Saber Forum

Hey Everybody!

     I really want to get a saber that is a good wielder, so I'm thinking of getting a Diamond Catalyst! Super excited about the new technology, and I love the streamlined look and choke of the Catalyst. I had a couple of questions though for you Catalyst owners....

1. Blade Socket Depth--I read on another thread that it's about 1.75". I have an initiate, and it's about 2", and I'm not bothered by that blade depth; however, there's no prongs on the initiate. So I guess my question is: do you notice any wobbling or balance issues with a Catalyst? I'm not much of a 36" blade guy, so I will most likely get a 32" blade with the Catalyst.

2. The Catalyst is ~12.5" long. I love the length of my Consular (11.75"), and am ok with the length of my Dominix (12.375"). I sometimes would like some additional length on my Prophecy (11"). Am I stressing out too much about the fact that the Catalyst would be my longest saber besides my Crimson Reaper (which I don't tend to pick up very much)?

3. What are your opinions about the Catalyst? Is it light and comfortable for spins? Is there a saber I'm overlooking that might be better for me?

Thanks!

~SWF

Lining up my Catalyst with a 32" blade, my Aeon v2 with a 36" blade, my wife's Consular with a 36" blade, and her Initiate v4 with a Catalyst pommel and 32" blade, the Aeon & Consular are about the same hilt length, and same total length.

The Catalyst with a blade that is 4" shorter is only 1&3/4" shorter than the Aeon and Consular. The Initiate with Catalyst pommel, with the same length blade, is 2&1/4" shorter than the Catalyst.

Lining them up, the end of the Aeon and Consular's emitter lines up with where the prongs begin on the Catalyst, meaning the extra length of the Catalyst hilt comes from the prongs, and so doesn't really count as being longer in my mind.

I don't do heavy dueling, but I have done some light dueling and a lot, lot, lot of spinning, and IMO, due to the shallowness of the Catalyst blade socket, it just doesn't balance/work with 36" blades (I prefer 36" blades). The Catalyst needs a 32" blade.

The only down side I've seen with the Catalyst, other than it not working well with 36" blades, is that the emitter portion can gradually come loose/unscrew. So I periodically have to twist the Catalyst in my hands to keep the emitter tight (I consider this a minor issue). That's the only functional issue I've had with the Catalyst model.

Spinning wise, the Catalyst is easily the king of spinning, both in regard to speed and comfort. It is like greased lightning. I have found that if I grip it with my index finger above the choke, my middle and ring fingers in the choke, and my pinky below the choke, I can go even faster, dangerously fast!

The saber that is closest to the Catalyst is my wife's Initiate v4 with the Catalyst pommel. It is smaller, lighter, and very maneuverable, and has a slightly deeper blade socket. The real advantage is that it doesn't have a detachable emitter, so it never comes loose. The downside is, its choke is smaller and not as comfortable or quite as fast at spinning. (I have come to call it the poor man's Catalyst  :)).

My first impression upon receiving the Catalyst is that it is much thicker than I had expected.

That's some valuable feedback, Galactic Overlord, and I really enjoyed reading through the points and breakdown you made.  +1 points to you :)

Also those are good questions to ask, SWF as the Catalyst has crept it's way onto my wish list. 

One extra bonus I find as a strength for the Catalyst is that because it's full MHS this would allow for some modifications to correct any balance or grip issues if some pop up. 

That's what I thought, but it turns out it's not fully MHS compatible. I'm not very technical, so I'm probably saying it wrong, but you can't just swap out emitters like on some of the other ultrasabers. The Catalyst is unique.

The LED is in the choke, so you can't remove the choke section unless you mess with the wiring. You can't use the Catalyst emitter on another saber, nor use another saber's emitter on the Catalyst, because part of the LED module is glued into the emitter (I think this is the focusing lense, the heat sink, or something like that). You can swap them out, but it will require extra work/parts.

Hey StarWarsForce,

Galactic Overlord has pretty much nailed it.  (It's the lens that's glued into the emitter. :P)

I have some physical limitations, and the Catalyst was my saviour.  :)  It handles like an absolute dream, and made it possible for me to do a lot of the necessary moves to get spinning...

Until then I was "fighting" the saber.  It does tend to unscrew a bit once in a while - like  Galactic Overlord mentioned, but it's really a non-issue.  A quick twist solves it.  ;)

As far as blade depth/wobble: While the socket is slightly shallower, a properly tightened blade doesn't move around.  I had mine whistling, and never had a problem.

Hope this helps.

That's great info about the LED lens, fellas, thx for the insight. Never knew the emitter was involved with the glueing ... kinda makes me want one more, to trouble shoot that action and make a smooth exchanging MHS emitter section.

Thanks, Galactic Overlord and Lord Rapine, for your insights! As I've gotten more sabers, I've figured out what I like and don't like (although I'm not opposed to being surprised!), especially since what I almost solely do is spinning. King of Spinning, whistling....sounds like it's definitely the saber for me! Points to both of you.

Hazard, try to find and check out James Casey's review about his Catalyst. I saw some pictures there that might help you as he explained what happened when he started taking it apart a little. I'd link it, but the search engine is terribly slow right now for me.

Good tip SWF, thank you.

If you decide to pull the trigger on one I'd love to hear your thoughts about it.

Dark Catalyst: http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=21171.0
Catalyst: http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=23606.0

I'm at work, which blocks photo hosting sites, so can't see which one I disassembled, but from memory it was the Dark Catalyst.

They're a great hilt, and very nimble, but kinda funny looking so I totally get why more people don't have them. Had I not taken a chance on one as a project hilt, I likely never would have owned one - but now I have two, because they're just that nice :)

Thanks, James I'll definitly take a look and points for the resources.

Yes, thanks James for posting. I knew I had seen these posts before about your Catalysts--some great information and pictures of them! I'm trying to decide whether or not to get an illuminated AV Switch, so it was good to see one on both of your Catalysts!

On that note, I guess I mainly like illuminated AV Switches when they match the blade color. I would have gotten a purple illuminated AV Switch on my DVA Prophecy if US offered it, but alas....

Does anybody know if, with the new diamond controller, you can control and change the color of the AV Switch?

Both would be INCREDIBLY cool if we could do that, but we're not there yet, even with the monumentally capable DIAMOND board.

It is one of the most comfortable Ultrasabers for spins in my opinion. It's light, symmetrical with nothing getting in the way. The emitter has a choke point that is a natural point for your thumb/finger.

Thanks for the info, LB and LS! Points.