Random Thoughts of Members (anything goes...well with in forum rules)

[Darth Justicar]

I don't even live with my parents.  I just use their house as a shipping dropoff...I still don't want too much attention to my nerdy interests though.

Thankfully I didn't get any more flack when I went over to their house to pick it up.  But if they EVER find out about my outfit though...oh my goodness.  That is something I hope to avoid.

[Darth Knox]

I don't even live with my parents.  I just use their house as a shipping dropoff...I still don't want too much attention to my nerdy interests though.

Thankfully I didn't get any more flack when I went over to their house to pick it up.  But if they EVER find out about my outfit though...oh my goodness.  That is something I hope to avoid.

If they find out, just say you're doing it for the kids.

[Noctis]

My unmasked Kylo Ren action figure is now standing proud guard over my books!

As hard as he was to remove from the packaging, you'd think they were shipping a high-security prisoner.  I have never had that many metal/plastic ties to undo on a toy in my life.  The whole time I was working on getting him out of there, I was thinking of this song (even though the toy was for ME and not a kid):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkFKSgcDGU0

And now comes a question that may well drive my saber order: Is the blade length that the action figure has, proportionally the same compared to the figure's height, as Kylo's saber in the movie compared to the actor's height?  I geeked and actually got out a tape measure and calculated the blade to be approximately 58% of the figure's height!  If so, this may mean I would actually be ordering a longer blade than I thought even though it could potentially mean traditional spinning stuff isn't going to be so easy.  (Plus watching some videos on longsword dueling makes me think that even though in this case it's a lightsaber longsword, the technique will be fundamentally different from what you see with other types of sabers.)

I know!!  It took me half an hour to get him out of the box, I swear.   But he was worth it.

About the sword length thing, that's actually a VERY good question and I remember thinking the same thing myself.  I can tell you that the hilt of my claymore comes just shy of my sternum, but I'm not all that tall, so it's probably not an accurate comparison.  (I think you and I are around the same height, actually.)

HMMM....so what about the height of that saber?  Here's a .gif of him twirling the thing:




What do you think?

[Darth Justicar]

I know!!  It took me half an hour to get him out of the box, I swear.   But he was worth it.

Here he is dutifully guarding my bookcase.  I can't show the books that happen to be in that section of my bookshelf because they could be construed as a rules violation, unfortunately.  But anyway, as you can see, Kylo will deal with any would-be book thieves.



(Unfortunately his saber bent a bit in the hellish shipping he went through, but fortunately that was the ONLY damage he took.  Given the condition the box was in, I am darned lucky.

About the sword length thing, that's actually a VERY good question and I remember thinking the same thing myself.  I can tell you that the hilt of my claymore comes just shy of my sternum, but I'm not all that tall, so it's probably not an accurate comparison.  (I think you and I are around the same height, actually.)

HMMM....so what about the height of that saber?  Here's a .gif of him twirling the thing:




What do you think?

While it's hard to tell for sure without being able to freeze-frame it, it DOES seem like that has potential to be fairly close, or at least not be as badly off as one would initially suspect.  Watching some videos with longsword duelers standing with their swords, I noticed their swords seemed to come up to at least half their height as well.  I am beginning to think based on that, that I should go ahead and get the 36" blade even though it means that things people do with shorter sabers would not be happening for me.  That ALSO saves me $20 if I forgo the custom cutting fee to trim down the crossguards that I was contemplating.

BTW, I am gonna PM you something shortly.

[Noctis]

Ha ha!  He's perfect!  I don't know if you gave it a try, but you can bend his blade back into shape.  Mine had the same issue and I was able to coax it into proper form.  (And I was very careful what books to showcase in that picture.  I've got plenty of "rule breakers" myself, so I know just where you're coming from!)

If it helps, I have 36" blade on my Bellicose which is a rather large saber and I can twirl it.  I'm not sure how that would work with a Great Saber (hehehee), but the height is probably about the same?  My Bellicose is 46" and is actually taller than my claymore!  I just measured it to see.  It's got 2 inches on the thing.  When I set it down, it comes up to mid-chest on me.

I haven't decided if I want the 32 or 36" blade on the Renegade I will be ordering next month, but I'm leaning heavily towards the latter just because.

[Darth Justicar]

Yeah, I did try to bend his blade back into shape but no luck really.  That was as good as I was able to manage.  Without naming books, what I can say is that there is some humor in the fact that Kylo is guarding the nonfiction section!   He looks like he's saying something like, "I DON'T give second warnings!"

When I have ever imagined myself swordfighting in my head, it has always been a two-handed sword and even though I see people do some awesome moves with their one-handed sabers, what I tend to envision for myself is more like the over-the-head maneuver you see Kylo using there to build up momentum for his strike.  (And people said Ren had no technique!)

Also, the guy at US I have corresponded with strongly hinted that I should look at NOT shortening my blade lengths.  Given that saying that means US loses a $20 customization fee, that is advice that's weighing on me and making me think that instead of making the Flamberge closer to what people of my height would normally get, I should let it be a true longsword.  With hilt and blade combined that will probably get me to about the right proportion of saber versus stature that I am looking for, if I go ahead and get the 36".

[Kham-Ryn Kurios]

I love getting my blood drawn.

You go in having drank a ton of water and my veins are nice and visible; just bursting at the seams with blood.  

[Jev Moldara]

Yeah, I did try to bend his blade back into shape but no luck really.  That was as good as I was able to manage.

Have you tried hitting it with a hair dryer to soften the plastic up a bit? Make it more pliable?

Also, the guy at US I have corresponded with strongly hinted that I should look at NOT shortening my blade lengths.  Given that saying that means US loses a $20 customization fee, that is advice that's weighing on me and making me think that instead of making the Flamberge closer to what people of my height would normally get, I should let it be a true longsword.  With hilt and blade combined that will probably get me to about the right proportion of saber versus stature that I am looking for, if I go ahead and get the 36".

I imagine the reason for this is actually a combination of aesthetics (the saber would look "off" with shorter blades) and that it's actually a bit difficult and time consuming to cut the polycarb blades without damage (cracks, crazing, and such) unless you use water jet cutting.

[Darth Justicar]

Good suggestion on the hairdryer.  I'll give it a try tonight and see if I have any luck.

[Noctis]

Yeah, I did try to bend his blade back into shape but no luck really.  That was as good as I was able to manage.  Without naming books, what I can say is that there is some humor in the fact that Kylo is guarding the nonfiction section!   He looks like he's saying something like, "I DON'T give second warnings!"

When I have ever imagined myself swordfighting in my head, it has always been a two-handed sword and even though I see people do some awesome moves with their one-handed sabers, what I tend to envision for myself is more like the over-the-head maneuver you see Kylo using there to build up momentum for his strike.  (And people said Ren had no technique!)

Also, the guy at US I have corresponded with strongly hinted that I should look at NOT shortening my blade lengths.  Given that saying that means US loses a $20 customization fee, that is advice that's weighing on me and making me think that instead of making the Flamberge closer to what people of my height would normally get, I should let it be a true longsword.  With hilt and blade combined that will probably get me to about the right proportion of saber versus stature that I am looking for, if I go ahead and get the 36".

I think that's actually very good advice.  I haven't seen this hilt in person, but having seen it in videos with males who profess themselves to be over 6' tall, I can say it's quite a large hilt and the shorter custom blades would cause it to look a bit strange, now that you've mentioned this. 

I'm assuming there's nothing "special" about the blade size/width that is specific to this saber?  I have two 36" blades already, so I might order the shorter one just so that I can have more variety in my blade lengths in general.  I can swap them out and see which one I like better.   That's also another option for you, if you like.  Purchase both blades.    Also, do we know how far the blade sinks into the hilt?  A couple of my sabers eat up several inches of blade length.   Were you going for the 6" or 8" inch sides?   I think I prefer the 6" from the pictures I've seen, but it would be great to see them side-by-side.

[Darth Justicar]

Definitely the 6' sides since I can't see myself wielding a 40' blade.  THAT, I think, would be way too much for me.

[shade_1313]

Yeah, I did try to bend his blade back into shape but no luck really.  That was as good as I was able to manage.  Without naming books, what I can say is that there is some humor in the fact that Kylo is guarding the nonfiction section!   He looks like he's saying something like, "I DON'T give second warnings!"

When I have ever imagined myself swordfighting in my head, it has always been a two-handed sword and even though I see people do some awesome moves with their one-handed sabers, what I tend to envision for myself is more like the over-the-head maneuver you see Kylo using there to build up momentum for his strike.  (And people said Ren had no technique!)

Also, the guy at US I have corresponded with strongly hinted that I should look at NOT shortening my blade lengths.  Given that saying that means US loses a $20 customization fee, that is advice that's weighing on me and making me think that instead of making the Flamberge closer to what people of my height would normally get, I should let it be a true longsword.  With hilt and blade combined that will probably get me to about the right proportion of saber versus stature that I am looking for, if I go ahead and get the 36".

I'm not sure which saber you're looking at getting, so all of my observations are based on my own Flamberge and my history of studying longsword.  YMMV, although due to having the same "swell" and the claws, certain observations about the Flamberge hold true for the Renegade as well.

A typical longsword has a blade of about 36-37 inches, plus or minus a bit on a case by case basis.  Generally, the blade length, as mentioned, is under an inch from where you're gripping it with your lead hand.
The Flamberge hilt has a coupling that attaches the main hilt to the crossguard assembly.  This coupling area swells the diameter of the hilt quite a bit, such that where you're going to be gripping it will not be up against, or very close to, the crossguard itself.  Between the coupling swell and the thickness of the crossguard assembly, you're looking at about four inches between where your lead hand will be and the beginning of the main blade's exposed area, HOWEVER, the blade socket on the Flamberge (and I suspect Renegade) goes into the saber 3 1/2" from the end of the emitter.  The upshot of that is that the blade begins its physical length right about at the point where that swell is, and just past where your lead hand is.

So, with my 40" blade, for example, I have 40" of actual blade reach beyond my lead hand.  Taking it back to longswords, a 36" blade would give you typical longsword reach and main blade length.  That said, the portion of the hilt below the "swell", equivalent to a longsword's grip plus pommel, is about an inch longer than typical, but not without a match in my own selection of sparring longswords and some actual examples I've seen.

So, I'd typify my setup, with a 40" blade, as a large longsword, somewhere in the middle between a more typical longsword and a two-hander.  With a 36" blade, it'd be more typical.

Other than that, my other advice would be to shorten the side blades by a couple of inches.  Less visually spectacular, but I find that for a lot of moves where I'd normally have the sword closer to my body as I move it, I'm having to open up a lot and swing "wider" due to the really, really long tip to tip crossguard length.  Visually, the wider moves look flashier and probably a lot more dynamic, aesthetically pleasing.  But not so practical.  I'll be shortening my own, soon.

[Jev Moldara]

I wouldn't mind a special edition of SW:ANH like this...

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN74bOubUug" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN74bOubUug</a>

[Darth Justicar]

Shade, it's the Flamberge I'm looking at because it's a little closer to Kylo's hilt. I also figured that without the claws if I DO bring in the crossguard length a bit the loss of length won't be as evident.  What is the length all the way across yours, and how does that compare to a typical longsword?  Watching those longsword videos was making me think the crossguard length is less than the Flamberge would be with 6' side blades.

[Darth Logos]

Definitely the 6' sides since I can't see myself wielding a 40' blade.  THAT, I think, would be way too much for me.

If I'm not mistaken, a Flam with 6" guards is still like 18" tip-tip.