Lure of the Deep

[jeff the killer440]

amazing hilt and a nice color to go with it

[Khaalis]

Got a few questions.

1) What did you use as an adhesive for the wrap?
2) Do you ave an exact edge at the bottom of the hilt or is it slightly folded under and secured by screwing on the pommel?
3) I've been tempted to do the blade customization, but I have to ask. How do you get the tips off without breaking anything? The blades I have have tips that seem VERY securely attached.

Great job BTW.

[Darth Cephalus]

Got a few questions.

1) What did you use as an adhesive for the wrap?
2) Do you ave an exact edge at the bottom of the hilt or is it slightly folded under and secured by screwing on the pommel?
3) I've been tempted to do the blade customization, but I have to ask. How do you get the tips off without breaking anything? The blades I have have tips that seem VERY securely attached.

Great job BTW.

1) I did not need to use an adhesive. The wrap had a contact backing.
2) I went with a exact edge. The carbon fiber sheet was pretty thick. When I tried to fold it under, it created a bubble so I trimmed off the extra. Originally, I had an O ring on it for a while just above the pommel to make sure it did not start to come up, but that was unnecessary after a week or two.
3)I was lucky on this front: I hit it on something during practice and the tip flew off. You can also use a pipe cutter to remove it though. Put the cutting edge on the place the tip meets the blades to break the glue. One word of caution though, unless you have a pointed tip, I would not say it is worth it. The rounded tips look illuminated when captured on video even if they don't when sitting in front of your face. I modified one of my rounded tips and it did make a difference in the brightness of the blade. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't.

Hope this helps.

[Khaalis]

Thanks for the response.  What type of ipad cover was it and how did you get the wrap material to still have it's self adhesive?  Just curious.
 
As for the blade mod, thanks for the tip. I have round and point tip blades so that's really useful to know.

[Darth Cephalus]

It was a carbon fiber back protector for an ipad 1. I bought it on clearance a while ago only to find it would not work with an ipad 3 because of the camera. It had been sitting around for a year or so and had never been used so the adhesive was still plenty viable and designed to stick to aluminum. A lot of people have used contact paper of various types as saber finishes. I think there is even a stickied tutorial up there. While not a fan of vinyl contact paper, the carbon fiber worked well. It's thicker, has a nice sheen and grips well. I imagine that is why they use it so often in pens and styluses. 

[Darth Cephalus]

A couple people asked about the contact fiber sheet. I looked around and have a few options. I can't post links per forum rules (at least I don't think I can so I won't) but I can tell you what is out there.

Actual carbon fiber: starts at about $30 for a 12" x 12" sheet. Has to be ordered and is available in different weaves in matte or with a gloss coat. Best self adhesive I found was a company called Dragon plate.

Vinyl 3d imitation carbon fiber: self adhesive, averages about $5 for a 1.5' x 5' sheet. Can be ordered online or found at craft stores.

Duck tape sheet (black textured): actually more of an alligator skin texture than carbon fiber. About $2 for an 8 1/2" x 11" and can be found all over the place.

Hope this helps.

[Darth Cephalus]

I decided to fiddle with the plates I made to replace the claws. I set a spherical garnet in them. I also made another set that is going to sport a pair of hexagonal chunks of hematite (pics of them when they are done)

[Darth Cephalus]

New update with a dark Omen pommel and the hematite inlaid plates.