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Author Topic: Kals Flamberge: The Review  (Read 11322 times)
Kal-El_Kenobi1138
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« on: March 23, 2015, 08:10:37 PM »

Ok, so here's the thing, I'm going to bed right now because I work graveyards. It sucks. Anyways, I wanted to write a first glance review for those still thinking of buying one and because one pic can't do it justice and there's a couple of things that need more explaining than I can give right now laying in bed with my iPad. FIRST NOTE ** Please only post questions until I do the full review tomorrow morning so I can address them.** Ok, so at a glance, buy a heavy grade ultra edge! I wish I had but now seeing it and holding it, I want to talk to Deep about making a 56 inch blade. I will explain that later. Second, if you're going to do all three adegan silver blades buy extra discs or buy several lee filter swatches because the color you get in the main blade will not be the same you get in the cross guard. This is going to require some experimenting on my part at a later date. If you're dead set on it being red or some other single color, get those LEDs because the color will be uniform. Third, buy the 8 inch gross guard blades because you can cut them down to size and will likely need to because the added width of th saber is noticeable. Fourth, think real hard about where you want that covertec because it will likely get in the way of your grip. Lastly, if you want black on it, go with either full black or limited edition because adding black is hard and doesn't look right vs taking it off which on the other side of that coin is if you do it, you can't undo it.
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Owned:
Flamberge- Obsidian, AS
Prophecy V3- AS(Green disc combo)

Wanted:
Guardian- Obsidian, GB

firehand10k
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« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2015, 11:56:24 PM »

I'm really curious about you reasoning on the 56 inch blade idea. I have thought the 40 would be a little short but now that I have it in seems quite well proportioned.
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Have:
Azure Reaper
Crimson Scorpion
Aeon LE  V4 pair
Monarch
Azure Omen
Mantis
Manticore CE
Guardian
Chosen One
Graflex
Menace staff
Sentinel V4 staff
Zweihander
Shark
Bane
Brood Guard

Kal-El_Kenobi1138
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Force Alignment: 26
Posts: 100



« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2015, 05:59:01 PM »

Alrighty, and now for my full review...The flamberge is amazing and I cannot decide on the name Leviathan or Abeloth. Ok, first the blade, I went with a 40" ultra edge, but I want to up grade to a 56" (estimated) heavy grade. The reasons are three, first the heavy edge will add to the weight and perception of more power. Trust me, when i got it in my hands I instantly knew what the fighting style that should be used for it is. Second, when removing the blade you physically have to grip the blade and twist. I felt uneasy with this because it felt like I might horribly damage the blade. Third, is its resemblance to a great sword, resting on the ground the pommel comes up to here on me and I'm 5'11".


When it should really come up to here.


This kind of blade is not meant for close quarters fighting by any stretch. It's meant to keep your enemy at a distance by an untrained fighter and is meant to slap your opponents blade down then come back up and lop his head off or straight shatter his freakin skull with the pommel. A very raw, powerful, and brutal fighting style as compared to the elegant seven forms of lightsaber combat.

Now more on the quillon (cross guard) blades. Once again, If you're dead set on the blades all being one color forever, get them in that color. If you want versatility in color go Adegan Silver with discs and buy and extra set of discs for each blade. You'll get better reds and blues mostly. now its hard to tell in this picture, but the quillon are actually pink. That's with two red discs each and it is so because of the way the ultra edge material bounces around the light within. I've yet to get lee filters and it will take quite some time until I do so but I'm hoping it might cut down on some of the orangeness of the blades.


It took 3 red color discs to get it to be really red like this, but only two in the main blade.


Next is the length of the quillon, 8" is fine, but in my opinion it's two big to really be comfortable. You're gonna poke yourself with those and it's really gonna hurt, so I'm going to have to cut mine down by about an inch or two on each side. The only complaint I have here is the near the main emitter it looks a little pink, but whatever, this is why if you're dead set on a single color forever, do it.

Now onto the hilt. Just look at it. Until you hold one, it's really not the same as my Prophecy or the Sentinel I bought for a friend. I have slightly less that average size hands, so for me it really gives it more of a sense of power, but I am by no means struggling to grip it. The length of the hilt is really nice. Not to short to be disappointed with, and not to long to struggle with. I went with a full black finish, because I can't decide if I want a limited edition look, or if I want to go more with a canon look with what we have so far in the trailer. I'm waiting on trailer #2 that will come out on The Avengers: Age of Ultron to fully decide more. The pommel is really the only thing I don't love about the hilt. Yes, it has a classic great sword look, but I would really prefer a more canon looking one, but thats because I'm in the middle of making my Kylo Ren costume for Denver Comic Con. I may say screw it and do it for Starfest here in Colorado and skip the helmet until DCC because damn I love this saber and want to show it off. I also with the piece that holds all three blades in place had a uniform thickness as compared with the rest of the hilt, but I understand why it can't


Now, for gripping it. I grip it right here with a close choke because its the most comfortable and logical place to do so. Only thing I need to do is figure out what firehand10k means when he says you can rotate the quillon to about any angle so that its parallel with the front of my body. However, its also comfortable to choke up to the quillon and widen the choke to the pommel for a more bushido fighting style. You can also curve a finger over the quillon like firehand10k says as well, but this is more suited to larger hands than mine. On a kind of side note. the button placement is prefect for my pinky and I'm really glad I decided to put the covertec on the opposite side because flipped around, it really gets in the way.


Next is the innards. OMG the sound is amazing and I wish I got it on my Prophecy, but it has more of a function as a flash light for me. The sound module is kinda hard to get out, but that's probably a good thing considering it doesn't rattle a whole lot. I can't wait to pull that ignition sound from the trailer, clean it up, and make it my ignition sound and modify some existing sounds to get it close to what the actual hums, idle, and clashes would be like. unfortunately the LED modules are a little loose but I can fix that, and when you unscrew the main blade, the wires are pushed up into that piece that holds the blades in place. Just to give my self some piece of mind, I'm going to throw some gaff tape in the to hold that stuff down. I'm not going to try and take a picture of it, because I just don't want to deal with that, so have this nice dark picture of the flamberge to look at until the next part of my review. Also, always, always, ALWAYS go with a lithium ion setup so you can upgrade your sabers and so you don't spend ridiculous amounts on new batteries.


Comparison time! Katana, love it. Good weight, good grip, versatile in fighting style. Thin blade long sword: Good weight, versatile grip, meant for fast but not elaborate fighting. Flamberge: Heavier than the rest, but not too heavy to wield, Versatile grip, powerful brutal fighting style. Prophecy: light weight, semi versatile grip, meant for elegant, elaborate, or strong fighting style. I can't pick a favorite, but I'd have to put lightsabers above the others because come on... their freaking lightsaber. (BTW, this is far from the extent of my armory. And yes, I know I need new batteries in that prophecy because now that I see it that's pathetic.)


Also, I will do picture requests provided they are reasonable.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2015, 06:06:59 PM by Kal-El_Kenobi1138 » Logged

Owned:
Flamberge- Obsidian, AS
Prophecy V3- AS(Green disc combo)

Wanted:
Guardian- Obsidian, GB

Dauntless Seven
Lady of the Sage Order
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« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2015, 07:26:35 PM »

Great detailed review.  Point for you.  Would like to see the opposite side of Flamberge and particularly where the covertec wheel is positioned.  True red is a difficult color to get with plastic discs or gel filters.  Light filtration becomes dull and murky which for this saber might have a nice sithy effect.  Smiley
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Qui-Lar
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Force Alignment: 68
Posts: 605


"This weapon is your life!"


« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2015, 01:03:19 AM »

Nice to see what mine will look like, thanks
for the review! Dark point for you
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Catalyst(s) DarkArbiter DarkProphecy(s) ChosenOne
CrimsonMantis DarkLiberatorV3 InitiateV3 ShockLE
Guardian SentinelLEV4 Consular DarkInitiateLEV2
InitiateLEV2 Manticore(s) DominixV4 Flamberge(sss)
Bellicose Archon DominixLEV3(s) Monarch InitiateLEV3
SentinelV4 DominixV2RGB Scorpion(s) Menace(sssss)
DarkApprenticeV4 DarkSentinelLEV4 AeonLEV4V

Prowl 1701
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« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2015, 04:56:46 AM »

That's a large beast you have there, very nice looking!  Glad to see the new saber shipping out!
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Waxman
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« Reply #6 on: March 25, 2015, 06:26:06 AM »

This is an awesome review.

Good point on the 56 inch blade.

Any chance we can see some video?
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Ultrasabers:
Bellicose-VA. Bane-BR. Consular-CG. x2 Initiate V3-SY. Aeon V3-GB. x4 Yari [Pike] Extensions.
Grab-Bag:
Aeon V3-GB. Dark Liberator V3-AB. Dominix V2-AB. Dominix V2-GB. Initiate V2-BR
Wishlist:
Manticore-PO. Dark Catalyst-Emerald. Shock LE-SY. Overlord-BR. Bellicose-VA. Archon-CG. Arbiter-AS.

Ren Kobar
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Force Alignment: 16
Posts: 136


Light Side Points Please


« Reply #7 on: March 25, 2015, 06:46:47 AM »

i agree with the longer blade, and it has been one of my ideas as well for some time now.  i emailed Emory about 6 months ago asking about longer blades, and he said that the longest they can do is the 40 inch.  i have had plans for a greatsaber for some time now, and i decided the flamberge would be the one.  my ideas include getting a 16 inch blade, trimming down both blades to the foil lining, gluing them together, and either adding another layer of Polycarbonate or rubber hose to the outside to protect the blade and help hold it together.
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My Sabers:
Dominix V2 Staff in SRD/VA
Dark Initiate V2 Staff in BR
MAnticore W/ Sound in VA
Flamberge W/ V4 Sound in GB

Kal-El_Kenobi1138
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Force Alignment: 26
Posts: 100



« Reply #8 on: March 25, 2015, 07:35:56 AM »

There's a place here in CO called PlastiCare near where I work where I've gotten stuff before that works well for blades, but my question is what is that foil stuff called and where do I get it?
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Owned:
Flamberge- Obsidian, AS
Prophecy V3- AS(Green disc combo)

Wanted:
Guardian- Obsidian, GB

Darth Obi Don
Knight Lance Corporal
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Posts: 44



« Reply #9 on: March 25, 2015, 02:09:46 PM »

This place has Thick or thin walled tubing in longer lengths. Take a look.
http://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn/Raw-Materials/Plastics/Plastic-Round-Tubes?navid=12101801#navid=12101801+4288193713+4288230144
Don
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Guardian,DominixV2, Dark Liberator V3, Standard Issue Battle Saber LE,  MR Maul Staff, MR Luke ESB, MR Vader ESB, MR Hasbro Kit Fisto, Flamberge LE., Real parts Graflex ANH.
 
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Ren Kobar
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Force Alignment: 16
Posts: 136


Light Side Points Please


« Reply #10 on: March 25, 2015, 03:30:01 PM »

maybe email emory and ask if you sent in a custom blade if he could install the reflective wrap for you?
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My Sabers:
Dominix V2 Staff in SRD/VA
Dark Initiate V2 Staff in BR
MAnticore W/ Sound in VA
Flamberge W/ V4 Sound in GB

firehand10k
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Force Alignment: 388
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« Reply #11 on: March 25, 2015, 05:49:04 PM »

What I meant by turning it was that if you loosen the 4 setscrews around the collar you can rotate that and remove the tape that holds the wires up the inside you can rotate the entire head to change the alignment of the switch then lock the setscrews back down.

The polycarbonate tubes are not the hard part of a longer blade. The diffusion film only comes in rolls up to 40". The rolls are longer than 40" though and it could probably be rolled sideways to the original rolling. This may prove difficult to do without creasing it and creating bright spots. I think it is probably the wrap part that keep US from making longer blades
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Have:
Azure Reaper
Crimson Scorpion
Aeon LE  V4 pair
Monarch
Azure Omen
Mantis
Manticore CE
Guardian
Chosen One
Graflex
Menace staff
Sentinel V4 staff
Zweihander
Shark
Bane
Brood Guard

Kal-El_Kenobi1138
Knight Officer
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Force Alignment: 26
Posts: 100



« Reply #12 on: March 25, 2015, 06:01:58 PM »

i figure rolling it sideways will work but i'll use a dowl to help roll it and keep it smooth. but now i'm having an idea about using clear red blades with contact paper i want to be able to test it first though.
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Owned:
Flamberge- Obsidian, AS
Prophecy V3- AS(Green disc combo)

Wanted:
Guardian- Obsidian, GB

firehand10k
Knight Commander
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Force Alignment: 388
Posts: 1324



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« Reply #13 on: March 25, 2015, 06:57:29 PM »

I've seen that done with clear blades with colored diffusion film. Makes them keep their color in sunlight. the only problem with the sideways roll may be that there will only be 40 inches to roll in but the current blades use about 60 inches rolled length. I don't know if it will diffuse enough shorter or if you can add a partial second sheet without making a visible line. I do know that you will suffer some dimming through the middle because the focus of the led lenses isn't designed for that much length.
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Have:
Azure Reaper
Crimson Scorpion
Aeon LE  V4 pair
Monarch
Azure Omen
Mantis
Manticore CE
Guardian
Chosen One
Graflex
Menace staff
Sentinel V4 staff
Zweihander
Shark
Bane
Brood Guard

Kal-El_Kenobi1138
Knight Officer
*

Force Alignment: 26
Posts: 100



« Reply #14 on: March 25, 2015, 07:36:22 PM »

Just did a bunch of internet scouring and yeah that's totally more doable and cheaper.
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Owned:
Flamberge- Obsidian, AS
Prophecy V3- AS(Green disc combo)

Wanted:
Guardian- Obsidian, GB

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