Sabersmith recommendations

Hi everyone! I wrote this topic because I was looking to buy a good lightsaber. I read A LOT of online stuff about some companies, but it doesn´t seems to be a solid statement about the products quality. Could you please give me some specific recommendations according to some companies sabersmithing? And could you please tell me if there is a blade color or type that produces the ´´White core´´ effect?
I´m looking for a lasting saber, I don´t want to spend money in something that is going to break after 6 months of use.

Jacen ´´Liner´´ Carrick wrote: Hi everyone! I wrote this topic because I was looking to buy a good lightsaber. I read A LOT of online stuff about some companies, but it doesn´t seems to be a solid statement about the products quality. Could you please give me some specific recommendations according to some companies sabersmithing?

First of all, I recommend having a look around at fx-sabers.com/forum. Though they have their own sabers for sale, mostly this is one of the biggest communities of all sorts of saber enthusiasts, including professional sabersmiths. I predict that many recommendations you will get outside of the dedicated niche will be something like UltraSabers or SaberForge. I have no opinion on the latter and no experience with either, but the reason for why I have no experience of my own with them is because of the experience of others. If you are on a budget and not looking for either quality or customer support, these companies are probably able to provide, for better or worse. If you are looking for a high-end or custom product, from what I can tell you will not likely find something within a three digit price range, but if you plan everything out with care and make sure that you know as much as you can before you start, you can get away with under half a grand including tools by building a saber yourself, of course with all of your own creativity guiding the design process. The general rule here is learn everything before ordering anything. The Custom Saber Shop is somewhat overpriced considering the product, but their customer support and DIY forums are unmatched by any other parts manufacturer I know of. There is a reason it dominates the market.

And could you please tell me if there is a blade color or type that produces the ´´White core´´ effect?

I can, and there isn't for otherwise coloured blades, at least none that is genuine illumination as opposed to just paint. The reason for this is simple: If you have a round blade, it radiates light outward in all directions. Either the light emitted (from a source built into the hilt or a strip in the blade, doesn't matter) already has a specific colour or it is white. If it is coloured, the core may in principle be brighter than the edges, but to the naked eye the colour will look consistent. If it is white, you can only hope to filter it through the blade material to get any other colour, but the filter will be in all directions, so again, it will look like one consistent colour throughout. If however you don't shut the aperture too tightly or cut the exposure time too short, your camera can pick up a white core where in reality there wasn't one.

The big three that most people go with (and don't have to save up a couple grand) are Ultrasabers, Saberforge, and Kyberlight. All three claim to have the "brightest blades in the galaxy"... and to be honest, they're all very close in brightness.

Ultrasabers I find is more affordable. They're durable, practical, and pleasing to the eye. The blades they sell, however, do not have the threaded tip that Saberforge offers, so you may (after intense duelling) have the tip fall off. It is simple enough to reinstall though. They also offer the "grab bag", something the others don't. You don't get to choose the hilt in this option, but it's MUCH cheaper if you're worried about breaking the bank (they do allow you to choose blade colour, for a price).

Saberforge is a bit pricier than Ulrasabers or Kyberlight, but their blades are the best quality. Their hilts have some wonderful designs, but their customer service sucks and it could take a while to arrive (mine did arrive on time, but they didn't follow some instructions I had put in regarding the threads).

Kyberlight is a highly overlooked brand. They have a highly customisation hilt layout that you can put together and take apart on the fly. I do find their blades not to be as bright though. (I'm not as read up on Kyberlight as I am on the other two tbh).

All three give that lovely white core effect, because of the diffusing paper lining the insides of the blades (with a hint of whatever colour you chose, it's impossible to chose which direction the colour is projecting). I do find most of the colour is seen on what it reflects off of though and the air around the blade.

This is just my experience with the saber community, however. I tend to overthink, so I did a ton of research before deciding to choose one.

I'm gonna be honest and say that I don't really know much about the topic but I can tell you that I have nothing but good things to say about kyberlight. I have a friend who has one and that thing is a monster! Their prices aren't too bad ($200 for the saber kit) and they offer a lifetime warranty. Like another user said, you can change the designs on the hilt and the blades come with, if I recall correctly, 20 colors that you can change from the hit of a button. Also, the interchangeable parts aren't that expensive, I believe the most expensive is about $30-35. Oh, and if you plan on dueling with these, they are made for it!

I checked ultrasabers and their prices aren't bad either, but you can't really customize it like you can do the kyberlight ones (I believe, if I'm wrong, someone correct me!).

Do you know if Kyberlight sabers support Saberforge blades? I will also like to know if Parksabers (even if their sabers don´t have sound) makes good and lasting products

Kyberlight, Ultrasabers, and Saberforge all can share blades, as they are all one inch outer diameter.

Again, if you are looking for something "good and lasting" and you don't want to do it yourself, be prepared to throw down some 700-3000, unless it's a run as opposed to a custom job. Those things are luxury collectibles. If you want a toy, your local toy vendor has a plastic piece as low as 20 bucks.
Much like with cars, you can buy a Fiat, a Ford, or a Ferrari, just be informed and manage your expectations. Spending EUR200, I can build a custom saber that has better implemented and more features than what Parks or Ultra sell at USD200, and with a custom as opposed to off the shelf design, eventhough I don't have a lathe and they do. It would include a soundboard with a custom mixed sound font. If I can be bothered, I might even generate some or all of the sounds myself. I'd have electronic parts that are pre-calculated to not fry each other barring manufacturer mistakes, and they'd be soldered cleanly at the nodes (as opposed to taped together loose cables), and embedded into a custom printed to fit sled type interior chassis, secured mechanically (as opposed to glued), and by the end of all that it would still be a poopy DIY job that only cost some 200 bucks because I only ever did it beforeonce, but judging by how nothing went wrong that time I figure I must have been well prepared. Also, costs aside, I recon I could get away with selling it for 500, if only I could forgive myself for doing so.
The point here is this: Where there is demand, supply follows. No matter what standards you set yourself, be it in terms of quality or budget, you will be able to find a product that suits you. It is however a very niche collectors and enthusiasts market. Be sure to gather as much info from experts in it as you can, because some sellers count on you not knowing enough and they are not even the worst. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably isn't, and much like with computers, most of them aren't worth the askig price.
And I'm not even advocating for the high end here. I remember (or so it was a couple years back, anyway), seeing saber presentations by GCS (or was it GCS?), where he would demonstrate his saber's SD card access (because external ports were still new and rare and of limited use back then), by unscrewing the pommel holding the speaker and leaving it to dangle on two wires while he fiddled around trying to get to an card slot in the middle of half-exposed sensitive electronics... And I'm sure somebody payed over a grand to have that saber, too.