) and can be at least noticeably visible in sunlight. From what I've read, 3,000-4,000 lumens gets to be hard to look at directly. My hyperblade has, I believe, 600 lumens on full power (someone can correct me on that--need to get a lux meter), and I wouldn't say it's hard to look at directly unless you're in a pitch black room.
String blade or luxeon type--I don't care. One has the scrolling effect, the other has great balance--I'm just exploring options for the most realistic looking saber that I can practically build right now. It seems that 12mm led string blades are also a great option (thank you Spacewindu) and I'm planning to test those out later this week.
Thanks for the links, Greywolf. I've read all about the Photonic Bladesmith, but Sunrider's work was news to me. Looks like he actually used one of the uber powerful leds like Photonic Bladesmith, but installed a fan in the hilt for cooling. I was thinking about that myself, so it's good to see that someone has actually done it.
I just acquired a bench power supply today and am waiting on a few more tools, but I plan to start experimenting with these leds, building off of what others have done. I'll post again after acquiring the tri Cree XP L and a few other options. In the meantime, please keep posting ideas. It's very helpful!
Thank you.