Inquiry about the strength of heavy grade blades

[Darth Nivek]

So most of my reason for getting into lighsabers was for combat and dueling, and I was under the impression that when these blades said combat ready that held true but I've broken 3 heavy grade blades during dueling. Now a few people have said, hey you guys are going to hard but we really honestly weren't. Both of us are about average weight and height and we're both using heavy grade so I'm becoming a bit dissapointed in the so called strength of the 'heavy dueling' blades. Any helpful comments or ways I can strengthen the blades would be great, maybe wrap am outer layer of plastic around it to take some impact off? Oh well, I guess I'll have to order blades every month like they're disposable lol.

[GeneralMalice-]

First and foremost i hope you and your family are doing well in these time. Every one has different experience and your mile may vary. Im 5'7" 175lb and my sparing partner is 6'3" 190. We go at it with our heavy blades and i have not had one break yet. We also take blades and baseball swing at other bladed to make sure they are good. I suspect maybe you have normal blades by mistake. I was ask to do a video on their strength of Heave blades so maybe i will do that this week.

[Saso Is-kor]

So most of my reason for getting into lighsabers was for combat and dueling, and I was under the impression that when these blades said combat ready that held true but I've broken 3 heavy grade blades during dueling. Now a few people have said, hey you guys are going to hard but we really honestly weren't. Both of us are about average weight and height and we're both using heavy grade so I'm becoming a bit dissapointed in the so called strength of the 'heavy dueling' blades. Any helpful comments or ways I can strengthen the blades would be great, maybe wrap am outer layer of plastic around it to take some impact off? Oh well, I guess I'll have to order blades every month like they're disposable lol.

How exactly are they breaking?

[Darth Nivek]

They are 100% heavy grade because because that's all I order. And during combat man. I swear I wouldn't be posting if that was the case. Usually it's when they impact towards the tip and it ends up snapping the tip off

[Darth Nivek]

[Darth Nivek]

I think it may also be necessary to note my friend is using the malice, which is rediculously heavy lol, so that may be a contributing factor

[firehand10k]

ALL blades will break near the tip when struck there. A little blade making history... In the early days or "combat" sabers tips were inserted about 1/8  inch into a tube and glued in place. It was fairly common for these tips to be knocked out but if they could be found they could be easily reinstalled. Many times it didn't even require new film because that was commonly glued into the bottom of the blade. A little after that some saber companies took customer complaints and advice seriously and began making blade tips that inserted 1/4 inch or more into the tube and were glued. They would still be knocked out but often with no damage or a very shallow crack at the end of the tube that could be cut off easily, allowing the tips to again be reinstalled. The a saber company began threading their tips into the tubes and this became all the rage so that due to popular demand even US took to threading  their tips as any company would to keep a broad sales base. This was also the time another saber company was spreading 2ord that glued film causes crinkles to appear in blades and makes them look bad, so customers  began demanding  unglued diffusion, and US complied, heck that's a step less needed in assembly. What no one took notice of, because a saber company made well edited videos  of how tough their threaded blades were (mostly vs trees), is that threading creates a weak point. Cutting threads into plastic gouges out material from it the was part of its structural integrity. Now these threaded and glued tips stay installed much better than the regular tips but when struck near the end of the blade or especially when struck on the tip creating leverage against the plastic, the impacts fracture the weak points and split at least as deep as the tip is inserted, often more. It also resulted in diffusion film being flung out of the blades and damaged or dirtied and requiring more repairs or replacements. It is the same for all manufacturers that make their blade this way.

Your best bet if this is a common issue is to buy blade parts from TCSS and assemble your own blades. They still sell tips with just the 1/8 inch insert depth making the odds of tip breaking less but you may need to repair/ reassemble them somewhat frequently. I use those and haven't broken a blade in 5 years of heavy dueling with a club who is known for breaking everything, including a few hilts.

[Darth Nivek]

Wow, very informative and helpful reply, appreciate all the info and that actually makes alot of sense considering all the breaks have been close or near to the tip. I think I have everything I need now to prevent this in the future, thanks again for the well thought out reply

[dogdoctor]

Now these threaded and glued tips stay installed much better than the regular tips but when struck near the end of the blade or especially when struck on the tip creating leverage against the plastic, the impacts fracture the weak points and split at least as deep as the tip is inserted, often more. It also resulted in diffusion film being flung out of the blades and damaged or dirtied and requiring more repairs or replacements. It is the same for all manufacturers that make their blade this way.

Wow. Makes perfect sense. Excellent information for the new guys and we'll be sure to attempt to not strike our HG blades near the tips! Thank you!