So this may not be the right place to post this, perhaps it can be moved if there is a more suitable place.
Anyways, about 8 months ago I decided that one day I would get an Ultrasaber but it wasn’t in my immediate future. Flash forward several months and The Last Jedi was getting closer and my anticipation of owning a saber started to grow. I wanted to train with it, learn how to move it around and nail some spinning techniques but my lack of saber prevented all that.
Finally I decided I would crank out a few practice sabers made from PVC pipe and go from there. This tutorial is basically to show you how to make some yourself and will hopefully appeal to those of you who are looking to eventually buy an Ultrasaber but haven’t quite done it yet and want to learn some of the moves beforehand. They are virtually indestructible and each saber costs about $2.50 to make so it is ideal for those trying to get into the sport on a shoestring budget.
List of supplies:
-PVC pipe, you want 1 inch diameter pipe that is relatively thick. My home improvement store sells a thin kind that is somewhat flexible but you want the kind that doesn’t flex at all and feels totally solid. Be warned, it comes in 10 foot long segments…
-A 1 inch PVC end cap, you can usually pick one up near the pipe itself, make sure it fits on before you leave the store (each saber you plan to make will need one)
-Hacksaw, this is used to cut the pipe + sandpaper to take off the burrs
-2mm craft foam, this goes on the hilt and trust me your hands will thank you
-White glue or a hot glue gun
-Duct tape in whatever color you wish
Here is a quick photo to get you pumped up to make these sabers. You can also make crossguard sabers by the way, more on that later.
Measurements are key when making these. I knew that I wanted an Apprentice V4 saber with a 32 inch blade and so I made my PVC saber to mimic the exact length of what I would eventually buy. The hilt length of the Apprentice V4 is listed as 9.875 inches and I knew from research that the hilt ate about 1.5 inches of the blade itself. That means I added the 9.875 inches to 30.5 for the blade and it ends up around 40.5 inches. That will be the total length of the saber. It is important that you push the end cap on first and then measure it out and use your hacksaw to cut the final length.
Now we measure that 9.875 inches from the end cap and mark it. The end cap to the line will be our hilt.
Now we cut some 2mm craft foam and wrap it around the hilt. Glue it down with either some white glue or just use a hot glue gun. The hot glue method is probably easier because it bonds quickly whereas the white glue method might be a little trickier because you’ll have to secure it with rubber bands or something similar until it dries. We are gluing the foam to the PVC because we don’t want it to slide around the pipe when you are using the saber.
And that’s practically it. Put one color duct tape on the hilt and end cap pommel and a different color for the “blade.” I used white duct tape to mimic the “Adegan Silver” LED color here. Duct tape is used because it can be easily peeled off and it is much tougher than paint. It’ll only start looking kind of rough after a lot of use and then you can just peel it off and apply new tape. As you can see I now have my Apprentice V4 and it is near identical in size to my PVC saber. Because of the PVC sabers I have made I was able to rip my Ultrasaber out of the box and immediately launch into an Obi-Ani spin like a pro because I had been practicing for months already.
Now a brief word about crossguard sabers. It is achieved with a cross PVC piece and then you stick 4 different pieces of PVC pipe into the cross section to make the saber. It’s that simple. My local home improvement store did not actually have this piece, I found mine in the junk bin of my local thrift store. You might have to do a little searching online to find one.
Hope you enjoy making your PVC sabers and practicing your heart out y’all
This weapon is your life.