Black saber blades?

[Darth Sky]

Rome wasn't built in a day...

[Manroon]

I should think that if you put a black rod in the center of the blade, leaving space between it and the blade walls, then had a ring of white LEDs around the emitter spaced to shine up between the rod and the blade walls, that you could then get the effect you want. It would be tricky, as you'd have to have an entirely custom built emitter and blade and the saber would more than likely have to be around the 1.5" diameter range (think the Force FX saber hilts), but it seems like it would be possible. Only as a show blade though. You might be able to get it to hold up okay for some spins, but it'd never really be a fighting blade as I understand saber construction.

[xBLOODMAGUSx]

how about a painted piece of smaller pvc?

[Jenny]

Try it.  Post pictures of your results.

[The_Night]

if you stick a painted stick up a blade, it wont light anything up. the light needs to be able to shine up through the middle.  sorry guys, not gonna work that way

[Master Nero Attoru]

if you stick a painted stick up a blade, it wont light anything up. the light needs to be able to shine up through the middle.  sorry guys, not gonna work that way

Thank you Night.

Summary of "black blades":  there is no "black light" so you can not have a three-dimensional "black LED lightsaber".  If there is light shining out you won't see the black...

[Jenny]

I think in BloodMagus' defense, his idea falls under "Maybe, if you set the LEDs to shine up the edge, instead of the center," but... again... try it.  Post pics of your results.

Frankly, though, I suspect that a black blade is only possible through CGI / post-production rotoscoping.

[Arakan Steele]

Thank you Night.

Summary of "black blades":  there is no "black light" so you can not have a three-dimensional "black LED lightsaber".  If there is light shining out you won't see the black...

Exactly.

Here's the science folks... black is the absence of light. Everything we see, all the colors, are just various temperatures of light. The reason we see things is because light is being reflected off of these objects at different amounts, thus creating a different color temperature that we see. Your brown shirt reflects less light than your white shirt. Therefore it appears darker because the dyes in the material do not reflect the light as well.

When you see an object that is black, it looks black because it is not allowing light to be reflected off of it. The less light being reflected, the darker the black will be. The more reflective it is, the lighter the black will be, approaching grey.

What does this mean for saber? Think about it, we're talking about LIGHTsabers. A saber with a blade of LIGHT. How can you have a blade of light the color of an absence of light? Answer: You can't.

[Master Nero Attoru]

Exactly.

Here's the science folks... black is the absence of light. Everything we see, all the colors, are just various temperatures of light. The reason we see things is because light is being reflected off of these objects at different amounts, thus creating a different color temperature that we see. Your brown shirt reflects less light than your white shirt. Therefore it appears darker because the dyes in the material do not reflect the light as well.

When you see an object that is black, it looks black because it is not allowing light to be reflected off of it. The less light being reflected, the darker the black will be. The more reflective it is, the lighter the black will be, approaching grey.

What does this mean for saber? Think about it, we're talking about LIGHTsabers. A saber with a blade of LIGHT. How can you have a blade of light the color of an absence of light? Answer: You can't.

Very well put Arakan, but I'm afraid your argument will be futile.  People tend to want black bladed lightsabers whether or not they're feasible...

Personally I blame Starkiller for this obsession.  I can't stay mad at him though, because those games are just too damn fun...

[Arakan Steele]

Yes; that's what it looks like to me, as well.  He's got a white LED, and a blade made of polycarbonate, with a dark core.

Unfortunately, you can't emit black light.  You can have a black surface which emits white light, but the light is white, not black.

Sorry for the double post but I just looked at the video. Jenny is exactly right. He has a smaller black core inside the clear polycarbonate blade, and the white LED shines around the black core. Notice that no light emits from inside the black core. It's solid black on the inside, and the white light merely lights up around it.

Considering lightsaber colors all have one thing in common, a WHITE core that turns to a different color along the edges, his "black blade" is the complete opposite. Basically, in layman's terms... he cheated.

[empty]

Have you guys seen black headlights on cars?  They are regular clear headlights covered in a smoke or black film or polycarbonate protector.  Basically it looks black from one side but lets light through.   You couid either make a blade out of the same polycarbonate they use for that stuff or cover a clear blade with the smoked film.  I'm guessing regular super black window tint would work as well, of course the light transmission would be decreased somewhat.

[Jenny]

Try it.  Post pictures of your results.

[Arakan Steele]

Have you guys seen black headlights on cars?  They are regular clear headlights covered in a smoke or black film or polycarbonate protector.  Basically it looks black from one side but lets light through.   You couid either make a blade out of the same polycarbonate they use for that stuff or cover a clear blade with the smoked film.  I'm guessing regular super black window tint would work as well, of course the light transmission would be decreased somewhat.

There's one BIG difference though. With a car headlight the light is shining in ONE DIRECTION. So you can adjust the opacity of the sides of the light cover to keep it black, since the light itself is only being seen from the front.

When you talk about a light saber blade you need the light to come out in ALL DIRECTIONS. 360 degrees around the blade. You can't adjust the opacity of the edges because there are no "edges" per se.

Stand in front of one of those cars with the headlights on and tell me if you see black.

[navajas]

Man. Seriously?

Well, you're welcome to try, but, believe it or not, this isn't the first thread on the internet discussing black light sabers. BEFORE YOU TRY ANYTHING: Do extensive searches because I can almost guarantee someone's done it before. Wait, that's not accurate. I can almost guarantee that someone has thought of it before and that idea has either been shot into the ground and hacked to pieces before coming to their senses, or, perhaps, done it before with poor / limited results and little if any success.

On any lightsaber forum this is basically the cliche' that will get you the least accommodation and illicit the least amount patience from users.

EDIT: Also, you've stumbled upon perhaps the only saber community that would not have, by now, sent out hit squads to kill your pets for even bringing it up. Consider yourself lucky!  

[Jenny]

(...) sent out hit squads to kill your pets for even bringing it up. Consider yourself lucky!  

Try it.  Post pictures of your results.