Lightsabers & Blasters Anyone have any idea what to use for grips on a lightsaber?

it won't let me go there. It says there's violence on the site. Darn school servers...

 

Haha..violence?! I dont recall violence on there. Maybe its just refering to lightsabers as weaponry and thats too violent for "young" viewers.
And why are you using school computers? Isnt school suppose to be out?

 

you crack me up. No, my school doesn't get out until the 22nd! I'm at home now, so I can look!

 

Can anyone answer my previous questions about using leather? It'd be greatly appreciated

 

Well, leather isn't my cup 'o tea, but if you want to use it, there's nothing stopping you. I know of a couple of EU characters who use bantha hide as a grip. As long as you don't refer to it as "Chemically toughened bovine dermal material" and pass it off as bantha leather you oughta be ok.

 

I cant help much in finding the leather. You could call some of your local leather dealers or custom leather product makers, maybe they'll have some excess you could use. You could also try to find a retailer online that can sell you some.

But to attach it to the metal you could use "Gorrila Glue". Its suppose to be the strongest glue on earth and has several uses. Check out its uses at: http://www.gorillaglue.com/uses.htm

Some well placed rivets would look good also. Its more of a personal choice though, its your saber so have fun with it.

 

I used leather on my lightsaber for the grip. In any case...what you do is go to a craft store like Michael's or some other place like that. They usually have leather in paper-sheet-sized sheets for between $4 and $8 per sheet. The suede is on the cheap end, the finished tanned leather like deerskin is more expensive and tougher to work with, but doesn't "flake" or wear off the way suede does. Failing that, go to a good local fabric store and buy either some scraps of fake leather/pleather or try to score some of the elbow patches they make for sport jackets that are leather. If it's a good fabric store, they may even have real leather for sale.

Once you have your leather, you will need to cut it down to the right size you want for your grip. I personally chose to finish the edges by folding them over and making them stick using white glue, but leather will hold an edge and so you can leave it raw. Sharp scissors should do the trick just fine. Remember: you want GARMENT weight leather...not that heavy 15oz. armour grade stuff Once you've gone that, you have several options for attatching your grips. GLue will work, as will rivets. I personally chose to sew mine on, though bear in mind you will need strong thread such as waxed linen, sinew, or dental floss (you can paint or dye it if you want...or leave it white for that sort of rugged sith look). Place your grip where you want it (using a light coat of glue to just hold it in place while you work is a good idea), you can fold facing edges under so that they are flush if you want to but that's not 100% necessary, and from there sew using and overcast-style stitch. The end result is very nice. But remember, working with leather can be difficult, so make sure you have a thimble, needle grabber, and glover's or leatherworking needles (these are the kind with big eyes that have edges to their points

 

I used wiper blades too...thought I was being original...but I had the hardest time getting them to stay on. At first I tried JB weld since it's really strong, but it took too long to dry and they kept falling off...then I tried hot glue, which held for a short time then started to peel...then I used hot glue along with glue that is supposed to hold plastic jewels onto fabric. So far that's working well.

My sister made a simpler saber than me and for her grips she used this thick electrical tape--it's maybe as thick as a piece of tagboard--and layered it.

Actually at first I had no idea what I was using was part of a wiper blade. I just looked in the "old rubber scraps" drawer in the garage, thought "No, I don't want to use part of an old boot" and then "Hey, this'll work." My mom told me what it was later. I was like "You don't need this for the car, do you? 'Cause I kind of chopped it up."

 

How old are you my friend Nausica? Anyway, uhhh, yeah a little embarassing...I tried to use liquid nails to glue my grips on, and that stays, but the wiper blades are starting to come apart! I dueld for about 3 days with those and they're starting to rip apart at the joints...Now I need new grip material...And some gorila glue...

 

I'm 17...yeah you'd think I'd be more observant...especially since I live in Oregon where windshield wipers get used a lot. But it was only the little rubber piece I found, not the whole wiper, so maybe I have some excuse?

Actually I had already cut them apart, and just used the part that slides into the wiper, not the blade itself. I'm interested to see how you attached them. Do you have pictures?

 

Anyone tried using table-tennis rubber sheets, that you cover table tennis bats with? I'm not sure how strong it would be to hold up to dueling, but it might look cool.

Also, spray-on rubber paint stuff, does it exist (couldn't find it in my hardware store), or is mixing latex with paint a good idea (and pretty much the same thing)?

 

YOu can always try tennis raquet tape or tape for bicycle grip. There should be a pretty good selection at your local sporting goods store, although a tape covered handle seems a little too "earthy" for my personal taste, but that's just me.

 

I'll get some pics soon nausicaa (sorry for the misspelling that last time). Yeah, I think I'll take these off and maybe get a graflex converson kit. or maybe I'll strip off the top part of the blades and just6 use that. Anyway this saber is going into my Jedi archive because it was the first one I ever made. I've done about 6 more since I started this one and I recently went back to finish it.

 

The table tennis stuff sounds interesting. Also, do you guys think that using craft foam would work? You know the stuff that's usually sold in paper sized sheets, roughly 2 mm thick? I'm debating cutting my grip design out of that stuff and using epoxy to hold it onto the metal tube grip of my lightsaber. I'm reluctant to use screws or rivets- they may interfere with the wiring and inverter that need to go inside the hilt.

 

hmmm...might work...try it. I'd be glad to see how it turns out.

 

That sounds good, but be careful that you make your cuts carefully and exactly, or else you'll risk having a peeling, ragged grip, unless you seal the edges with glue, fraycheck, or something of that nature.

 

spray on rubber stuff does exist, walmart and most hardware stores usually carry it, its called plasti-dip, its a spray on rubber, comes in diffrent colors black, and clear being my favorite. look it up, its about 5 dollars a can. And on the first page someone said that 1 1/4 pvc doesnt fit over the 1 1/2 sink pipe, the 1 1/4 pvc is actually not 1 1/4 just called tha tfor some reason, it fits over, and is pretty cheap, ask for it and make sure to compare size to the sink drain pipe. bigyellowtoolbox.tripod.com styles 6 7 and 8 all use it, so if your interested for more information he has some. he also suggests the wiper blade inserts, (plastic part) rivited on , check out lightsaber 6 for the instructions he has. okay thats about all i have to say for this topic later
-Eidos

 

Thanks for all the great information out there. I've been sifting through the forums trying to build by own EL lightsaber - the grips are really a tricky part. Has anyone considered extruded neoprene in a "T" shape? seems like it would do the trick. I found some on a seal and gasket manufacturers site and am checking pricing. It's 1/2" at the base and 1/4" with what would be the raised portion at 1/8"

 

I built my own darth vader like lightsaber. I used the pylon wiperblades and they worked fine for me. attach them with rivets, and it looks great

 

Use the inlay rubber mat for tool boxes find it at sears.

May the force be with you.

 

Use the wiper blades for cars also and either leave in the metal stripes or take them out then go to home depot or lowes and ask a clerk for thr strongest bonding glue they got.

 

I have built my own lightsaber EL.

Parts

El wire and activator from www.elwirecheap.co
6ft or 9ft of el wire and a 3-9ft activator that runs on 2 AA batteries



sound module from a hasbro kiddie lightsaber.

Blade outer covering from www.usplastics.com -Polycarbonate (cheap)
and polyethelene tubing (light diffuser)

Hilt is from cromed piping at Home depot
end of hilt is a faucet handle (cromed round)

---even though the kiddie lightsaber sound module works off of 2C batteries it can still work with 2AA batteries just dont last as long, then i hard soldered the activator (after i removed the outer shell) used the red and yellow wires that would make the lightbulb turn off and on then hard wired a momentary push button switch (radio shack) and hard wired it to the sound modules circuit board. Make sure you use only an activator powered by 2 AA batteries or the transformer will burn out from the activator (too many K amps) --it seems enough to power the activator and sound module together. If you know what your doing when you hit the switch the sound should come on and the light should blink a couple of time then stay on plus you'll have battle clash sounds. The only side affect is a slight high tone humming in the backround of the lightsaber hum --it comes from the EL activator. I finally finished my first protype to work out the bugs but my next on will have a removeable blade using male and female stereo jacks and male and female threaded PVC couplings. If anyone wants help or guidance or has advice for me on making El Lightsabers you can email me at willisjr24@yahoo.com.... when I take a picture of my proto type I will post it for to see.

Building a Lightsaber from scratch to ones own personal taste is a Jedi skill to be mastered during Jedi training..a Jedi Knight and Master's Lightsaber is a reflection of the Jedi Himself......Wil Ra Pasha.

 

Well basically a 160psi pvc piece cut out using a template of your choice will do just fine but if you dont like the feel of normal pvc you can spray paint it a black with a thing called plastidip that will also give it a rubber texture which is pretty cool.But i know that this has been posted already but i just thought id give the extra info about the template they have a nice one for the big yellow box saber style 8 just type it in on yahoo if you wanna check it out

 

I've used the "big-yellow" model for a Vader (MPP) style saber. They suggest the wiper refill plastic backing rivited to the handle. The feel is stiff and the rivets eat up the interior space (have to use adhesive to turn this into an "EL" handle) I was hoping for something more authentic and thought the extruded neoprene would be more suitable. Just wondering if there is anything out there more closely resembling the original.

I have to look harder at the neoprene solution - my first quote was between $7 and $8/ft with a 100' minimum - not an investment I wish to make).

Thanks again for the replies.

 

Don't try Rustoleum's "Grip and Guard" spray. It's similar to the Plasti Dip spray, but it is textured. It was nice, at first. I tried it a couple of times on my PVC grip and it didn't stay on. It started to peel off. Maybe the Plasti Dip stays on better.

After redoing my grip for the second time, I sanded it down, said to hell with it, and painted it with black Krylon Fusion paint and sealed it with a couple coats of acrylic finish.