Saber Forum

I have the Dark Initiate LE V3, and I started customizing it this past weekend.  Well, I couldn't actually do it...  I paid for it, it is my only saber thus far, and still "my baby"...  So I had a friend throw it down the driveway twice, then take a dremmel to it...  Now I need to get some scrap leather and do some wrapping...  Maybe hit it with some sandpaper...  We shall see.  It is an ongoing WIP.

I had previously read in here about using glove leather scraps for hilt wrapping.  Thus far, I have been unsuccessful in hunting any down, but I may be able to go to my nearest Tandy Shop this weekend.  However, the idea of using scraps...  I will have to trim them up, stitch them together, etc.  It may not be quite as neat as I want.  I mean, I will weather the leather anyway, but still, I don't want it to look like crappy work.

I found these, though, and were wondering if they would be good options...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/181697580/genuine-cowhide-leather-lacing-14-folded?ref=sr_gallery_13&ga_search_query=black+leather+strips&ga_ship_to=US&ga_order=price_asc&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery (https://www.etsy.com/listing/181697580/genuine-cowhide-leather-lacing-14-folded?ref=sr_gallery_13&ga_search_query=black+leather+strips&ga_ship_to=US&ga_order=price_asc&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/181590497/genuine-cowhide-leather-12-flat-black-5?ref=sr_gallery_36&ga_search_query=black+leather+strips&ga_ship_to=US&ga_order=price_asc&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery (https://www.etsy.com/listing/181590497/genuine-cowhide-leather-12-flat-black-5?ref=sr_gallery_36&ga_search_query=black+leather+strips&ga_ship_to=US&ga_order=price_asc&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/181580488/genuine-pig-suede-12-flat-black-5-yds?ref=sr_gallery_40&ga_search_query=black+leather+strips&ga_ship_to=US&ga_order=price_asc&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery (https://www.etsy.com/listing/181580488/genuine-pig-suede-12-flat-black-5-yds?ref=sr_gallery_40&ga_search_query=black+leather+strips&ga_ship_to=US&ga_order=price_asc&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery)

I actually NEED to leather wrap my hilt.  I wear fabric gloves with my costume, and it is all just waaaaaaaaaaay too slick when I try to hold my saber.  I was working on my twirls, and I just have ZERO grip with the gloves.

Thoughts?

Another option is getting some O-rings (#18) and inserting them into the grooves of the Initiate hilt (see pic below). This gives really good extra grip. Could work and it's cheap and easy to put on. I plan on adding my O-rings back once I finish the weatherizing process. It does help with grip big time.

(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s528/richmbailey/Initiate-Mod1_zps9879adce.jpg)

My friend mentioned those this weekend, actually.  Where did you get them?  Is this a Home Depot item repurposed for sabering?

Those links all look really good for saber wraps... So thanks for posting! :D

I'd also like to see pics of the partially customised saber, sounds pretty good so far. :)

And quite a few people use O-rings, I believe they're used as seals for something, but they've been, as your said, repurposed for sabering.

Got the O-rings in the Sink repair section at Home Depot. Make sure you get #18. The fit perfectly and tight and are very hard to move.

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.  I may do a rings/leather combo...  The leather will help give a Steampunky vibe...

Those O-rings are super tight. If you put them over the leather wraps you may need to get them slightly larger in size. Just a thought.

Excellent, thank you!  I may get a couple of sizes and play around with it.

I think I may try to find a purty jewel and attach it to my basic on/off button.  Red, of course.

(http://img.wonderhowto.com/img/original/02/45/63480727002459/0/634807270024590245.jpg)

Also, since I have the basic pommel, I may do something like this to it...

(http://img.wonderhowto.com/img/original/47/59/63480727373318/0/634807273733184759.jpg)

Neither of those would interfere with twirling and the like.   :)

Sweet. Looks like a royal/steam punk hybrid. :)

Yes, although the one in those photos is not a "functional" saber.  It is just a flashlight that they tricked out to look like a saber hilt.

Now here is something interesting I stumbled upon...  Hm...  I wonder how jacked up this would get over time..  Catching on things, snagging things, the friction/pull of removing your blade from the hilt, etc.  I also wonder how it looks lit up.

(http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~obsidian/ObsiSteampunkLightsaber_04.jpg)

(http://obsigarden.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/obsisteampunklightsaber_01.jpg)

Thoughts?

The chick that did that used air-dry clay, by the way.  Interesting...

Hilt is cool, but no idea what's going on with the blade. :)

Yeah, I agree.  It is neither here nor there...   :-\

I like the idea of using both the O-rings and leather for a grip. You usually just see one or the other. Would love to see pics when you decide what to use!

Thanks!  Yes, I am ordered a couple of different types of leather "ribbon"/lacing, and I will go to Home Depot this week to get a few different of sizes of rings.  The leather is coming from Canada, so I hope it doesn't take forever to get here (Texas)...  But either way, I will certainly keep y'all up to date, with pictures!

Speaking of pictures, I need to photograph my distressing so far.  And then I want to hit it with another round of distressing...

Here is my "battle damage" thus far...  My friend threw it down the driveway twice (with the blade removed, obviously), then artfully hit it with the dremel.  I am going to hit it with fine sandpaper this weekend, too.

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2221_zps2a3560ae.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2220_zpsb7216e96.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2219_zps04b39c11.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2218_zpsf0fa8643.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2217_zpsb87fb5d2.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2216_zps1b2625cd.jpg)

Damn, looks like it got sucked through a jet engine. :)

Point

The current step I have been working on is sanding.  I am using very fine grit sandpaper, and taking it very slow...  Just a little bit at a time.  This is after the first round.  I have not decided yet if I will do more sanding...  Probably just some additional detail work around the rings for now.  I don't want to go too far too fast and not like the results.

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2242_zps1da8155d.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2243_zpsf43948fc.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2245_zps619d5948.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2246_zpsaf54ee29.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2247_zps6cef05b0.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2250_zps8799d048.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2251_zpsd4cdd69a.jpg)

Nice.

Lovely work S.S! with a little more sanding (not to much mind you?!) the weathering on that saber will look perfect!  :D

I'm interested to see where you go from here?  :)

I did some more sanding, with very fine sandpaper, areound all of the grooves of my hilt, plus on the ridges/edges of the chokes.

I had ordered some leather "ribbon" / lacing.  The black is thin, like ribbon, and about a half of an inch wide.  It is leather on one side, and suede on the other.  The red leather "ribbon" is a thinner width, but is a little thicker on the fingers, as it is folded over and made into a double-sided / finished leather on both sides "ribbon".

I also picked up some O rings from Home Depot, and a red thumb screw from elsewhere online.

I played with the black leather and O rings until I got a design that looked nice on the saber, and worked well in my hands.  No glue/adhesive was used.  I wrapped it ridiculously tight, used some twists at the cross points, and tied crazy-tight knots.
(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2257_zpse9c7c1e0.jpg)

I cut three lengths of the red leather, and made an incredibly tight braid to use, too.
(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2258_zpsa70ed0f9.jpg)

I made thick twists on either end of the switch.  I had to.  Before doing so, that switch would really hurt my hand when I would twirl my saber.  By wrapping the leather this way, I have created a nice little guard for my small hands.  I can now twirl pain-free!
(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2259_zpsea7270d6.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2260_zpseb8a0e85.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2263_zpscb955083.jpg)

My new thumb screw...
(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2266_zpse2c28f62.jpg)

The total look thus far...
(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2270_zps157f22c6.jpg)

And no, the leather hanging off doesn't bother my twirling at all.  I am very happy with my work thus far!  ;D

Looks nice ;D point for you

Thank you so much!

I have made further progress in Steampunkin' out my saber!

Here is the pommel that I jazzed up with Steampunky goodness...  I used vintage watch bits (some of which still spill and twirl on the pommel, which looks amazing), decorative/crafting gears, and lock washers...  I used Liquid Nails Perfect Glue as my adhesive.

And yes, in true Crafty Cat Lady style, I realize now that one of my two furballs was up on my crafting table...  And there are little whisps of white cat hair on this...  I will have to bust out my intense detail light, reading glasses, and tweezers to clean those out!  lol, oy...

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2306_zps4633b87a.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2309_zps10a2ce3f.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2310_zps0db724fc.jpg)

I also Steampunked out my blade plug...  Again, I used vintage watch parts, devorative/crafting gears, and lock washers, and used Liquid Nails Perfect Glue as the adhesive...  And yes, complete with cat hair, which I need to tediously remove now.  Thanks, 'Nizio...  Laugh it up, Fuzz Ball...   :-\

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2312_zps2aaaf3ab.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2313_zps74af2800.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2314_zpse948f4ee.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2315_zps38b267eb.jpg)

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2319_zps58e238b9.jpg)

And finally, my blingy button...

(http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums/r640/barbiegirlie2/Dark%20Initiate%20LE%20V3%20Customization%20Project/IMAG2323_zps250bd60d.jpg)

Very nice. Now it starting to really look machined for that steampunk look. Excellent job.

This is awesome! I've certainly made it your Own. ;) Point.

Also, that blade plug is amazing.

Thanks, y'all!  ;D

Those are some very neat pieces SteampunkSith. I have friends into Steampunk stuff that would approve.

Sweet job on that Saber!! (point)
Once it has been "tweaked" by the owner. it really gets a One of a Kind feel to it.  Great work!
You really cant knock those Dremels!!  I used a rotary cutting head (and some serious patience) to vent my Raven SS blade holder. (incomplete)
you can do some amazing work with one of the tools with a little practice.
My LE V3 Initiate is on the way...Thanks (and points) for those O ring tips for better grip  ;D

pics of my (incomplete) custom Raven SS here!    Cheers!
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=19866.msg308368#msg308368
 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=19866.msg308368#msg308368)

Thank you very much!  Off to go check out your work...