A question about Sabers

[Darth_Arkanus]

Greetings everyone!

I have a question to ask, which I feel is going to be a very touchy subject, so I'm going to try to handle it delicately and with fairness, so as not to cause any issues or get myself sanctioned.

It's simple enough really, I WANT my first, light-up, sound equipped, good quality lightsaber; but frankly, I'm scared.

I am currently aware of several saber smiths; Ultrasabers (of course!), Saber Forge, Genesis sabers, and a rather hard to locate maker called Makoto? I have, naturally, watched a lot of videos, read a lot of reviews, and from what I've seen, ALL produce products that I'd be happy to have. But here is the fly in the ointment; there ARE one or two reviewers out there who seem to have gone out of their way to discredit at least two of these saber makers; claiming that the "wiring is no good", or the LEDs are poorly mounted, or that "hot glue holds everything together", etc, etc, etc. They are also going as far as to claim of SOME that money gets paid and sabers never arrive! (there's a whole lot more said too, but I'm not about to repeat it!)

So why am I bringing this up? Well, as I said, I'm afraid. I am on a tight budget, and saving up for my first saber as we speak; but the last thing I want to do is part with two or three hundred pounds ($300-450 US!!!) only to discover my prized saber comes "unglued" and breaks in a week, or worse never arrives at all!

I guess I'm looking for recommendations really, either publicly or in private, and to learn what sort of experiences people have had. I'm not looking to slander or adversely affect the reputation of any one, or any company, I just want to be sure that when I spend my cash; I'm gonna get something worth having.

I hope everyone can understand that?

With that said, over to you guys!

[eerockk]

A valid concern, Darth_Arkanus. In such a small, specialized niche market, there's bound to be some mudslinging. I own 5 Ultrasabers and I can say that the negative experiences did not apply to my experience in the least. All of my sabers were shipped in 24/48 business hours, or if not, there was a reason for it. (I won the raffle and my order was put on hold for almost a week to accomodate the free loaded saber they were going to ship with it - a week is freaking fast considering the quality of the product). I found this out after receiving my first saber last summer, and I've ignored the negative comments about them after they were proven wrong on many levels. Ultrasabers do not disappoint!

When I had issues with a couple of sabers, Emory returned my emails quickly and courteously, and not one single problem I had remained a problem for very long. The fact is, if there happens to be a problem with something (and there might be regardless of who you choose - these sabers are assembled by human beings), Emory is very easy to deal with and will fix the issue. Nothing in my experience shows anything to the contrary - all issues were solved with a smile.

Take a look at this thread from other Ultrasabers customers. There's good testimony there about how untrue the slander is against them. http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=4039.0 and some good testimony from other Ultrasabers owners.

The funny thing is, no sabersmith out there seems to do a bad job... it's all words and politics in a cut-throat environment. Rise above it and just go for what you really want... the sabers. The politics with sabersmithing is better left between the sabersmiths - all sabersmiths will take care of their own. Don't let bad words poison any of them, including Ultrasabers. It's a much better hobby when you do! Products over politics FTW!

[Hake Felflame]

Unfortunately, because this forum is run by Ultrasabers: 1) you will not be guaranteed an fair and balanced discussion, and 2) this topic is going to get locked and deleted because they don't want talk of competing vendors on their boards.

[Master Bluespike74]

Per your request, I sent you a private message to discuss my personal knowledge.  I concur with E concerning the quality of Ultrasabers as well as the customer service experience of dealing with Emory (Deep on the forums).  

I am an ardent proponent of it is your money, spend as you want on what you want.   Best wishes to you getting the saber you greatly desire.  

Let us know if there are any other questions you need answered (publicly or privately) and we'll be glad to help.  

We have plenty of videos that you can browse to learn more as well.  E is a resident sound font demonstrator and if it involves the color blue, I'm your guy.

[Master Bluespike74]

Unfortunately, because this forum is run by Ultrasabers: 1) you will not be guaranteed an fair and balanced discussion, and 2) this topic is going to get locked and deleted because they don't want talk of competing vendors on their boards.

Point #2 can actually be said about every forum out there attached to a business.  I can't go on a Toyota forum and begin asking about Honda without the same thing happening. 

Point #1 you can take care of by asking to speak to this person via email or on another forum not run by Ultrasabers. 

[Rina Ascura]

Proud user of an Ultrasaber, and not going to switch to any other manufacturer. It has kinks, but none of the intolerable kind. And those other manufacturers have too elaborate hilts, while I value simplicity.

[Oramac]

I've got 4 Ultrasabers (see my sig) and haven't had problems with any of them that would make me even consider using another sabersmith.  In fact, I've never even really had a problem, per se.  No matter who makes something, there's always going to be issues pop up.  As they say, "we're only human".  But US has been great about answering my emails quickly and providing the info I need to make decisions. 

Disclaimer: The following is my experience only.

I've used several other smiths sabers, and while they all work, I can't in good conscience say they work any better than US, and a fair portion of them are worse.  I share your concerns about laying out a lot of money for something like this, and hope that the fact I have 4 of them already is testament enough for what you're asking. 

Anything else, just PM me.

[Darth_Arkanus]

Thanks guys, you're fantastic!

I know that this was a gamble, in view of the partisan nature of the location and the polarising nature of the question. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE some of the Ultrasabers designs and feel certain that, my concerns about the rubbish I've heard aside, I will be buying a number of sabers from them. I don't know Emory and have never spoken to him, but my intuition about him from watching his videos is that he's a really laid back, easy going guy and probably very easy to get along with. (after all, with a name like Arkanus, enhanced intuition is my business! hehe)

I will, if I may, message you privately to widen some discussion points. I hope that I may also be able to make some off-forum friendships too, if you deem me worthy of that.

Once again, thank you very much, and to the site admins who will no doubt view this, thank you for allowing the question to be answered so far. I appreciate your rationale and hope that you won't find anything posted here requiring a topic lock.

[eerockk]

I will, if I may, message you privately to widen some discussion points. I hope that I may also be able to make some off-forum friendships too, if you deem me worthy of that.

Always happy to take a PM question about anything! Seriously, the more questions you ask, the more joy you'll get out of hitting checkout if you order a saber. I lurked here for two months before I bought mine, and stuck around afterwards to help those like I was helped. A day doesn't go by where I don't pick up at least one of my sabers and work on stuff. There isn't a soul here who wouldn't help you either! Glad to have you here, and again, good question in your OP. 

[Darth_Arkanus]

Oramac,

I'm gonna have a look at the Dark Glave, because I rather fancy a Sith saber with spikes of some type (alla Count Dooku)

[Master Bluespike74]

Oramac,

I'm gonna have a look at the Dark Glave, because I rather fancy a Sith saber with spikes of some type (alla Count Dooku)

If you go with the Dark War Glaive, be sure to get it with the Silver Claws option.  It gives a really cool effect of an orb around the base of the blade.

[Oramac]

Always happy to take a PM question about anything! Seriously, the more questions you ask, the more joy you'll get out of hitting checkout if you order a saber. I lurked here for two months before I bought mine, and stuck around afterwards to help those like I was helped. A day doesn't go by where I don't pick up at least one of my sabers and work on stuff. There isn't a soul here who wouldn't help you either! Glad to have you here, and again, good question in your OP. 

If you go with the Dark War Glaive, be sure to get it with the Silver Claws option.  It gives a really cool effect of an orb around the base of the blade.

I'll second both of these.  Very true on both counts. 

[Darth_Arkanus]

I'll second both of these.  Very true on both counts. 

Ironic really, cos I rather like the dark claws in this case. I think it's because so much of the rest of that hilt is dark. It's one of the coolest dark sabers Ultrasabers do, the other one being the Overlord, which is in my view screaming out for an Electrum Gold finish to accent things like the emitter housing and grip!

What are your thoughts on the Overlord?

For me personally, in a Sith saber I either want something VERY aggressive looking, like Dooku's claw emitter fitted saber, or something very sleek and opulent; like Sidious' Electrum plated sabers.

[Master Bluespike74]

In my opinion, the Overlord can go either direction.  I have mounted a War Glaive emitter to the top of my Overlord in the past.  It was very sinister looking and had to be held with two hands. 

As for a Sidious style saber, the Monarch looks very similar but unfortunately it does not come in gold plating. 

Something really cool about the sabers is that every pommel can be swapped with another one that you purchase and if the emitter screws on and off, you can switch it as well. 

Check out my following video around 7:50 to see what I am referring.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCO68tPOH8c" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCO68tPOH8c</a>

[eerockk]

What are your thoughts on the Overlord?

I love everything to do with the Overlord! It's a lighter, two-handed hilt compared to some other sabers, both ends are MHS compatible (which would allow you to swap out both the emitter and the pommel), and if you get quick disconnects with it, you can get other MLS units to change up the colors. It's a thing of beauty on its own, but I am just discovering that it's as versatile as the Archon I bought, just longer and dark.

Overlord straight up (with my Bellicose's short groove pommel)


Here is a mod I did with the Overlord over the weekend with my Archon's parts. The "Darkon", if you will.


The possibilities seem to be endless... and my saber addiction rages on!