My first US/review - Dark War Glaive

[Vrakul]

Hi all,

I've just received my first US, the Dark War Glaive, and I am absolutely stoked. I went with a Fire Orange with Red FoC, Ultra Edge blade, black claws, and everything else standard options. This is my first US, and I just got it a couple of hours ago, so I may amend this review later, but here are my first impressions.

My very first impression is about the service. I sent an e-mail in and got a response from Emory within a few hours. I placed my order that same day, and the blade shipped the very next day. Kudos to Emory for the excellent response time and service! The holidays being what they are, I was pleasantly surprised about the quick turnaround. I had to wait out the long holiday weekend to receive the saber from FedEx, but it came in exactly when they said it would.

Upon picking up the box, my first thought is, wow, this thing is light. Lighter than I'd expected. Taking it out of the box and unwrapping it, I thought, wow, this thing is very light! I started to worry a little bit about that. I've got four MR blades, all of them beat to hell, my favorite being the Mace Windu which also happens to be the heaviest. In my mind I began to think 'light = cheap.' Was I wrong about that!

I flick it on and spin it around a bit. Wow, this thing is so light, but very well balanced. Great recess/choke point, and the machined grip is very nice, very comfortable. I begin to like it more. Light or not, I think I'll take on the Mace Windu blade with this one any day of the week. The machined claws alone on the War Glaive would scare the hell out of my opponent, and this thing is designed to be used. Yeah, I'll take on any MR/Hasbro blade with this thing!

The blade is, unfortunately, not nearly as bright as I had expected it to be. In a darkened room, the Fire Orange looks fantastic. In a very well-lit area, not so much. I'm thinking this may just be an attribute of the very yellow-tinted Fire Orange. I'm wishing I'd gone with red, or Pyrestone Orange (which I only discovered here after I'd placed my order, lol). Fire Orange is just too yellow for me, and I'd have probably gone with the Pyrestone if I'd done my research, but it is what it is. I'm sure the Fire Orange will grow on me the more I use it, and I absolutely dig the red clash.

The Obsidian sound is fantastic. It seems like I may need to adjust the thresholds a little. Specifically, the clash threshold seems to be set a bit high out of the box - I really have to thump it to make it clash. I have yet to actually duel with it, though, so I may eat my words on that one. I'd like for it to be a little louder, but it sounds great, and I can't wait to customize it.

Bottom line is, day one and I am a very happy new Ultra Saber owner. I could have bought three MR (Hasbro?) sabers for the price of this one, but I have no regrets at all - I am gonna beat the hell out of this thing, and I am very confident that it can take it. The wee bit of buyers remorse I have is about my color choice. I want my next saber to be of a much deeper color, and I know I'll come to you all for suggestions/scour the board for reviews when the time comes (hopefully sooner rather than later). Probably should have done that first!

To sum up, the Dark War Glaive rocks, Emory rocks, and Ultra Sabers - you rock.

Thanks all, you've earned yet another devoted Ultra Sabers owner!
Vrakul

[Zren Tobas]

Nice first saber. My sabers dim in bright lit areas as well so its not just yours. I take you got Obsidian goodies? I have a Liberator in Consular Green and Dominix V2 LE in Blazing Red both with Mid Grade blades and they are way bright but still dim in bright light. Hope to see some pics and a video of the saber in action. =] How is the Fire Orange other wise though? What blade is being used with it?

[Vrakul]

I ordered the Ultra Edge blade, but then I found the sticky where Deep goes over the different blades and he does NOT recommend the UE blade with either Fire Orange or Red. ha ha, I giess it pays to do some research before ordering Ah well, I'll be ordering a midgrade blade to replace it.

Having had a day and night to get used to it, I am loving the Dark War Glaive even more. I'm looking forward to seeing the difference between midgrade and UE blades with the Fire Orange!

[Darth Gekido]

My first US was a Fire Orange Bellicose with an Ultra Edge blade. I was slightly disappointed with the color. However, with my next US purchase, I got an extra Mid Grade blade, and the Fire Orange looks AWESOME! A lot brighter, better representing the color. Good review, btw. Been thinking a lot about the Dark Warglaive. Sounds like an amazing saber.

[Kham-Ryn Kurios]

My first US was a Fire Orange Bellicose with an Ultra Edge blade. I was slightly disappointed with the color. However, with my next US purchase, I got an extra Mid Grade blade, and the Fire Orange looks AWESOME! A lot brighter, better representing the color. Good review, btw. Been thinking a lot about the Dark Warglaive. Sounds like an amazing saber.

It is an amazing saber  and I agree wholeheartedly that FO looks it's best in Mid-Grade.

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Good review, glad you are happy with your purchase.

[Master Nero Attoru]

It is an amazing saber  and I agree wholeheartedly that FO looks it's best in Mid-Grade.

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Good review, glad you are happy with your purchase.

FO really is an awesome color, it's very unique.  Not quite as bright as some of the other colors, but it's such a fiery color that you tend not to care!  My DSI staff is FO, and I use 32" heavy grade blades on it. 

I also recommend the regular midgrade as you don't really want to dim the color any more with Ultraedge or heavy grade.

[Kham-Ryn Kurios]

Another thing Vrakul, next saber if you would like a deeper orange,  Check out Pyrestone Orange.

It has more Red in it so it sits between FO and BR, so it is a much Brighter orange; as opposed to the Fo more ambery hue.

[Vrakul]

Thanks Kham, and thank you everyone for the welcome! I noticed the reference to Pyrestone after I'd already ordered the Fire, but oh well. My next saber will likely be blue w/ green or silver clash. I think I'd like a very deep blue, so I'll likely go with Guardian. Something to that will be in contrast the Orange/Red of the War Glaive.

As for hilts, I'm taking a close look at the Aeon LE v3, but I can't make up my mind! Decisions, decisions, ha ha! I saw some great ideas on the conversions thread as well. So many ways to go - all of the options available makes it hard to choose!

[Vrakul]

Here's a quick update to the Dark War Glaive review:

The Dark War Glaive has tasted blood. Seriously, you've got to be careful when dueling, because those machined claws are unforgiving! I love it all the more. Truly a Sith weapon.

When stacked up against a MR blade, there is simply no comparison. The blade is brighter and more evenly lit, the sound is phenomenal, and the addition of the Flash in Clash option is simply amazing. I've updated the sounds based on the Sith font set, and I'm looking forward to mixing some of my own sound effects soon. I plan to use the Sith font set as a base and blend some custom howls and shrieks to different Lockup sounds. This thing will drip Dark Side. 

[Zren Tobas]

The Aeon LE V3 looks like a good saber but I think I'm going for the Archon V2 saber. Has a nice classic look to it. It'll be my first ever Obsidian saber too. Its going to be Consular Green Ultra Edge Heavy Grade blade, Obsidian with red av button and li-ions, and normal pommel, and Obsidian will have one of my custom Jedi fonts loaded onto the board. I like the more custom look to the normal pommel. Hope you can get a different blade for your Fire Oange saber soon. Looks like a good color. When I order my 2nd Obsidian saber in the future I think I will also go for Fire Orange but that'll be for a Bellicose saber unless something else cool comes out in the next few weeks/months. xp You know how I am when new sabers comes out.

[ed_ification]

Now, now - don't take on MR/Hasbro blades.  You don't want to hear all that crying when the Ultrasaber breaks them, do you?

Oh wait...   Sith blade.  Yeah, you do.  Heh.

You want the Obsidian louder?  I found it plenty loud on my DWG - but I do have the Obsidian 1.0, as opposed to the XT models.  But I found that the length of the pommel makes for an excellent resonance chamber.  Whenever I'm able to order my next saber, that pommel is almost certainly going to get used, as I found the sound excellent.

[Vrakul]

Ha ha, I've got a Luke, Mace Windu and two Darth Maul MR blades, and the Darth Maul are the only ones that aren't completely trashed (I'm a slow learner). I guess I'll just have to pull the trigger on another US blade today so that I have something in the arsenal that won't be completely destroyed by the War Glaive! 

I've had a lot of fun customizing the Obsidian board. I wanted it to be very dark, so I imported the Sith clash and lockup sound fonts into Audacity and mixed in some animal/monster growls, and threw in a duplicate lockup sound with a very subtle twisted, evil laugh at the end - that way it doesn't happen every time you activate the lockup. It's like the blade is possessed or something - I love it!