The search for a lightsaber
The holy grail for every Star Wars nerd is the lightsaber. It's the elegant weapon of a more civilized age. It is also an awesome laser sword that cuts through durasteel and deflects blasterfire. If it was an accessible technology, we would all immediately get one. And then accidentally chop of a limb. The next best thing is to own our very own battle-ready lightsaber, complete with movie-accurate light and sound (just not the ability to sever limbs). To get a nice one means spending hundreds of dollars, so it's not really in reach for those of us on a budget. But one day it shall be mine!
Many have made their own, but there are also several companies that specialize in building and selling lightsabers. My search wasn't exhaustive, but I did look through several options. If you're interested in a much more in-depth look at buying guides and sources, SaberSourcing has a lot of information on companies, reviews, and profiles on character lightsabers.
Ultrasabers is a common choice, relatively affordable sabers with a range of blade colors. But the hilts are pretty basic, the shape and materials are not terribly imaginative. They're believable in the Star Wars universe, but they look very similar and pretty much stick to the lathed metal tube with a little paint. The price range seems to be the most budget friendly, with a basic lightsaber equipped with light and sound running about $100.
Saberforge is a company out of Oregon with battle-ready sabers, a little more expensive but a lot more variety in shape, materials, and level of customization. There's even a pretty nifty way of previewing how custom parts look together, an idea I believe they merrily stole from Custom Saber Shop, but reasonably user-friendly and the company assembles the parts for you (see below). Saberforge does have cheaper sabers, but it seems the middle for a light and sound equipped is about $250.
For those who want a more build-it-yourself saber, there's Custom Saber Shop. From what I can tell, this company machines their own interchangeable parts that allow someone handy enough to put together their own saber. This allows for more customization and that smug satisfaction that goes with building your own lightsaber like the Jedi and Sith before you.
And if you're willing to spend so much more money, there's Vader's Vault. To be honest I can't imagine ever buying one of these, they're two to ten times more expensive than Ultrasabers or Saberforge. The products look nice, but just about as nice as their competitors. This saber below, based on the character Starkiller's lightsaber in the Force Unleashed video game, goes for a whopping $2600. But it does have glowing Kyber crystal, so maybe it's worth it?
Ultimately I decided to order a lightsaber from Saberforge. For the actual ordering I chose:
Many have made their own, but there are also several companies that specialize in building and selling lightsabers. My search wasn't exhaustive, but I did look through several options. If you're interested in a much more in-depth look at buying guides and sources, SaberSourcing has a lot of information on companies, reviews, and profiles on character lightsabers.
Ultrasabers is a common choice, relatively affordable sabers with a range of blade colors. But the hilts are pretty basic, the shape and materials are not terribly imaginative. They're believable in the Star Wars universe, but they look very similar and pretty much stick to the lathed metal tube with a little paint. The price range seems to be the most budget friendly, with a basic lightsaber equipped with light and sound running about $100.
Saberforge is a company out of Oregon with battle-ready sabers, a little more expensive but a lot more variety in shape, materials, and level of customization. There's even a pretty nifty way of previewing how custom parts look together, an idea I believe they merrily stole from Custom Saber Shop, but reasonably user-friendly and the company assembles the parts for you (see below). Saberforge does have cheaper sabers, but it seems the middle for a light and sound equipped is about $250.
For those who want a more build-it-yourself saber, there's Custom Saber Shop. From what I can tell, this company machines their own interchangeable parts that allow someone handy enough to put together their own saber. This allows for more customization and that smug satisfaction that goes with building your own lightsaber like the Jedi and Sith before you.
And if you're willing to spend so much more money, there's Vader's Vault. To be honest I can't imagine ever buying one of these, they're two to ten times more expensive than Ultrasabers or Saberforge. The products look nice, but just about as nice as their competitors. This saber below, based on the character Starkiller's lightsaber in the Force Unleashed video game, goes for a whopping $2600. But it does have glowing Kyber crystal, so maybe it's worth it?
Ultimately I decided to order a lightsaber from Saberforge. For the actual ordering I chose:
1. A hilt style: Disciple
2. Hilt finish: Standard
3. Leather wrap: Black Standard
4. Blade color: Yellow
5. Blade length: 32 inches
6. Saber Electronics: "Veteran" level, consisting of light and sound, removable rechargeable battery, and ability to change volume, blade flicker, sound fonts, and swing/clash sensitivity
7. Optional extras: blade plug cover and Covertech belt clip
Unfortunately, that's all I can say about the actual saber. Back when I started writing this article I was planning on showing what it actually looks like and how much I want it buried with me. You know, normal unboxing stuff. I'd ordered it in September 2019, and the expected wait time was originally listed as 1-2 months. And now it is over 4 months later. I've contacted their customer service on this three times now, and they just keep feeding me tidbits of hope about how this time it should be shipped to me within the next 10-15 business days. To be honest I'm wondering whether or not to release the holy hell of "SEND IT NOW OR I WILL SMITE THEE", but at the end of the day I still want them to send me the product and I'd much rather that they built it correctly rather than hastily. Does make me wonder though, what the heck could be the reason of such a delay? A scourge of Sith killing off employees? Jawas loose in the workshop? Increase in activity for the Christmas and in the wake of the new movie? Probably something like the latter, I guess. In the mean time I shall exercise Jedi levels of patience and keep reminding them I exist. To be continued then...
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