What brand/store would you recommend?
While there are a lots of custom saber builders out there, so I will only list out those that I have direct experience with. So sit tight, its going to be a long one!
For best bang for buck, I will always recommend Ultrasabers (US) from USA. Their hilts are somewhat plain (though that has improved recently with their new line of V4 sabers) but it gets the job done and they are really durable. FAST mainly uses Ultrasabers and have been doing so for the past five years. We abused them weekly and really put them through the paces. Baring minor maintenance here and there, they have performed very well. They also used common parts so it is relatively easy to maintain them. Price starts at 55USD.
For those with the DIY spirit, I highly recommend The Custom Saber Shop (TCSS) from USA. TCSS is the pioneer of the modular saber parts system called Modular Hilt System (MHS) and you can virtually customise any design with the parts they have.
With new parts being added every few months, the possibilities are virtually endless. My own personal saber is a TCSS and I have built a few using TCSS parts to my customers’ satisfaction.
The only drawback is that they do not sell complete sabers and you will need to build them yourself or get someone to do it for you. To me, it is a great incentive to learn some wiring basics because according to Star Wars lore, an aspiring Jedi needs to build his own saber to complete his training to be a Jedi. So by being able to build you saber really gives you a wonderful sense of accomplishment. It is like you are finally legit!
Price for parts to build a saber with no sound starts at around 90USD
I am also a fan of One Replicas, a Venezuelan sabersmith. He does ‘empties’ only though which means an empty hilt. You will need to source the blade and install the electronics yourself. He differs from TCSS in the sense that he offers super accurate replicas of popular characters hilt. He has made a Qui Gon Jinn (which I have), Obi Wan Kenobi TPM, Ki Adi Mundi, Luke Skywalker ROTJ V1, and coming soon Luke Skywalker ROTJ V2. His price starts at USD155.
For those with some money to burn, Vader’ Vault (US) is worth checking out. This is where we got one of our early stunt sabers (no sound) and it is easily the most well balanced saber we ever had straight out of the box.
It is a fantastic spinner and a mainstay in our arsenal. Unfortunately, Vader’s Vault have stopped selling stunt sabers and now all of them come with sound by default. That jacked up the price a bit more but if you can afford it, these are some of the best in the scene. Prices start at 339USD.
A notable mention is AC Lightsabers. The store is local and currently only offers PVC sabers but they look awesome. I have yet to test out his work (soon hopefully) but he uses common parts and offers a very affordable entry point for those on a budget. Since he is local, so if you need to upgrade or service your saber, you don’t have to send it overseas. Prices start at RM180.
From our neighboring Singapore, there is Kit Sabers. He does high quality custom design hilts with multitude of options. His sabers have the advantage of being made for Asian hands, than means thinner and more comfortable to grip. A member of FAST has gotten a couple of sabers from him and they are a workhorse. Price starts at SGD100 and is a bit more accessible than getting a saber from the US.
Also from Singapore, this newcomer to the scene is none other than Sabermach. Their sabers are really well made with good quality parts. The designs are pretty cool and they are comfortable to grip. However, they use an uncommon design for their blade. Currently the most common way to secure the blade to the hilt is pressure from a set screw that can be adjusted with an Allen key.
For Sabermach, they decided to go with the uncommon threaded blade design which allows you to directly screw the blade in.
The benefit of this design is that you don’t need to carry an Allen key around, but the downside is if you ever break your blade, it is only compatible with one from Sabermach.
In contrast, with other companies, you can just swap from another blade you have around since everyone else uses the same set screw mechanism. To accommodate the threaded section of the blade, the blade has to be of the thicker variety and it is the only blade thickness they offer currently. Price starts at SGD299.
There is another brand that is gaining popularity here called Saber Forge (SF). For the price, they have some gorgeous looking hilts in addition to replicas of famous character’s saber.
However, we have pretty bad experience with their products. A FAST member bought two early SF hilts (about four years ago) and the sabers (he bought two to combine into a double bladed saber like Darth Maul) were so bad that the electronics have to be completely replaced with new parts for it to function properly. The exterior was not much different really; I can only describe it as rough and unfinished.
While SF sabers do look tons better now, on closer inspection the workmanship is still relatively unrefined, compared with other companies and the construction is questionable.
SF also has a tendency to also use super glue to secure parts together (probably because their thread is unusually short) which is a big NO NO for a duelling saber. I had to once take apart a friend’s SF hilt for fixing (a wire broke inside due to poor soldering) and I couldn’t remove the blade because they glued the threads shut.
Most recently, another friend’s saber switch broke because it was glued together with super glue and it came apart. There have also been reports of SF hilts breaking into half or sections of the sabers snapping off from duelling.
In a nutshell the sabers have questionable construction so purchase at your own risk. They look great and that’s all I can say about them. Price starts at 49USD for an empty hilt.
