What's the difference between the Blade types? What's the best blade type?

[spikedtolerance]

Hey guys. I'm planning to buy a double saber (Dark Apprentice v4 LE in Sun Rider's Destiny, MG blade...Maybe Arctic Blue for the second blade?) but I'm a bit worried about the total length of the saber. Total hilt length based on the preview is 18", so I'm not sure if I should get 24" or 32" blades since I'm less than 5".

Suggestions?

[Landen Se-Sentien]

You could get the longer blades and cut them down yourself if you find they're too long. I've seen that it's pretty easy if you use a pipe cutter or something similar.  There have been a few threads on this topic. Here's one.
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=20159.0

[Dauntless Seven]

Hi spikedtolerance.  There are several blade options that you can do depending upon your budget.  Your first goal is to create a saber staff that will be manageable for your height so that you will enjoy using it.  Frequently hitting the ceiling and ground isn't much fun.  The blade will go approx. 2.5 inches into each emitter so less external blade in the total length.

I suggest choosing the 24" blades that the Apprentice saber comes with.  Then once you are more comfortable using the staff, get some 32" blades.  Another plan would be to get the 32" and as said prior, to cut them down.  You could pay for the custom length blades in 28  - 30". 

If you are wanting to separate the sabers and use for spinning and dueling, the 24" will still be a good starter length but eventually you will be wanting a longer blade.  You could order 2 grab bag blades and ask for them in the 32" length.  You won't have a choice of what blade you get, but you could request a matching pair and see what happens. 

[James Casey]

This is my personal view of which colours look best in which blades, based on 3 years and a lot of testing with all the combinations:

Standard midgrade - These blades give the 'core' effect, with a brighter central area above the emitter, and a deeper colouration beyond that. For this reason, I prefer deeper colours with this type of blade.

Blazing Red
Consular Green
Dark Violet Amethyst
Guardian Blue
Fire Orange
Pyrestone Orange

Either

Violet Amethyst (although I personally lean towards midgrade blades for the core effect)
Bane's Heart
Hot Pink
Emerald Green
Arctic Blue (I like this in ultraedge mainly, but it seems to shift shades slightly in a standard blade to more of a sky blue - an interesting effect)

Ultraedge - These blades give a more stable appearance, with the blade colour appearing fuller thoughout more of the blade. For that reason, I prefer lighter colours with this type of blade.

Adegan Silver
Sentinel Yellow (but as this is a forum colour, the depth of the shade may vary. Mine is a lighter yellow, so I feel it suits ultraedge)
Sunrider's Destiny

My experience is that when you shift up to a heavy grade blade, the only difference is a slight dimming of the blade - barely noticeable most of the time, so the above applies both to mid and heavy grade blades.

[DarthScrub]

Thanks for your opinion, James Casey, very informative! Light point given

[Dauntless Seven]

Thanks James for further LED color with best blade info.  Even though it is always one's personal preference, it's a difficult choice if a person doesn't own a variety of blades.  I tend to like the MG and HG silver film blade and the visual look of the core color.  But I also say if in doubt, get the UE blade, especially for red and orange.  Also the UE is best for photography and lower light situations.   

[Zren Tobas]

I notice that with Arctic Blue and Ultra Edge blades as well. Kinda cool. I have one now in my Arctic/Sky Blue Overlord. I like how it kinda changes the color a bit. Same with Sun Rider's Destiny, gives more of a teal green look with the Ultra Edge blade

[Dauntless Seven]

I'm not checking my replies well before posting.  Meant to agree with James that red and orange tend to look best with the standard MG and HG blades, but one has to like that core effect versus the fuller lit blade.  Orange with an UE blade tends to look like a creamsicle.   

[MaxTO]

Darn wish I had of seen this before I ordered . Now I am worried what my TRI red blade will look like in the UE
 heavy ?

[Dauntless Seven]

Darn wish I had of seen this before I ordered . Now I am worried what my TRI red blade will look like in the UE
 heavy ?

Your Tri red will look bright and very sithy.   

[MaxTO]

Your Tri red will look bright and very sithy.  

Good stuff .
The OP seem to realy downplay the UE Heavy

[ArtoriusaurusRex]

I wanted to ask about that, too.


So it looks good with the TRI LED? What about a single LED or an Emerald setup?



I just can't help but wonder if the Reds and Oranges and such really look all that bad with Ultraedge compared to regular. The idea of even light distribution is attractive to me, but not if it's totally washed out...

[Dauntless Seven]

Newer lightsaber owners automatically tend to worry needlessly about LED colors and blades.  Almost 98 % are very pleased when they receive their saber.  Don't pay too much attention to what others choose other than as a guideline, as there is no best look and combo.  Some colors generally do look better/brighter with a specific blade, but that does not mean that the color will look bad if a little dimmer or with a softer hue.   Dimmer and softer does not necessarily equate to dull and washed out.  Some prefer the look of a silver film for a more intense core center light diffusion while others want the evenly lit full blade appearance offered by the white UE film.

If it is that important to guarantee that you will get the brightest blade illumination, then I suggest paying a little extra and get both a standard and UE blade to see which you like the best.  Most members will end up with more than one saber so as your collection grows, you can be adventurous.   

[Whitakker]

This question may have been answered elsewhere, perhaps even on this thread, but exactly how much do each of the blade types weigh, in either ouces/pounds or grams/kilograms?  Has anyone done those weigh-ins yet?

[ArtoriusaurusRex]

This question may have been answered elsewhere, perhaps even on this thread, but exactly how much do each of the blade types weigh, in either ouces/pounds or grams/kilograms?  Has anyone done those weigh-ins yet?

Well, a FedEx package with two heavy grade blades weighed about 2 pounds. Maybe 2.5. Blades don't weigh much