Lightsaber Grips - Anyone successfully made their own?

Hi All,

Just wondering, has anyone had any success with making their own grips from scratch out of rubber? I've made a positive out of Super Sculpey and would like to be able to reproduce them when I need to in rubber. I'm just not sure what type of rubber is available, and what I can use. Apparently the Hardware stores sell a black silicone, but I haven't tried it at yet. Latex is another option, but I understand it perishes rather quickly with use. I should mention at this point that I'm in Australia, and dont' have easy access to YodasHouse (who makes excellent grips, by the way). Conversion rates are a bit steep right now

It would be great to hear from anyone who's had any joy with making grips!

Thanks!

Iholio

 

Bosch windshield wiper blades (*not* Micro-fills) with 3M Body Moulding tape double sided adhesive works well.

 

Most folks make their own grips from wiper blades too, but if you are wanting to cast your own for a better look, I'd suggest asking John at Blast-Tech about it. I'm sure he would probably tell you what stuff you would need to make your own grips but I personally don't know what you would need materials wise.

I am thinking that it might get a bit pricey to do what you are talking about. When you are talking about casting rubber, I assume you have to buy that stuff in bulk amounts and I'm thinking it might be cheaper to actually just buy a grip set. I could be wrong though.

 

I made some grips that are more like the ones on Anakin's Episode II saber by cutting them out of black PVC pipe. Since the pipe is curved, they fit perfectly onto the curved surface of the saber hilt. They are very plain, of course, but are very comfortable and sleek...

--Kai

 

Hey Guys,

Just to post a followup for those that are interested, I found a local company which is a modelling/Moulding/Casting Supplier, which can sell me 2kg of casting silicone and 2kg of rubber for $100 AUD. If I stick to grips only, this means I can probably make well over 100 grips. Not quite sure what to do with the other 94+, but I can reuse the moulding compound and cast resin parts for my han solo blaster I am scratch building

For those in Australia, comparing this to ordering a set of grips from the US at $50 for a set of 6, this is not a bad option, especially if you're looking at building more than just the one-off lightsaber.

Also, as a side note, as I work in IT, I found the black compact foam that RAM comes packed in to be a great material for making grips for fighting sabers (sabers that are to actually be used that don't look great up close).

Thanks to everyone for their replies, too.

Regards,

Iholio.

 

The extrude rubber that looks like the original grips from ANH, aren't very comfortable if you were gonna swing it around all day, but looks ok hanging on a belt.

The foregrip on mine is made from polywashers, sprayed with a rubber coating. The lower grip is made from PVC from the pattern on Big Yellow Box.

 

Apparently the original grips were from MG
vehicles, try hitting your local MG dealer or auto store and see if they sell the specific wipers blades and not generic type.

 

How do I get the windshield wipers to stick to a chrome plated brass pipe?

 

I have heard of some folks using the back side of a mouse pad for the grip material.

 

You can use that yellow contact cement.
I used a small amount to stick a generic wiper blade, and deliberately tried to take them off with brute force and it took a whole stack of pressure to rip them off.

Alternately, do it the Lucasfilm prop department way and use very small rivets to attach the blades.

 

I used JB Weld to affix a set of ordinary winshield wiper blades to a chrome plated brass pipe for my second sabre. They won't come off.