Very nice transition to the blaster. I checked out a few of your other videos on Youtube and had no idea you were as good as you are with a staff. Also the retractable saber design is very nice. I sometimes use a pike setup and would love such a system with mine. Well done all around.
Thank you! I saw your skills with the staff in the video too! My background is in Taekwondo. Up until I got back into things via lightsabers less than a year ago, I'd been out of any real practice for a handful of years, but I had practiced Taekwondo for close to a decade. I mostly only competed in traditional forms and sparring, but also had a good amount of practice with the bo staff and nunchucks.
As for the pike, I'm still working on ways to improve the design further. I'm working on a V2 now that will have sound and an eco-smooth swing (but the sound will have to be turned on before it's extended, and turned off after it's retracted), but I also have a V3 in mind that I'd love to try, but is not at all budget friendly, but would be able to have the ignition and shut-down sounds correspond to the extending and retracting of the blade and have true smooth swing, but I think the V2 will still be pretty solid for now. The V1 really is a pretty simple concept, but there were a few bugs that had to be worked out to get it to work properly. If you want, send me a PM and I can tell you the basics of how to make one.