With great glee I am now an Ultrasaber owner! Here’s my (hopefully only the first) review of what I got – the stunning Archon v2.
I had looked at Ultrasabers some months ago, marveling at all the different sabres and turning their beauty over in my mind’s eye. At the time I chose the Shock LE as my preferred saber, if I were to get one. Which at the time I didn’t, a move that turned out to be somewhat fortuitous for when a friend recently told me he was buying a sabre and I should get one to duel with him I discovered the newly released Archon v2.
And I couldn’t be happier with it. The Archon v2 is a gorgeous sabre: elegant, classic and svelte. It looks marvelous both in display as well as in hand. The black at the pommel, the grip and the neck highlight the detail and give the sabre a greater feeling of depth and of a real working tool. I chose the standard raised button as more ‘greebles’ also make it seem more real and constructed.
The tooled neck and the flanged emitter are what really set this sabre apart, a nice homage without being a copy, giving the sabre a distinct look as well as its classic lines.
Best of all, this beauty also feels GREAT in the hands. The neck of the sabre gives an excellent grip and control, while the shallow grooves near the base of the hilt and the pommel work surprisingly well to give the back hand a nice grip.
When I use the sabre my hands naturally come to rest up near the emitter, with the first finger above the ridge on the neck, the second below that, and the rest on the grooved hilt.
This gives great control, and the handle feels very well balanced like this. When I spin my fingers slip one notch down, and it twirls around beautifully.
Nicely, the hilt also feels great if you want a narrower grip, and the grooves just above the button allow for a very secure feel in the hand, and the button itself doesn’t get in the way.
Held like this with the neck still visible the sabre looks great and menacing, and retains that classic movie feel.
Here’s a photo of the balance point with a mid-grade blade. The heavy grades will pull the balance point a bit closer to the end of the emitter.
This is an excellent balance point for a lightsabre. Without the need of heavy chopping power, and only some phantom mass/inertia with the blade pulling the balance point to just about the emitter it allows the weapon to be very nimble. And it makes it easy for great spinning.
I bought my Archon with a quick-disconnect and two colours: Fire Orange and Arctic Blue. I love them both. The orange is a great colour, very distinct, and quite orange-the-fruit kind of orange. It looks fabulous on camera. The arctic blue is delicious, very reminiscent of the films and super bright.
This new version of the Archon also sports MHS threads at both ends of the hilt, leaving customization options wide open, which in of itself is awesome. I bought two extra emitters (Consular and War Glaive) and that’s just darn sweet to have the option. (I’ve thrown photos up in the Gallery forum here – personally I think the Archon with the War Glaive head looks better than the standard War Glaive!).
Lastly sound. Listen (no pun intended), there’s no contest here , buy it with sound. 1000%. There was a great quote about how visitors to the engine room set of Star Trek: Next Gen felt somehow that the experience fell flat compared to how they imagined it, simply because the sounds heard on the show were not there. Without sounds it didn’t "feel" real. Same is true here. Without sounds your twirling around a stick. With sounds the sabre gains mass, danger, presence and energy. Even just the idle hum makes it have that much more oomph. Spring for the sound, you will not be disappointed.
I give this sabre high marks all around. The style is gorgeous. The feel is excellent. The electronics are solid. The sound is exquisite and resonates well. And Ultrasabres got me my shipment in 3 business days. That’s just awesome.
My friend and I have dueled. I got a nice bruise on my knuckle. We scared the neighbours (well, maybe not) with the clashes of our weapons. We tested the strength of our blades (no damage). We posed, postured, swing, struck, lunged, dodged, parried and pranced. Many body parts lay littering the ground, many dual kills, many times one was maimed while the other killed.
And all the while both of us are grinning like crazy, loving every single minute of it.
Peace,
Kannik
