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The S.A.B.E.R. GUILD: Saber Manufacturers => The S.A.B.E.R. Guild => Topic started by: baterax on December 26, 2015, 01:20:25 PM

Title: Buying my first saber!
Post by: baterax on December 26, 2015, 01:20:25 PM
Hello all!

Ok so I have a few questions about how to go about buying a saber.

So I looked at all the sabers from the movies, Expanded Universe and a few others.
One particularly caught my eye, which is Master Rahm Kota's saber, because of the leather wrapping.

So I searched around and looked at most of the manufacturers around, and I've only seen ONE with the option to do the leather wrap, which is saberparts.

It also has a unique feature of a realtime 3D model of the saber, as you construct it.
I built myself a saber there, and it's actually a custom version, just inspired on Kota's saber.

Now, I need help from you guys on a few things.

1. THE HILT: As stated above, I made my version using saberparts' site, based on Rahm Kota's design. Do I get it from there and have a custom manufacturer like Vader's Vault do the other modifications? Or do I just use the pictures from that to send straight to the custom people? I ask this because maybe they won't be able to replicate that saber, or will they actually have to purchase from saberparts, or something?

2. THE BLADE: I want to duel with the saber. So I need a blade that's battle-ready. What are some of the best blades for this out there? Can I pick from ANY blade maker? I've been comparing a few and it looks like Hyperdynelabs's "Hyperblade" seems to be the best.

3. THE SOUND: What are the sound boards available out there, and what about sound fonts? I'm thinking of a simple, movie-close sound with no extra stuff (I've heard some that have voices, and SFX in them other than the saber, those are a nono). Ultrasabers has this feature where you press the ignition button and it does the saber clashing sound until you hit it again, which is VERY cool. Is this exclusive to their stuff?

4. THE LOOK: I'm going for a straight up green saber. I've seen some manufacturers have options for changing your saber blade color, having the color pulse between 2 or more colors, changing the flare color, for when you clash your saber, and things like that. I just want a white flash on clash, and I don't need the color changing or pulsing effects. But, being able to change blade color now and then would be nice, as opposed to having to buy different colored blades. I'd also love to have the illuminated ignition button, like the ones ultrasabers offers.

5. EXTRAS: I'd like it to have the covertec clip, which I guess comes standard with most sabers, but more importantly, I want to be able to charge my saber without having to open it up and remove batteries. Plugging in a charger would be ok, but ideally I'm thinking of a display stand that is also a charging dock. Has this been done yet? I'm sure it's possible...

I'm attaching a couple pictures of the saber I constructed on the website, and a couple more questions about it pop up:

- Master Kota's saber has leather wrapping all the way up to the switch. This saber, does not. Which I kinda like, it looks less simple.
- What are those two holes in the switch section, other than the red button (which I'm assuming is the turn on switch)?

Thanks in advance, guys!

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2776684/saber1.jpg)(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2776684/saber2.jpg)
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: TRDNiteLife on December 26, 2015, 01:42:57 PM
Did you see this? Force Relics presents: KOTA lightsaber (http://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/index.php?topic=45758.0)
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: LUMINARA UNDULI on December 26, 2015, 02:13:00 PM
I don't think Hyperdyne has made blades in years.
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: baterax on December 26, 2015, 02:14:32 PM
Ok wow.

That is really cool.

But, I was going for more of an inspired look, not a replica.
If you look at my design, it's got the leather wrapping and a similar emitter but the similarities stop there, I guess.

Also most of the ones on the site have a leather wrapping like what a Katana would have, which is VERY cool but not what I was going for either.
But now I have more questions:

Is "Crystal Shard" the generally agreed on, best sound board?
Are Genesis, Vader's Vault and LDM the "best" custom people? Are there others worth checking out?
If not Hyperdyne, which blade(s) then?
I just had another idea: In addition to the charging dock, is it possible for the saber to have a battery charge indicator? Maybe just a light that went on whenever the battery is almost dead.
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: baterax on December 26, 2015, 02:55:28 PM
Ok, so as a public service, I'll be adding things here as I further my research.

So far, I've found this great video, comparing some sound boards, and now I'm thinking I should get a Crystal Focus one. The other one I've heard good things about, is the Obsidian.

Any thoughts?

Sound Card Comparison - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59dp2qAC51I)
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: LUMINARA UNDULI on December 26, 2015, 03:44:50 PM
Batarax, unfortunately the makers of the Obsidian and discussion, reviews and comparisons of their products are not allowed here on FX-Sabers.

Conflicts of Interest and other Selling Notices. *Everyone NEEDS to read this* (http://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/index.php?topic=30011.0)
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: baterax on December 26, 2015, 03:56:58 PM
Oh... Ok that's fine.

We can still keep this going about the other stuff though!
What about the ones mentioned in the video I linked? (None are Obsidian made)
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: baterax on December 26, 2015, 09:24:39 PM
Nothing?
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: Caine on December 26, 2015, 10:54:07 PM
ANYTHING from Plecterlabs (Crystal Focus, Petit Crouton, Crystal Shard, Nano Biscotti, etc...are hands down THE best in the industry, and this is something that MANY people feel.

CF, PC, NB, Prizm and soon Pico Crumble are all available commercially. CS is only available thru approved Smiths in the S.A.B.E.R. Guild and is a fantastic board.

Hope this helps.
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: Onli-Won Kanomi on December 26, 2015, 11:38:21 PM
Backing up what Master Caine said about Plecter soundboards 100%. The Crystal Focus is the most 'feature' laden in the Plecterlabs lineup but all Plecter products are great boards just with different feature sets for different needs [not every saber or budget needs 'everything'] but what they share in common is that all Plecter boards are all excellent in the most important category; sound quality.

As for leather wrapped sabers there are a number of sabersmiths here who offer it on custom sabers and Vaders Vault also offers it in several of their production models.

Power Level Indicator [PLI] LEDs/bargraph is definitely a possibility and a popular feature on many high end sabers with Crystal Focus but can also be installed with other soundboards...certainly worth asking about with whatever sabersmith you choose.

A dedicated green saber with white flash-on-clash using a GGW [green-green-white] triple emitter LED star is certainly doable for a green saber and another option is to use a BBW [blue-blue-white tri-LED with a 'Photon' blade that converts the blue light from the LED into a VERY bright green blade.

Best of luck with your choices and MTFBWY
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: BOBA FETT on December 27, 2015, 12:57:51 AM
If you are looking for someone to help you with the leather wrapping, send me a PM. We do classic style wrappings as well, next to our Tsuka Ito katana wraps.
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: baterax on December 27, 2015, 07:12:08 AM
Ok awesome.

So, now I have blade questions. I was under the impression that a GGW LED would produce a brighter green, but now I'm confused. What's a photon blade?
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: baterax on December 27, 2015, 07:44:34 AM
Also, is the dedicated green blade brighter than a RGBW/RGBA? Or is it worth getting a multicolor?
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: baterax on December 28, 2015, 09:30:04 AM
bump!
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: QUI-GON JINN on December 28, 2015, 11:16:38 AM
Ok awesome.

So, now I have blade questions. I was under the impression that a GGW LED would produce a brighter green, but now I'm confused. What's a photon blade?
A Photon blade is a fluorescent green dyed polycarbonate blade that reacts to blue light from a blue led causing it to glow a brighter green than a standard clear blade with a green led.  Read more about it here: 30 Amp LED Sabers & Fluorescence Enhanced Saber Blades (Part 1 - Saber) (http://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/index.php?topic=46064.0)

Also, is the dedicated green blade brighter than a RGBW/RGBA? Or is it worth getting a multicolor?
typically,  the GGW,  where the two greens light the blade and the white is used for clash flash,  it would be brighter than using the single green on a multi-color led such as an RGBW,  or RGB,  but it depends on how you mix the colors on the color changing saber...using the blue and green together to make a pale green may result in a blade that is as bright as the GGW blade, but a lighter shade of green.

I would suggest if you just want a green blade,  skip the mulit-color led and get either a GGW with a clear blade,  or use a rB(royal blue)rBW and a photon blade.
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: baterax on December 28, 2015, 08:32:53 PM
Ok, thank you for an AWESOME, kick xxx read.

So apparently, if I get it correctly, the photon blade with the blue LEDs will be brighter, but the color will be a bluish green, as opposed to a "true green" GGW LED with a clear blade, right?
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: baterax on December 30, 2015, 09:16:14 PM
Ok so new questions here!

First, the Photon blade right now is only green, with blue LEDs right.
So if I want to do that, I'd have to do a rBrBW LED setup in the saber, and when using any other, clear blade, my saber will be blue only, and green when I use the Photon blade. Right?

And, I noticed Parks has different blades, they call them Phase blades... these ONLY work with their own sabers, correct? Like, their blades connect to the hilt via a 1/4" connector and there are no LEDs in the hilt, and they also have no sound. Are Phase blades cooler/brighter/better? Also they're NOT suited for dueling, right?
Title: Re: Buying my first saber!
Post by: Onli-Won Kanomi on December 30, 2015, 10:44:04 PM
Yes so far the Photon blades are only available in green and are lit by blue LEDs which the fluorescent dyes in the blade convert to a blue-greenish shade of green while also increasing the brightness by the fluorescing. A rB/rB/W tri-LED star would convert the two royal blue dies to a very bright bluish green in a Photon blade and the white die would be used for Flash On Clash. In a regular clear or transwhite blade you would have a blue saber.

Alternatively you could use a G/G/W tri-LED star which all other things equal would be brighter than a single green LED star or a RGB tri-LEd star that was using only the green die for a green saber because it would have TWO green LED dies lighting a clear or transwhite blade instead of one and still have the white die for Flash On Clash. You would lose the added brightness from the fluorescing of a Photon blade since a green LED doesn't add anything with a Photon blade thus a Photon blade is only really useful if one uses it with a blue LED but with a G/G/W you could have a more 'true green' shade without the blue-greenish-ness. So it depends which is more important to you the exact shade of green or the added brightness. Your choice.

Yes the Phase blade is a proprietary Parks blade for their own saber hilts. It uses a LED string similar to a MR or Hasbro Force-FX though somewhat stronger but without sound. Because it uses LEDs in the blade it can still be damaged by heavy dueling but it can have the slow extend retract FX like the MR Hasbro which is more important for some people wanting a 'display' saber than others especially those saberfans who are more into heavy or 'gorilla' dueling tan having a 'display' saber for whom an in-hilt LED is MUCH more durable. Which is why most custom sabers in the hobby now use in-hilt LEDs; most of us want to 'play' with our saberts as much as look at them. ;) Again its your choice to decide which suits your needs and desires more but those are the tradeoffs in the various blade and LED types. Good Luck and MTFBWY