Hello all.
I've been bitten by the saber bug for the first time in as a fortysomething Star Wars fan with more money than sense (as my wife might say :-). I've been reading through the forums and getting a feel for the outstanding work of those here in the SABER Guild and can't tell you how impressed I am that craftspeople like this exist in the world. Hats (and cloaks) off to all of you.
My query is this: I'd like advice on buying a saber, preferably not custom (not rich), but something a step up from the Hasbro line. Here are my main wishes starting with most important to least important:
1. Brightness: I've seen some of the sabers in person and have been underwhelmed with their brightness. Without burning out my retinas (no real lasers, please :-), I'd like a saber that has an intensely fire-like red-orange color to it, Flash-on-Clash color is less important, although yellow or white would work great. Something that would look bright in a well-lit room as well as outdoors in the dark.
2. Hilt - doesn't have to be a replica of a character's saber, but I would like something approximating the same thickness and dimensions. As much as I admire some of the more slender sabers out there (what a massive engineering job to get those electronics in such a small space! wow), I like the idea of "heft" in my hand. Something the thickness of a large Maglite, perhaps. I'm 6"3, 275 and have slightly bigger hands than normal.
3. Sound - loud and clear, but not complex. Basic on, off, power up, power down, clash, etc. are all I need.
4. Blade - while I don't *plan* on dueling, I'd like a blade that could be whacked, say, against a tree when I've had a bad day that 99 times out of 100 wouldn't break. No, I doubt I'll ever be whacking a tree that hard. But I'd like to know if I drop it on the ground while practicing tricks with the saber that the LEDs won't break.
That's all that strikes me off the top of my head. I really, really love the simple designs of the VadersVault Havoc, but if it were a wee bit bigger ... that, and I'd like something with a wide blade holder so it "feels" like the thumb and forefinger are "protected".
Do any of the master sabersmiths here possibly have something like what I've described "lying around" ready for ordering?
Thanks for all your help,
Dave