Hello from Chicagoland

[Akheron]

Hello! I live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. I currently have two sabers with two more on the way. I have just recently been sparring with some friends, and we are interested in getting a group together for regular practice.

If you live in the area and want get something going, please drop me a line. Perhaps we crossed blades at ACEN this year. I regret not getting the contact information of some of the cool people I met there (I guess I'm shy). I'm really getting on my buddies to pick up some Ultrasabers of their own instead of borrowing mine all the time; but I do have those spares, so if you too have friends that are interested, call them up! I live in the Crystal Lake/Barrington/Wauconda area.

And greetings to all other saberists worldwide!

[Jedihunter214]

Hello there welcome to the forums 

[skullsquadronx]

Hello Akheron Welcome to the Saber Forum family, from Northeast Pennsylvania.

[Taegin Roan]

Welcome to the Saber forums, what sabers do you have?

[scifidude79]

Welcome to the forum. 

Getting your friends to get their own sabers is an uphill battle.  I have friends who have been talking about getting their own since I got my first one in May.  It hasn't happened yet.

[Akheron]

Taegin, I have a Dark Initiate V4 LE and a Bellicose, both with Emerald and Obsidian V4. So cool!

I got a Raven blade holder for the Bellicose, and a small collection of pommels. Of the pommels I own, I think my favorite for the Initiate is the Dark Catalyst pommel, and for the Bellicose, the Malice round pommel. Though I think the Raven SS pommel would look great on it. However, once the QD coupler came out, I got a pair of those and a yari segment, so I can put the sabers together or attach the yari to either one of them.

I just entered the Autumn raffle with a tri-GB Apprentice V4 with Obsidian V4 (couldn't swing the Emerald this time), and I ended up winning second prize. They should arrive next Tuesday, I'm very excited!

Getting your friends to get their own sabers is an uphill battle.  I have friends who have been talking about getting their own since I got my first one in May.  It hasn't happened yet.

Oh, I know! It got to the point where I was pushing one of them to borrow money from me in order to enter the raffle in time! "Please, take my money, we need to build up an armory so we can start a club!" He was afraid he wouldn't be able to pay me back in a time frame that he was comfortable with, and he's too strong-minded for force persuasion to work 

[Taegin Roan]

Taegin, I have a Dark Initiate V4 LE and a Bellicose, both with Emerald and Obsidian V4. So cool!

I got a Raven blade holder for the Bellicose, and a small collection of pommels. Of the pommels I own, I think my favorite for the Initiate is the Dark Catalyst pommel, and for the Bellicose, the Malice round pommel. Though I think the Raven SS pommel would look great on it. However, once the QD coupler came out, I got a pair of those and a yari segment, so I can put the sabers together or attach the yari to either one of them.

I just entered the Autumn raffle with a tri-GB Apprentice V4 with Obsidian V4 (couldn't swing the Emerald this time), and I ended up winning second prize. They should arrive next Tuesday, I'm very excited!

That is awesome, My next saber is going to be a Dark Initiate LE v4 with Emerald and v3 sound, I hope to get a bellicose soon as well. I have been thinking about getting a different pommel to go with it, but I haven't decided which one yet.

How do the Raven claws hold up in battle, they just look so thin?

Congratulations on winning second prize. I didn't get to enter this raffle, but I am hoping to next time.

[Lord Raváge]

Labintias sulig tave Jen' Garthaz iv SoCal, bustas iv tave Tsis!!!
(Greetings from the Dark Side of SoCal, domicile of the Sith)

Zhelosa kia tu'iea kitok addiction!
(Welcome to your new addiction!)

Tikazi j'us itik zo kukas, tuls kair photos iv tu'saen is tu'iea Zibeti Karza kalsoka su tu'iea vidta.
(When you get a moment, post some photos of yourself in your Star Wars costume with your saber (click > here. < click))

Galez Akuyi Buti Su J'us!
(May The Force Be With You!)

[Akheron]

That is awesome, My next saber is going to be a Dark Initiate LE v4 with Emerald and v3 sound, I hope to get a bellicose soon as well. I have been thinking about getting a different pommel to go with it, but I haven't decided which one yet.

How do the Raven claws hold up in battle, they just look so thin?

Congratulations on winning second prize. I didn't get to enter this raffle, but I am hoping to next time.

Well, it's actually just the internal blade holder part of the Raven, not the actual emitter. You can find it here: https://www.ultrasabers.com/product-p/ravenholder.htm. It sort of sticks up within the Bellicose shroud, you can't see very much of it, but it does add a nice little bit of detail. I got the idea from someone else who posted a picture here. If you search for the terms, you can probably find it, or I hope to have a camera to use by the time my order comes in, I can post a pic later. Unfortunately, the Bellicose emitter itself is not removable, but I dig the shroud it has.

I don't think I'd try to duel with Raven claws. I've never handled one, maybe they would hold up, but I wouldn't want to risk it. In fact, I prefer to use the stock Bellicose blade holder for dueling, I've gotten a tiny ding on the Raven holder already. The lip around it seems a bit delicate.

You won't be disappointed with the Dark Initiate, it feels great in the hand, and I really love the emitter window option. It's a little short, but you can always add some length with a different pommel. The Dark Catalyst pommel I mentioned is very comfortable, and I think the flush diameter and tapered shape balances it well, visually speaking.

I love my Bellicose too. It struck me that, for some reason, it looks even better in person than it does in the pictures.

I do recommend springing the extra ten bucks for the V4 sound, the increased storage space will let you get some extensive sound fonts in there. There are a couple fonts I tried to use that wouldn't fit, even after cutting out many of the swings and clashes they included. I need to reformat and reduce the number of storage banks to free more space.

Good luck in your future raffles!

[Memeosity]

Welcome hope you enjoy your time here

[skullsquadronx]

How do the Raven claws hold up in battle, they just look so thin?

I haven't Battled with them. Just cough one claw on trim of my SUV door when it fell down side of the seat. So when I open the door to get it I bent the claw some so for sparring not good.

[Darth Acervus]

Greetings Akheron,

Welcome to the madhouse

I was afraid my SS Raven Claws would damage blades! .Admit I havnt dueled with it.  They just look so cool

[scifidude79]

Oh, I know! It got to the point where I was pushing one of them to borrow money from me in order to enter the raffle in time! "Please, take my money, we need to build up an armory so we can start a club!" He was afraid he wouldn't be able to pay me back in a time frame that he was comfortable with, and he's too strong-minded for force persuasion to work 

I won't give my friends money to buy sabers, but I'm willing to give them sabers.  That's probably what will wind up happening.

[bigBear]

welcome to the forums. check the groups and sparring section, could find more in your area as well.

facebook is always a nice start for doing a group and if you're interested I'd be glad to help get you started in the right direction....you can ask Ravage how I helped him get running.

[Akheron]

Thanks, I'll check into that. I did some searches, looks like I missed a bunch of NW Illinoisans by a few months. I'm hoping some more will stop by soon.