Saber Forum

Edit: Oh my, wall of text :O.  Pardon the sleep deprived ramblings.

So I just arrived back in England today, after a whirlwind visit to the United States.  My fiance and I hit 7 states in two weeks, meeting relatives and friends and the whole ordeal has left me pretty exhausted (not to mention the 30 hours of travel I just got done doing) but there was one bright spot in all of this, sitting at my door when I walked back home were two boxes, roughly saber shaped.

I was originally going to do an unboxing video, but my tongue is practically incapable of forming words in this state - so just a few notes to start, once I get some sleep and it gets dark I'll head outside and really put them through their paces.  

First up, my SS Raven in VA (quick disconnect included, with a CG MLS but it appears to be defective.  I'll look more closely at that later - I could be doing something wrong) w/ obsidian.  

My first thought when lifting it out of the box was "This is significantly lighter than I anticipated".  I originally had an ultraedge heavy grade blade on it, but swapped it out to a regular midgrade, because I liked the color better, but could still swing it rather comfortably with one hand, and pull off some basic spins.  That being said, it is exceedingly fun to use two handed, and I tend to duel that way anyway.  

I love the obsidian, and look forward to messing around with that later.  

I love the look, the SS pommel really ties things together nicely and lends the whole thing a very gothic feel.  

I strongly dislike how much the hilt rattles when you swing it around, and will probably look into a work around for that.  

Still, highly recommended - I look forward to getting to swing this thing around with a bit more conviction.

----

Next up, a pair of stunt sabers I picked up for dual wielding practice.  An Aeon V3 LE and Initiate V2 LE.  DVA and SY respectably - currently both sporting initiate blades.

These things are beautiful.  Solid in your hands, very well balanced and light and quick.  I simply cannot stop twirling these things around.  

I'll update this thread tomorrow with pictures / video.  

All and all, a couple of annoyances, but still a very satisfied customer.  Satisfied enough to put in an order for a Dark Prophecy in BR.  Last saber for a while.  I swear.   ::)

HAH!  Good luck with that ;)

About the rattling, I don't know much about the Raven but I would think it's due to the complexity of the hilt.  I don't have any rattling at all in my Consular, but then it's all pretty much one piece (ok so the shroud is separate, but we're not talking about big hulking claws here).

Where do you feel the rattle?

I'm guessing it's the battery pack.  All of the embellishments are pretty solidly constructed.  The Aeon on Initiate don't rattle at all, but everything seems seated in there much more snugly on those, thinner, hilts.  I imagine fixing this will be as simple as wrapping a bit of cloth around the battery pack.

Might one recommend electrical tape instead of cloth?

Excellent suggestion, thanks.  

Rolled out of bed and immediately ignited my raven, turning the whole room purple.  I think I'm in love with how bright these things are.

Tape fixed the rattle, and disassembling and reassembling the LED fixed it.  I think the base was screwed in too tight and was pinching a wire - but that is a guess at best.  Anyway, problems solved, let the fun begin.

Finished playing a bit more extensively, and a couple of my opinions have changed.

- I no longer believe the Raven to be one hand viable.  It's fine for some slow spinning and slashing, but I have some video of it almost knocking me down from the inertia of my swing a few times while really putting some heft into it.  Windows Movie Maker keeps crashing right now, though.  So that will have to wait.

- I've really taken a shine to DVA, after previously having considered it inferior to regular VA.  I think it stands pretty well on it's own.

- Sentinel Yellow.  MOAR.  Amazing color.  



A few low shutter speed shots.

(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/duneofdc/JLP_2398.jpg)

(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/duneofdc/JLP_2397.jpg)

(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/duneofdc/JLP_2373.jpg)

The hilts

(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/duneofdc/JLP_2418.jpg)

(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/duneofdc/JLP_2426.jpg)

And lastly, look at the size of that thing.  

(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/duneofdc/JLP_2355.jpg)

Wow, I don't think i have seen a Raven in hand yet. I didn't realize how huge that thing was!

Lightside point for the Wedge quote!

Oh, and epic choices and review too. That Raven looks sweet, and your spin photos are awesome. :)

That's what she said...

But seriously, those are some really nice shots, particularly the close-up of your DVA hilt. I don't quite know what it is about that colour but it's incredibly alluring. I'd love to see it in person.

Those low shutter speed pictures are A M A Z I N G!!!!!!  ;) ;D 8)

Thanks for taking the effort to show us such great pictures of ultrasabers in action!

Glad you like SY; I know some people don't like it, as it can be uneven a sometimes.

Point for that and great pictures.

Okay, after seeing this, I absolutely need to get a saber in SY!

Thanks for the photo compliments, hope to do more low shutter speed ones soon but my work schedule has been hectic since I got back. 

Sentinel yellow is a great color, I especially love it paired with a purple blade (be it VA or DVA)  but I'd avoid an ultraedge blade.  In my opinion it looks a bit odd in UE, unpleasantly pastel. 

It's true, I only use MG blades for SY.