FX-Sabers.com
FX-Sabers Discussion - Including a Gallery of custom sabers. => LED SABERS => Topic started by: Machinimax on December 15, 2011, 08:28:03 PM
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I was browsing Ebay for some Graflex flash guns. When I was looking a one of them, I was reading the product description left by the seller and well...read for yourself:
"Unfortunately, as you probably know, the original “Star Wars” light sabers were made using these flashguns, and thousands of these beautiful units have been destroyed to become children's toys."
(Please note that I bolded and underlined destroyed).
Sorry pal but I think I speak for all of us here at the FX Saber forums when I say we haven't destroyed anything! We've only made beautiful works of art and craftsmanship!
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some people really love old cameras. some like lightsabers. I'm not one to judge, I like archie and jughead when pooping.
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I've seen the guys listings before, and he doesn't feel bad about putting the word (Lightsaber) (Star Wars) in his titles to push the price up. He is doing it to egg on the camera collectors to outbid the saber collectors and to make the saber collectors upset enough to buy his item, just to convert it out of spite.
Your reaction is exactly what he is aiming for amongst this hobby's enthuisiasts, because it will make him more money.
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some people really love old cameras. some like lightsabers. I'm not one to judge, I like archie and jughead when pooping.
Most graflex sales on eBay contain a similar passage. They are simply there to increase hits and the seller really doesn't care if the flash is going to be used as a lightsaber.
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Ok I see the point you guys are making. I like how you guys have given me a different perspective at which to view this.
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Let me say this:
The Graflex flash in a case in my bedroom is certainly enjoying a nobler existence than as a relic from a failed camera company.
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while i agree the were not "destroying" anything we should
remember that people also collect these as camera parts.
its easy to forget that they are camera flases
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Oooooooooowwwwwww save the flash guns from a horrific fate. :P ::) Yes this has been brought up many times. Can these people be serious? And we think we are geeks. :)
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Destroyed? I'd say improved to become collectors pieces! ;)
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i would like to know what these sellers say when they see the selling price of a yoda Graflex ;)
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i would like to know what these sellers say when they see the selling price of a yoda Graflex ;)
They would say: "WooW!" (for its beauty) first of all, and then: "Mmmmmm.... I could convert myself to a sabersmith!" ;D
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ermmm, my own thoughts on this could be fence sitting, the ANH and the ESB graflex sabers are far and away my favourite, i don't have a vintage YET -- BUT when i do make my own i will definitely want two , one to convert and one to show the props history which will remain untouched.
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It is really like a classic car. Some like them to be all original, while other want them modernized and tricked out.
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Let me say this:
The Graflex flash in a case in my bedroom is certainly enjoying a nobler existence than as a relic from a failed camera company.
This is pretty much how I feel about it. The Graflex flash used for the ANH/ESB Luke lightsabers were pieces of crap. Before people started making them into lightsabers **almost** nobody wanted them - it's not like they were valuable collectors items to begin with. There is a very small subset of camera enthusiasts who collect them and will go to ridiculous lengths to ensure that people are NOT able to convert them into lightsabers. Anyhow, that's how it is.
There are some items that get converted into props where you might be able to make that sort of argument - maybe like using a real C96 mauser for your Han Solo pistol (or some other possibly rarer gun to convert). While I think an item that was originally used to kill people is far better off being converted into a sci-fi/fantasy prop that makes someone really happy and celebrates something positive, I understand why you might argue that as an item it has historical significance and should be preserved...but not the Graflex flash.
That being said, I've felt a little guilty about gutting Exactra 20s. I don't feel bad about converting vintage Graflex flashes at all.
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While I think an item that was originally used to kill people is far better off being converted into a sci-fi/fantasy prop that makes someone really happy and celebrates something positive, I understand why you might argue that as an item it has historical significance and should be preserved...but not the Graflex flash.
So.....all C96's were used to kill people?
This is a heavy blanket statement to use, I would like to disagree emphatically. A functional C96 has more value and use in its original form than in a converted form, this would be my argument for not converting it. A well maintained C96 can still have many more years of shooting left in it and therefore much enjoyment to be had. Plus, there are suitable replicas out there to convert. Now, if there were a C96 that was unusable for firing due to neglect etc. then by all means, it's fair game at that point.
The camera geeks amuse me to no end. What's more humorous is their discussions about this very subject on their tiny forums. What they don't get, is if it weren't for the value attached to these flashes BECAUSE of our hobby, most people would probably have thrown them away by now. There are VERY few people interested in ancient photography technology, and there is more than enough equipment to go around to satisfy the small numbers of their hobby. That said, there are also suitable replicas of this flash for BOTH hobbies to enjoy. Not to mention, very little is done structurally to the flash to ruin it's value. Other than the D-ring, and the ESB grip screws, the ANH version is almost unscathed.
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So.....all C96's were used to kill people?
This is a heavy blanket statement to use, I would like to disagree emphatically. A functional C96 has more value and use in its original form than in a converted form, this would be my argument for not converting it. A well maintained C96 can still have many more years of shooting left in it and therefore much enjoyment to be had. Plus, there are suitable replicas out there to convert. Now, if there were a C96 that was unusable for firing due to neglect etc. then by all means, it's fair game at that point.
No, not all C96s (or any guns) were actually used to kill people, but I'm just not a huge fan of guns myself and I view them mostly as weapons that aren't good for a whole lot beyond hurting people, animals, and things, but that's a philosophical argument for another time and place, and I don't want to start a huge argument about this. Anyhow, that's the point of view where my initial statement was coming from, but I respect that people can enjoy owning and shooting guns - just I personally don't see any value in them.
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Fair enough, I wasn't trying to start an argument ;) I was just pointing out that the statement made could come across as....something else, to people who share the opposite philosophy.
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Fair enough, I wasn't trying to start an argument ;) I was just pointing out that the statement made could come across as....something else, to people who share the opposite philosophy.
I totally understand - sorry I came across a bit strongly in the last post - I wasn't trying to defensively suggest that you were trying to start an argument, I just can see how quickly a topic like this can devolve into an argument and want to avoid that. :P It's the sort of argument that no one ever wins, especially on the Internets. ::)
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Right! So lets get back to bashing those photography geeks ;D
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While I think an item that was originally used to kill people is far better off being converted into a sci-fi/fantasy prop that makes someone really happy and celebrates something positive, I understand why you might argue that as an item it has historical significance and should be preserved...but not the Graflex flash.
So.....all C96's were used to kill people?
This is a heavy blanket statement to use, I would like to disagree emphatically. A functional C96 has more value and use in its original form than in a converted form, this would be my argument for not converting it. A well maintained C96 can still have many more years of shooting left in it and therefore much enjoyment to be had. Plus, there are suitable replicas out there to convert. Now, if there were a C96 that was unusable for firing due to neglect etc. then by all means, it's fair game at that point.
The camera geeks amuse me to no end. What's more humorous is their discussions about this very subject on their tiny forums. What they don't get, is if it weren't for the value attached to these flashes BECAUSE of our hobby, most people would probably have thrown them away by now. There are VERY few people interested in ancient photography technology, and there is more than enough equipment to go around to satisfy the small numbers of their hobby. That said, there are also suitable replicas of this flash for BOTH hobbies to enjoy. Not to mention, very little is done structurally to the flash to ruin it's value. Other than the D-ring, and the ESB grip screws, the ANH version is almost unscathed.
Wow I never knew that! So we're the ones mostly keeping the Graflex alive today eh?
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Of course we are. They used to be $10 at camera meets. Basically worthless to their hobby... but once they find out it's not so worthless to ours, they get all protective. It's suddenly much more valuable for them to brag that they have it now.
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Exactly, worthless :D Before the saber/prop hobby exploded, even the camera guys didn't care about them. Now that there is a demand for them for something else besides camera duty, they get all uppity. That's what I find so funny :D
They're lucky they didn't get melted down for cartridge shells during the war really. Good thing that brass wasn't in real shortage then.
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Exactly, worthless :D Before the saber/prop hobby exploded, even the camera guys didn't care about them. Now that there is a demand for them for something else besides camera duty, they get all uppity. That's what I find so funny :D
They're lucky they didn't get melted down for cartridge shells during the war really. Good thing that brass wasn't in real shortage then.
Yeah that or the spice mines of Kessel, smashed into who knows what! ;D
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It reminds me of dealing with my daughters, leave a toy belonging to one of them on the table for 8 hours untouched, and it's no big deal, as soon as the girl that doesn't own the toy reaches out for it, the other one materializes as if from nowhere screeching "NO! THAT'S MINE!"
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Hopefully for camera parts collectors,it's easy to find a working replica graflex or MPP flash for photography!
I think they can say "thanks" to star wars enthusiasts...