Saber Forum

Alright. I've stated before that the V3 series never really did much for me, predominantly the Initiates and Aeon/Dominix. They lacked flash and style, and everything that drew me US in the first place. The only thing that made them good was that they could now accommodate the sound function.

As I hold my Grab Bag Dark Initiate V3, I look back and hear "Blah blah blah..."

I take it all back. The elegance of these sabers lies in their simplicity. The choke points make even the initiate good for either single or double handed wielding, even with my big hands. They are nicely balanced, with a comfortable grip. It's weight is almost unnoticeable when you grip it, as if it melds into your hand and becomes part of your arm.

The V3s may not make your cos-play pop, but when it comes to dueling, I'd HIGHLY reccommend a one.

Hey DL.  What have a few of us loyal Aeon/Dominix and Initiate die hards been saying.  So glad that you joined the club.  If you add a longer weightier pommel such as a Shock, you'll like it even more.  This is the duracell bunny of the saber lines.  The v3 streamlined choke points also make them excellent for spinning.  :D

I hear that. I was thinking about specing one with a Catalyst pommel. I just love that one, but I don't have one yet.

I agree, the Initiate V3 is fantastic.  I've swapped the 36" blade from my Bellicose into it and have been swinging it mercilessly.  It felt a little off balance with the longer blade but when I attached the Bellicose pommel to it, it evened out.

Thanks for the tip. Don't know why I didn't already think of it. I tried a 36" in an Initiate V4, and it seemed a bit unwieldy. I thought perhaps that I should spec a 32". I'll give my Archon pommel a try...ooh or my Flamberge pommel. Either way, both are pretty beefy.

The Initiate V3 is a pretty good one, glad to see you've come around.  As someone who uses one hand quite a bit, it's a very comfy and practical hilt.  They make good gifts actually, due to their low cost.

Logos, try your flamberge pommel on it. Now that makes for an extremely well balanced hilt for two hands, at least with heavy grade blades!

Yep Archon / Arbiter pommel works great on the Initiate v3 (v4 also)...... Flamberge pommel, I'm going to try that for sure......  :)

Darth logos , Indeed good sir the V3s are most excellent. The catalyst pommel looks like it was made for the initiates. I think it would be a good choice.

agreed! this is why i bought a dominix and initiate. i love the simplicity and room for customization.

Logos.  Please try the Shock pommel on it since you have that saber.  The Catalyst is a nice plain pommel but may be too tapered.  With the Shock you will get some extra width on the lip which nicely stops the hand from sliding without getting in the way plus counterbalance for a longer and heavier blade.   The Raven SS pommel is a good fit for the v3's.  :)

Tried both the Archon and Shock pommels last night. Awesome. I also tried them with the 36" on a Initiate V4. The results differed. Don't get me wrong, I love the look of the new ones, but it just doesn't feel right with a long blade. Even with the premium pommel. The V4s may look cooler, but I don't think they match the V3s' performance.

Each to their own I guess...... Try a 32" blade in the v4 or the v3...... My favourite go to saber is my Emerald Initiate v4 with an arbiter pommel and 32" blade, just "works" for me......  :)

I'm thinking the 32" might work better for the V4. But the 36" and a premium pommel work awesome on the V3. I'm an addict, so I'll probably end up with a few more of each.

If you have a high Manticore pommel, this will help with the v4's and 36" blade.  Also keeps that streamlined look without a mis-matched clunkier looking pommel such as the Archon.  I think that 16 - 32" blades work best with v4 Initiates/Apprentices as per their design.   :)

Well of course the 16" is going to work. And don't be hatin' on the Archon pommel. Thus far it's my favorite.

Huh with "well of course the 16" blade is going to work".  Lot's of members don't use them as think they are too short.  I too really like the Archon pommels and have both the classic and the silver/black one.  Specifically for the v3 and v4, these might not be the best fit.  But as someone else said, to each his own.  This is the end of my input on your post.  Roger out.

I put a 32 in mid grade blade in the initiate and it seems to work well. It also works well in my Apprentice, but heavy grades and 36s seem like to much, except for the HG24 in it came with that one is ok to me. might just be personal preferance.

A 16" is not practical for dueling, unless you keep it in your off hand. Like (I think) epee fighting. You have a long blade for your main, and a dagger in your off hand. The dagger can assist in blocking, and does exceptionally well for in-close work. You actually put a thought in my head last night. There's an old saying, "A samurai always carries 3 swords." A katana (36"), a wakazashi (about 24"), and a tanto (about 12"). This set up would make a pretty wicked cos-play. Samurai-Jedi

 To the best of my knowledge, epee simply means "sword", and is a form of modern sport fencing. The guard and blade cross section differs from a foil, as do the target areas, but both are thrust-centric weapons.

 A dagger would be used fairly often with a rapier, and often in films the rapier is represented as a cup-hilted epee, so i suspect that's where it comes from :)
In certain schools of rapier fencing, the dagger was known as a parrying dagger, in others it was called the 'main gauche', but that just means 'left hand'.

 I agree on the useage though, 16" is alright for a spear, but that's about it. As a lightsaber's blade cuts as easily as it touches, there's not actually anything to gain from using a short blade on a spear though, so it's probably limited to aesthetic purposes and tonfa use for the most part.

Ok then, Rapier fighting w/ a "main gauche". Same principle. A short blade is better for in-close work. It takes less strength (not that strength is needed with a real lightsaber) and far less room to use (to avoid collateral damage). Now if you don't care what you jack up swinging while swinging away, go nuts with a 36", hell go 40".

I bought the Dark Initiate V3 because it was cheap and I needed a cheap black saber for practice/dueling.
I'm going to buy at least one more because they really are great.
What I first noticed, like Darth Logos said, is that they are an extension of your arm in the way a blade should be, they feel weightless and motions are effortless with them. Excellent for one or two hands. The only thing not perfect about it is the two inches you lose into the hilt, I would've gotten a longer blade if I had known that before, 22 inches is too short a blade. Overall though, I'm very happy with it.

I have a Dominix V4 and I do miss the slim choke points of the V3. I let my brother have my Aeon V3 in all silver because he just loved the all silver theme again. I may have to get one of my own again soon =]