Standard Issue Battle Saber Review - Pictures & text only.

[hedgehog1]

Greetings fellow Jedi (and those who lean to the dark side, too, I guess   ).

Here are a few pictures of the Standard Issue Battle Saber that I received last week.  The color is Guardian Blue:



This saber is a 'two piece' design.  It  has a single hilt/emitter, and a pommel.  This unit is the VERY basic battery, Resistor, Switch and LED Module.



Being an engineer type of person, I did what any engineer would do.  I got out my calipers and started measuring!

You know how they say the the emitter opening is meant for a 1 inch blade?  Look just how accurate the 1 inch bore really is:

1.0005 inches.  That is beyond the level of accuracy really needed here frankly!  Also notice the thickness of the aluminum here - this is the thickness of the hilt all the way through, except where it had to be bored out to make room for the batteries.

Next, a shot of the solid pommel:

It is .87 inches thick of solid aluminum.  

Now a look at the bored out area of the hilt, done to make room for batteries (and room for the optional sound board, too):



It has been bored nearly 4 inches deep.  If you subtract the threaded area where the pommel screws in, the real available area is about 3.3 inches of bore.


That shiny circle 'down the hole' (that the camera didn't want to focus on) is where the larger bore ends and the hilt walls are full thickness again.

For those that have not seen a blade plug in an angled emitter - well now you have:


OK - That is my simple review on the excellent build quality and immense strength of the saber's hilt.  

One more required 'Hero' shot of the saber:


And we are done!  Happy Sabering everybody!

[Zren Tobas]

Nice simple saber. And I gotta ask, what size velcro is that? Thinness wise? Been trying to find the right size for my Bellicose. It has the Obsidian sound pack. Every size I try seems to be too thick though.

[hedgehog1]

Zren Tobas:

Remember this is the 4-AAA battery pack, not the Li-Ion pack, but the Velcro is 1 inch wide, 1/16 of an inch thick.  It has hooks on one side, and loops on the other.  It basically makes 1 thickness of Velcro on three sides, and 2 thicknesses on the forth side with the overlap.

I don't know if this helps, but a father/son video review talked about wrapping a little self-adhesive ace bandage to hold the batter pack in tighter:



You would have to fool with it to find the right amount for your hilt and Li-Ion pack & Sound board be be tight enough (but not TOO tight).

Hope this helps!

[Oramac]

Very cool!  As someone who's done quite a bit of engine work (and a little with transmissions) I appreciate those super tight tolerances.  I keep meaning to buy a mic/caliper set.  Never have gotten around to it. 

Point for you, sir.

[Zren Tobas]

I'm going to try thick rubber bands actually. Those might work.

[hedgehog1]

...

Point for you, sir.

Always appreciated!

[chicago.jedi]

    I just bought one of these sabers, too. I feel no need to review it again since you covered it better than I could.
    I just wanted to say to anyone concidering this saber that is it very nice. I was worried that it might be too "plain jane" but when I got it, I was very pleased. It is simple but eligant. Clean lines, nice shape and feel. Not disappointed at all. The name itself suggests to me a backstory of a new Jedi being sent to the field for the first time before having the chance to build his own personal lightsaber and being given this saber as a general issue item.

[hedgehog1]

chicago.jedi,

The 'simple and clean lines' attracted me to this saber, too.  The solid feel of it in my hands makes we want to hold it.

Did you go with the sound board option on yours?  Or is yours a stunt saber?

[Zren Tobas]

Is it me or do the grooves kinda go in deep? I kinda like the look of that. xp Is this nice and solid with no blade wobble no matter what blade you use? I'm considering getting one in the future. =]

[chicago.jedi]

hedgehog1,
     No sound. It is the very first saber I bought and I kind of bought it to test the waters, so to speak. Wanted to check out Ultrasaber's products before spending big $$$.  Very happy with the products and company (outstanding customer service). Already have my eye on another saber and that one will be with all of the bells and whistles.
     Very happy with the Standard Issue as is, though. Will serve me well for now. My son already has his eye on it. It will probably be passed down to him someday. His father will want him to have it when he is old enough...even if his uncle will not allow it.

[eerockk]

I keep thinking that this would make a great shoto to the Bellicose, and your pics kinda help me see it a little more. Point, and congrats on your saber. Careful though. Well, you're probably hooked already, aren't you? 

[Obi-Jacob]

Being an engineer type of person, I did what any engineer would do.  I got out my calipers and started measuring!

If you were a real engineer you would use SI units instead of imperial units. 

Sorry couldn't help myself. Here, have a point to apologize for making fun of you.   

[hedgehog1]

If you were a real engineer you would use SI units instead of imperial units.  

I did, in fact, struggle with what unit of measure to use.  I prefer millimeters for small items like this, but as the blades are sold as '1 inch', I went with that unit of measure.  My compromise was using decimals instead of fractions for the measurements.

[hedgehog1]

Is it me or do the grooves kinda go in deep? I kinda like the look of that. xp Is this nice and solid with no blade wobble no matter what blade you use? I'm considering getting one in the future. =]

The grooves are deeper than the ones in my arbiter 'body' section.  There is no blade wobble - if you are looking for a hardy hilt for dueling, this makes a very good choice.  Space is tight in the battery/sound board area because so much aluminum is left in the hilt.