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Author Topic: What's the difference between the Blade types? What's the best blade type?  (Read 881787 times)
Deep
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« on: September 30, 2011, 01:54:03 AM »

This is probably the #1 question from new Ultra Sabers customers.  So I’m going to do my best to break it down here for everyone.  If you guys have any difference of opinion or anything to add to the subject, please feel free to discuss it here.  I’m sure everyone would like to get as many different perspectives as possible before making their purchases.  Let’s begin.

We have 4 different blade TYPES:
1. Midgrade
2. Ultraedge Midgrade
3. Heavy Grade
4. Ultraedge Heavy Grade


We have 3 different blade LENGTHS:
1. 36” Blade (This is the blade length used in all of our non-Initiate sabers.  This is the length of blade you’ll get for your saber unless otherwise specified)
2. 24” Blade (otherwise known as the Initiate blade.  If your saber says Initiate in the title this is the length of blade you’ll get unless otherwise specified or upgraded)
3. 32” Blade (this is the blade length favorite for double bladed sabers and upgraded Initiate sabers)




Ultraedge EXPLAINED
Any blade type with Ultraedge in the title is made of white polycarbonate.  The purpose of the white polycarbonate is to make the blade look fuller when illuminated.  The white polycarbonate helps take the light all the way to the edge of the blade, hence the name UltraEDGE.  This effect makes the blade look fuller when the saber is on.

Heavy Grade EXPLAINED
Any blade type with Heavy Grade in the title has a blade wall that is twice as thick as a non-Heavy Grade blade wall.  These blades also weigh twice as much.  There is a slight sacrifice in brightness for brutal strength and durability.  This sacrifice is slight in regular Heavy Grade blades; it is a bit more apparent in Ultraedge Heavy Grade blades, but only for some colors.  These blades are recommend for all moderate to heavy dueling and heavy contact usage.

Midgrade EXPLAINED
Any blade type that isn’t heavy grade is automatically a Midgrade blade.  Blade walls on midgrade blades are half as thick as Heavy Grade blade walls.  Midgrade blades also weigh half as much.  These blades were definitely made with a bend but don’t break mentality in mind.  Because the blade wall is half as thick these blade will bend during heavy contact, but because they are made from high quality polycarbonate they will not break during light contact.  These blades are recommended for maximum brightness, spinning techniques, and light dueling and light contact.

I decided not to use pictures or video to help these explanations because the differences aren’t as apparent in video or in pictures as they are in person.  So I recommend seeing these different blade types with different colors for yourself in person in order to formulate your own opinions on them.





All Ultra Blades are made with blade film on the inside.  This film helps carry the light evenly through the blade.  On our clear polycarbonate blades (Midgrade & Heavy Grade), this film is what gives the blade a metallic/silverish look when the blade is not illuminated.  This look is a favorite among some saber enthusiasts.

All Ultra Blades are made with polycarbonate tips glued to the top of them.  These blade tips have semi-transparent reflective bottoms that keep most of the light in the blade in order to keep the blade itself as bright as possible.  If you would like that bottom removed, which would sacrifice some blade brightness for a fully illuminated tip, it would be a bit extra (much like a pointed tip), but we could build it for you.

Pointed Tips vs Round Tips
There is nothing special about pointed tips other than the fact that they are pointed and the other tips are round.  These cost more because we do not stock them and have to make each one custom on an order by order basis.  Whereas we have hundreds of blades with pointed tips made and in stock.  Increased lead time means that it will take us longer to ship the saber due to having to custom make the blade.  Typically this is only a 24-48 hour delay, but could (VERY VERY seldom) be longer depending on stock.














Deep’s Blade Type Opinions
Above is as unbiased explanation of the different blade types that I could surmise.  From here on will be just my OPINION of the different blade types.  These are not facts, just my observations and my opinions.  The first thing I want to say may come as a surprise to many people, but it’s definitely my observation… Ultraedge Heavy Grade is NOT the best blade type.  In fact it may even be the worst in some situations.  I think lots of new customers pick it by default because it has the longest name or sounds the coolest, but in some situations, it’s not the best blade type.

Ultraedge Heavy Grade is DIMMER than Heavy Grade.  The blade looks fuller because the light goes all the way to the edge but there is a slight drop in brightness.

Ultraedge Heavy Grade looks great in Guardian Blue, Consular Green, and Adegan Silver.  You get the benefits of a Heavy Grade blade and the great look of an Ultraedge Blade.

Ultraedge Heavy Grade looks good in Violet Amethyst and Arctic Blue.

Ultraedge Heavy Grade looks decent in Sunrider’s Destiny and Blazing Red.

Ultraedge Heavy Grade looks bad in Fire Orange.

AGAIN, these are just my opinions, my eyes are different than your eyes.  I know many people that think Blazing Red looks amazing in Ultraedge Heavy Grade, and honestly that’s all that matters is that you love your saber.

Again, in my opinion, Fire Orange & Blazing Red always belong in Midgrade or Heavy Grade blades.  Ultraedge and Ultraedge Heavy Grade blades take away from the true hue of those colors greatly in my eyes and is slightly dimmer.  Our other colors look great in both clear and white polycarbonate.

In my opinion, RGB sabers should use Midgrade and Heavy Grade blades IF you plan to use Red a lot.  The other 6 colors in the RGB look good in both clear and white polycarbonate.

In my opinion, Guardian Blue, Consular Green, Adegan Silver, and Violet Amethyst look much better in Ultraedge with the blade illuminated.  But the cool look of the clear polycarbonate with the blade off make it a hard decision.

I like round tips better than pointed tips.


« Last Edit: February 12, 2016, 11:42:27 AM by Deep » Logged

Emory "Deep" Harris
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« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2011, 02:24:49 AM »

Well said!  I'm just a mid grade man myself.
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« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2011, 02:31:01 AM »

This is great. I'll start pointing people to this from now on.

Just to add one thing, we use abbreviations a lot when referring to blades. Just to avoid/clear up any confusion:

MG= Mid Grade.
UE or UEMG= Ultra Edge Mid Grade.
HG= Heavy Grade.
UEHG= Ultra Edge Heavy Grade.


I'm also a mid grade/UE man. I have two UEHG's, but considering I don't really duel, that's kinda overkill IMO.
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« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2011, 03:46:49 AM »

Thanks Deep!  I'll point people here too.

My preferences...

Round tips.  Always.
Heavy Grade, no matter what.  It doesn't detract from the brightness, unless you're scientifically measuring it in infinitesimal amounts.  It also ensures that you can only break a blade if you're specifically trying to break said blade.  And sometimes not even then.

I started with UEHG blades on all my sabers, but recently find myself leaning towards regular HG blades.  Fire Orange should almost always be on regular, and should only be combined with UE if you want an almost yellow effect on-camera.  Arctic Blue, on the other hand, should be on an UE blade.  The other colors are relatively neutral as to blade type.
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« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2011, 03:54:01 AM »

Great post Deep!!
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« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2011, 04:03:37 AM »

Thanks Deep!  I'll point people here too.

My preferences...

Round tips.  Always.
Heavy Grade, no matter what.  It doesn't detract from the brightness, unless you're scientifically measuring it in infinitesimal amounts.  It also ensures that you can only break a blade if you're specifically trying to break said blade.  And sometimes not even then.

I started with UEHG blades on all my sabers, but recently find myself leaning towards regular HG blades.  Fire Orange should almost always be on regular, and should only be combined with UE if you want an almost yellow effect on-camera.  Arctic Blue, on the other hand, should be on an UE blade.  The other colors are relatively neutral as to blade type.

I second this, though I would be the opposite lol. I started with Regular Heavy Grades blades in all my sabers. Then started to fool around with UEHG blades, now leaning back toward the regular blades again =P

But yeah although I don't have a fire orange saber, I do have a Pyrestone Orange one and it definitely looks better in the regular blade. (In UE, it looked pale, dull and pretty boring in person lol) 
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« Reply #6 on: September 30, 2011, 05:08:06 AM »

Time to link this to the Unofficial Ultrasabers Buying Guide
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« Reply #7 on: September 30, 2011, 03:46:10 PM »

Thank you SO much for this Deep!  This is something I always try to explain when people are confused - though I can understand their confusion since there are quite a few different parameters for blade type.  I personally prefer the regulars - mid grade and heavy grade - to the Ultraedge.  Don't get me wrong the Ultraedge are very pretty blades, and the effect with the light extending throughout the blade is awesome, but I just prefer the simple unaltered light core in the regular blades. 

Lately I've been a midgrade guy - my very first Ultrasaber had a heavy grade which is great, but something that people don't realize is that the midgrade blades can withstand a TON of punishment.  I have had quite a few that have held up to all types of dueling.  To me, they're safer too - the hefty weight of a heavy grade blade can be dangerous without protective gear.  After all, the things are so damn tough that your head will crack before the saber will!  Finally, I prefer the rounded tips - simpler, cheaper, no lead time, and they make stabbing moves less painful for my poor friends Wink
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« Reply #8 on: October 06, 2011, 04:16:12 PM »

Thanks for the post! It was very imforative.

I recently purchased a UltraSaber and am very happy with it. I purchased a UltraEdge Heavy Grade. It was worth it. I had a duel with my daughter lastnight. Smiley We had to be careful though, she was using my Hasbro (I'm glad the UltraSaber removed the "Pwned by Hasbro" from my buttox) Obi-Wan ROTS FX Saber.
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« Reply #9 on: October 07, 2011, 08:46:03 AM »

I'm considering sentinel yellow for my next saber. What would be the ideal blade for this color in your opinion?
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« Reply #10 on: October 07, 2011, 09:35:03 PM »

Great post..
 
 Personly I think the blade If it`s UE or MG depends on the color. On my Luke ANH Hasbro I have a Blue guardian with anitiate/midgrade blade. The color is much warmer and dosen`t look like torch. So from now on It will be Mid grade or heavy grade blades. It`s actually a hard choice cause of the atmospheric room around you ,the light and of course the LED-color. The blade color is allways different on camera than the eye can see.
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« Reply #11 on: October 07, 2011, 10:35:28 PM »

excellent post deep. point for this! Grin
this is very informative. i wish this were posted when i made my purchase. i picked the perfect one though. this will help alot of people out.
im with round tips too Wink
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« Reply #12 on: October 11, 2011, 05:50:17 AM »

Deep thank you so much for posting this.  I found this extremely useful in selecting the blade for my first saber.

Just saw that my first blade is on the way, but of course at a minimum I am going to need a 2nd in the household and I am thinking it may be Sentinel Yellow (unless my son insists on consular green or sunrider's destiny--green is his favorite color).  In reading this over it appeared that the Yellow would be pretty neutral as to blade type but perhaps brighter in ultraedge, is that correct?
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« Reply #13 on: October 11, 2011, 06:04:03 AM »

I'm considering sentinel yellow for my next saber. What would be the ideal blade for this color in your opinion?

Depends if you want a fuller blade get UE, unfortunately interns a little orange near the tip.

If you want to see that yellow get Migrate or heavy.

I started out with UE but then mid grades really grew on me.

I like the look of the SY in mid grade because yellow is already a light color so it looks a little washed out with a UE.

SY ftw! Grin
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« Reply #14 on: October 12, 2011, 01:21:32 AM »

Thank you for the info, I've decided to go with the mid grade then.  Smiley
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