The OT stunt lightsaber blades research thread

[thd9791]

Isn't there some sort of filler on top of the core? (the wrinkly stuff we were eye-ing in the round blade thread) I'm wondering if it goes into that

 

[kurtyboy]

Yes, it goes into the filler but beyond that I don't know. It is feasible though, that the filler was added for this purpose.

 

[thd9791]

When I was lining up my core (height inside the tube, bolts, etc) the lower left bolt sits REALLY high (one in photo the arrow is pointing to), precisely in line with the top of the core, or even poking out above it. This happened to me, and I think I was only 1-2 mm off. If I were making something, I'd want that exposed bolt head covered up

Yea, looking at it again, it does go down into whatever this is.

haha, does it look like paper to you? That filler, being crinkly, doesnt look like putty or a sheet of something hard,

Anyway, I'm also seeing the collar is rather thin here, thinner than the wall of the tube

 

[Mouse Vader]

Anyway, I'm also seeing the collar is rather thin here, thinner than the wall of the tube

Maybe the blade is attaching something like this.

 

[thd9791]

submitting these to the record. With this album of neat stuff
1,138 behind the scenes photos of the Star Wars Trilogy

All very thick blades, thicker than a golf club, flat on the end

 

[Mouse Vader]

Can't remember if I've ever scaled ESB blade pic's so here are some (mainly from above link - v.int too). - in all these I'm taking the graflex hilt is 38mm (1.5")

From above picture I get 17.7mm

*
From this 16.2mm but a difficult measure of the hilt

**
From this; 18.05mm

**
From this one; between 15.9mm min & 16.46mm max (too blurry under zoom for better)

**
& from this one: 15.79mm min to 16.5mm max - again gets blurry when zoomed in but bracketing compensates, less zoom exaggerates small errors more than more zoom, so swings & roundabouts, but this one matches, almost exactly, the prev pic measures.

**

I wasn't able to scale the Vader pic as there is no scale base ref I could find in it.

Measures I get from ANH blade photo's are in the 15.7 - 16.2mm range. My fabricked golf stick comes in at 15.4mm - so all are above my golf stick (inc ANH) but only half the above are in ski pole territory. You pays your money & you takes your choice.

Here's some interesting Numbers (I'm not claiming I've measured any of these in pictures but they are still interesting):
a base diam of 5/8" is 15.875mm & a circumference of 49.87mm :
a tip of 1/2 " is 12.7mm & a circumference of 39.89mm
both might be considered as 'stock' dimensions.
So a 1.5" (38.1mm) straight sided strip of fabric will leave a 11.77mm gap at the base & 1.79mm gap at the top & resemble the black stripe we see quite closely.
I measure in pictures the black stripe, at the base, as an ave of 9mm so they're just interesting numbers for the moment.

 

[thd9791]

VERY interesting numbers, thank you for scaling all these. That one pic of Vader and luke in only his waders facing off earlier in the thread.. two totally different blades! Looks like these are different too, pic to pic. Length as well as base diameter

 

[Mouse Vader]

Yes ESB does seem to have a lot of variability esp. compared to ANH. Could mean they're playing about a lot trying to find something better. Also the marking up from combat is leaving dark marks, in both fabrics I have the under fabric is lighter in colour & together with the smooth surface is pointing to painted.

I hope to be making up a couple of balsa blades fairly soon & as the stock blank is 16mm (ie v.close to 5/8" - 15.875mm) I will make up one to the interesting numbers (IN) dims & see how it actually looks.

 

[thd9791]

I found at least one bent blade, and a few possible bent blades.

First, here is the ski-pole shaped blade on the left

and some bent blades

 

[thd9791]

ANH Motorised stunt Saber experiments (& blades)

 

[thd9791]

Tonight I'm going to shoot some short videos of hard fencing with aluminum tube (ski poles) and Graphite (golf clubs) so we can compare sound and damage. Maybe it will rule some stuff out.

Don't have anything fiberglass to test, but I'm thinking more of the ESB blades that seem stiff and tapered. In ROTJ they are more flexible it seems, and maybe even straighter, which is where I'd start to think of something like that.

 

[Propdude113]

Videos would be awesome!! Would definitely help with research

Tonight I'm going to shoot some short videos of hard fencing with aluminum tube (ski poles) and Graphite (golf clubs) so we can compare sound and damage. Maybe it will rule some stuff out.

Don't have anything fiberglass to test, but I'm thinking more of the ESB blades that seem stiff and tapered. In ROTJ they are more flexible it seems, and maybe even straighter, which is where I'd start to think of something like that.

 

[thd9791]

Okay. Here they are, and I got some help.

We did 4 hits, turn, and 4 again. Used graphite (golf club shafts with the heads hacksawed off) and aluminum blades (Ski poles) I had lying around, and how they hold up to decent strikes. View and let’s discuss!

Al v Al

G v G

Al v G

Drop sound, take into account the rubble golf club handle still on the graphite rod..

 

[thd9791]

Here are pictures of the damage. The blades skipped with vibration and damaged the scotchlite fabric.

Graphite snapped within a few hits, clean in half.

The aluminum bent severely and dented.

Both blades scraped down to the raw material and took color or paint from each other.

Didn’t fight with my graflex blade, I’m scared of the tang vibrating and loosening in the core

 

[Propdude113]

Awesome thanks man! Now I'm really starting to doubt if they used metal. Never see that bending behind the scenes.

 

[Propdude113]

Also the black scuffs in the fabric on the graphite blades match the scuffs on the behind the scenes photos we have seen

 

[Halliwax]

Love the battle Tom!

 

[thd9791]

I have my doubts about fabric. it strips, shreds and hangs off the blades. 100% sure it was reflective paint for ESB and Jedi (if at all). Scotchlite used to make a paint that's not produced anymore. Basically bare minimum today would be to dust reflective beads on wet paint, which would never stay on. There is a UK company that sells a little of their RR paint for a high price, no idea if it works though.

so many more things running through my head now after observations.

 

[Propdude113]

Tom could they have used the self adhesive reflective tape

 

[thd9791]

Not sure if good tape existed back then.

Submitting more reference images.

Bespin Duel - 2 different shaped blades - reflective material - foam grips

Luke being handed a bladed Graflex stunt with T track

Good shot of a Graflex blade, tip is not hollow

ROTJ Images

MoM Vader stunt and Pipe stunt

MPP Stunt - foam grips