Archon V3 review

[Lady J]

Last week I received my Archon V3 from US and needless to say, it's a beauty! I went with DVA for the color, silver non illuminated AV switch and the classic pommel. I absolutely love the DVA color, its better than I imagined. The overall brightness is a little dimmer than my other sabers due to the narrow neck and the heavy grade blade but it doesn't bother me. Make no mistake, it's still bright!





The emitter is gorgeous and I think US did a fantastic job on it! Its a very sleek, iconic look.



And here's a comparison with my V2.1:



Couple miner gripes:

-The weight of the heavy grade blade and the lack of a choke point makes it rather awkward to do spins with.
-I'm sure you could duel with it however I am very nervous to. I didn't buy this with the intent of dueling though so this isn't even an issue imo.
-I can't seem to get the emitter off. The pieces come apart but actually getting it to unscrew from the body has proven to be rather difficult. Again this doesn't really bother me because I didn't have plans to swap it out at all.

Overall I am very very happy with this hilt. Its beautiful and would make an excellent show piece! Excited to have added this to my ever-growing collection lol.

[Zren Tobas]

Very nice. Cool to see one in a different color. Its like a tribute to Mara Jade or something like that =]

[Lady J]

Thank you Zren! I found this picture of Siri Tachi and I love the look of her saber.



The hilt in that particular pic kind reminded me of the V3 so I when I was putting it together I figured I'd give DVA a shot!

[Lord Sidious]

Nice collection!

The thin necks look amazing.

[Lady J]

Nice collection!

The thin necks look amazing.

Thank you! The neck is awesome

[JediXIX]

Ooohhh  . . . Niiiiice choice in DVA  . . . +1

[StarWarsForce]

I appreciate the side by side comparison of the V2.1 and the V3. They look beautiful. I was going to ask you which one was more comfortable to wield, but I think you answered that with what you had to say about the spinability of the V3. So V2.1 is apparently more comfortable, then...

Two follow up questions:

1. How comfortable would you say these two sabers are in comparison to the rest that you own?

2. I think you have a black AV switch on the V2.1 and a silver AV switch on the V3. Both switches match the color scheme of the Archon body really nicely, but which do you like better on the Archon body?

Thanks!

[Lady J]

I appreciate the side by side comparison of the V2.1 and the V3. They look beautiful. I was going to ask you which one was more comfortable to wield, but I think you answered that with what you had to say about the spinability of the V3. So V2.1 is apparently more comfortable, then...

Two follow up questions:

1. How comfortable would you say these two sabers are in comparison to the rest that you own?

2. I think you have a black AV switch on the V2.1 and a silver AV switch on the V3. Both switches match the color scheme of the Archon body really nicely, but which do you like better on the Archon body?

Thanks!

The V2.1 is easier to wield, yes.

1. Unfortunately the V3 is one of the more uncomfortable ones I own but I have been practicing with it a bit and its getting easier! Its more getting used to the added weight of the Heavy Grade blade than anything else. The V2.1 is my second favorite to do spins with. Its short, light weight and the neck makes a very good choke point. My Dominix V4 is my favorite for spinning because its just a tad bit comfier than the V2.1.

2. Personally I prefer the black AV switch because I think it looks pretty sleek, but you can't go wrong with either in my opinion.

Hope that helps! 

[Lady J]

Ooohhh  . . . Niiiiice choice in DVA  . . . +1

Thank you 

[StarWarsForce]

The V2.1 is easier to wield, yes.

1. Unfortunately the V3 is one of the more uncomfortable ones I own but I have been practicing with it a bit and its getting easier! Its more getting used to the added weight of the Heavy Grade blade than anything else. The V2.1 is my second favorite to do spins with. Its short, light weight and the neck makes a very good choke point. My Dominix V4 is my favorite for spinning because its just a tad bit comfier than the V2.1.

2. Personally I prefer the black AV switch because I think it looks pretty sleek, but you can't go wrong with either in my opinion.

Hope that helps! 

Extremely helpful. Thanks, and point!

[cstoehr]

The V2.1 is easier to wield, yes.

1. Unfortunately the V3 is one of the more uncomfortable ones I own but I have been practicing with it a bit and its getting easier! Its more getting used to the added weight of the Heavy Grade blade than anything else. The V2.1 is my second favorite to do spins with. Its short, light weight and the neck makes a very good choke point. My Dominix V4 is my favorite for spinning because its just a tad bit comfier than the V2.1.

2. Personally I prefer the black AV switch because I think it looks pretty sleek, but you can't go wrong with either in my opinion.

Hope that helps! 

I find it's not too awkward to spin the V3 when I grip it on the brass neck.  If I grip it farther back, the weight of the blade definitely makes it harder to spin.  Gripping the base of the blade holder with the thumb and index finger and with the other fingers lightly gripping the neck seems just slightly more comfortable.  Keep a steady grip in the blade holder with the thumb and index finger, but alternately loosen and tighten the other fingers on the neck as the hilt moves through the spin.  In my Archon V3 review I mentioned that the balance point with the 32" blade was about 1" forward of the emitter.

http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=25712.0

I didn't see a blade length reported in your review.  What blade length did you get Lady J?

[DarthLoki]

Last week I received my Archon V3 from US and needless to say, it's a beauty! I went with DVA for the color, silver non illuminated AV switch and the classic pommel. I absolutely love the DVA color, its better than I imagined. The overall brightness is a little dimmer than my other sabers due to the narrow neck and the heavy grade blade but it doesn't bother me. Make no mistake, it's still bright!





The emitter is gorgeous and I think US did a fantastic job on it! Its a very sleek, iconic look.



And here's a comparison with my V2.1:



Couple miner gripes:

-The weight of the heavy grade blade and the lack of a choke point makes it rather awkward to do spins with.
-I'm sure you could duel with it however I am very nervous to. I didn't buy this with the intent of dueling though so this isn't even an issue imo.
-I can't seem to get the emitter off. The pieces come apart but actually getting it to unscrew from the body has proven to be rather difficult. Again this doesn't really bother me because I didn't have plans to swap it out at all.

Overall I am very very happy with this hilt. Its beautiful and would make an excellent show piece! Excited to have added this to my ever-growing collection lol.

that really looks cool lady j

[Zren Tobas]

That's a cool art picture =]

[Lady J]

I find it's not too awkward to spin the V3 when I grip it on the brass neck.  If I grip it farther back, the weight of the blade definitely makes it harder to spin.  Gripping the base of the blade holder with the thumb and index finger and with the other fingers lightly gripping the neck seems just slightly more comfortable.  Keep a steady grip in the blade holder with the thumb and index finger, but alternately loosen and tighten the other fingers on the neck as the hilt moves through the spin.  In my Archon V3 review I mentioned that the balance point with the 32" blade was about 1" forward of the emitter.

http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=25712.0

I didn't see a blade length reported in your review.  What blade length did you get Lady J?

Yes I recall reading that in your review! I read through it a couple times while I was waiting for mine to show up actually. The blade length I got is 36" which throws the balance off a bit for me.

[Lady J]

that really looks cool lady j

Thank you 

That's a cool art picture =]

Yeah I like it too