TOPIC: Gladius Grey Weathered 12W Medium Blue Champion

Oh yes, it's finally here!
After almost drooling over the Gladius for a year I finally got it!

I discovered SaberForge about a year ago in September and although the Gladius immediately caught my eye - having that wonderful Old Republic look to it; not just of the game, but actually also the feel that it could be a weapon of a more civilised age that Knights in the Old Republic used - I also have a big love for the thin necks of Luke and Obi-Wan.

After a lot of back and forth correspondence with customer service, I learned of the ASP system and thought I would be able to combine the thin neck with the leather grip of the Gladius.
Still, saving up money besides getting 3 new additions to our family (3 Maine Coon cats, my wife is just in love with cats in general, but when she saw these she had to have them) and some other expenses made it so that I couldn't make my order until June of this year.

By that time ASP had gone live, but with the small bugs that had be worked out - and the fact that I have no prior experience with how to operate, let alone build a lightsaber - I figured it was probably best to go for a fully loaded hilt that I only had to push a button on to enjoy it.
By that time however, I had also fallen in love with the Reborn, Archon and Juggernaut (yes, that Old Republic love is strong) and I just couldn't stick to the Gladius alone, so I decided to order 2 lightsabers in June.

Around august they reached the building queue and about 2 weeks ago they were finally shipped to where I live (Norway, although I am Dutch ). Last Monday they arrived and having to wait until the end of the month to pick them up - customs was nice enough to throw an extra $200,- on top of the $800,- I paid for both sabers + $60 for shipping - I picked them up today and my mood cannot be broken!

First of all just the feeling of owning a SaberForge lightsaber is wonderful; despite maybe sounding clichéd, I love how these sabers look.
I've watched a lot of reviews with photos and videos in the last year (mostly Shameem and some others on this forum), but still they didn't give an accurate picture of how gorgeous and gracious these hilts are.
I thought when ordering them I would somehow get a sort of heavy, crude, rough brick that would weigh quite a bit and be this blunt instrument - boy was I happily surprised!

Not that I would've minded if they would've been these heavy hitters, but once I finally held them in my hand, I really felt as Obi-Wan described it to Luke; "A more elegant weapon, for a more civilised age."
Their design is graceful and refined; thin and not as heavy as I would've imagined, but still grand and with a heft to it so that it does feel like a dangerous weapon.

The grey weathering was a perfect choice for this saber, as it makes it look like even more of an artifact that was dug up and is still functional.
Mixed with the Cobalt Stingray wrap it makes for an exquisite hilt that is truly something to behold. The only thing that was kind of weird was the brass Covertech knob, but I have to say that despite me actually wanting it in grey weathering as well, it is already starting to grow on me as it makes for a nice contrast with the darker colours - and that's only after a few hours, imagine how much I'll love it after several weeks or months

The medium blue is gorgeous - photos will follow soon, right now I came home from work and had to make dinner, unpack and of course report here how much I love it - and works magnificently with the grey weathering, delivering a nice contrast when wielding it.
The 37 inch blade is just right for me as well; despite me not being able to swing it as much as I would (mostly because of our low roof) it feels like just the right size for me - I think if I would've gone for a 32 inch I would've felt it would be too short.

The SaberCore Viridian soundfont is wonderful as well, as well as the menu itself - it was easy enough for me to figure out how to adjust the settings, so that I now have a better swing/motion sound, as well as clash and a little shimmer in the blade light.

So yeah, all in all I'm overly satisfied with how my Gladius turned out and I'll be enjoying it to the fullest. I don't know what else to put in this review - after all it's my first time doing this - but if anybody has any questions I'm happy to answer them.
As said, more pictures will follow tomorrow, as I will be taking the entire weekend to enjoy this baby; pictures of the blade, more details on the hilt, etc. will follow then.

Just on a sidenote; as you can see on the photos I also have received the Reborn then and I'll be saving my review for that one for a later time.
As noticeable on the pictures, unfortunately one of the claws got bend out of shape (probably rough handling by either customs or mail service) which prevents me from taking out the blade plug, as well as putting in a blade.
On top of that, when pulling out the kill key the boot up sound doesn't come on, nor does the activation switch produce any sound or light. I've already tried charging it for several hours, but still to no avail.

My guess is that somebody dropped the box (although there didn't seem to be any damage on the parcel itself) and thus damaged the claw as well as the internal kill key mechanism/soundboard.
Luckily of course I already contact SaberForge customer service and they are more than happy to help me; I can just send it back after I printed and filled out the RMA file and then hopefully it will take about 2-3 months before I get it back in perfect condition.

Congrats! I'm really digging the Cobalt wrap and weathered combo here. Very unique. Medium Blue is my favorite blue. I think it's hard to go wrong with that one. And I like the Covertech knob. Until you mentioned it, I thought it was an intentional choice. That brass will darken over time as well and add to the look.

Fantastic! That Cobalt wrap shows up so nicely (I also have it on my standard dual tone Gladius).

Thanks for sharing.

Cobalt wrap and grey weathering. Awesome combo. Nice choice!

Thanks so far for the compliments; I'm really digging it too!
I had been wondering whether or not the cobalt stingray wrap would work with the grey weathering - even at times considering to just go for the brown leather or black reptile - but I'm happy I decided to be daring and go with this, as it really gives a nice 'blue' feeling to the overall blade and gives for a nice contrast (I think any darker wrap would've made the hilt feel more darkside than Jedi artifact - at least, that's what I'm going for).

Unfortunately I've been a bit busy, so I only had time for one photo session that included a cat, but at least it shows of the wonderful medium blue; I'm happy I didn't went with deep blue, as this one already has a few hints of violet/purple at times, but stays a nice dark blue overall.

Maybe in the future I will try the light blue to see how that looks - and to get a blue that's more accurate to the Original Trilogy instead of the Prequels - but besides now having indigo on my Reborn (shipping out today to SaberForge for repairs) I think my next wish will be either yellow, amber or blood orange or red -with the Archon, Fallen and Juggernaut in mind.

Still, lime green is very alluring too and seems to work best with my own ASP design which is then a mix of Gladius meets Prodigal Son (if the Redeemer would keep both brass and copper in weathered version I would go for that emitter, but just the brass seems too shiny as I'm going with a Crimson Stingray wrap, so Prodigal Son it is
I'll try to upload some photos tomorrow of the blade with the light switched on and more details on the hilt.

Alright, photos taken and apologies for the Sunday hairdo Hopefully it shows of the details and colours (both of blade and hilt) nicely enough

More

And final photos

Nice V3 Gladius CrimsonJaxx88. One I didn't personally include amongst my V3s, skipping past Reliant too. What are your thoughts with the finished separation against the V2 Reborn (maybe it's from your photos) but between the two, they look similar? I personally would like to see more distinct differences between V2 and V3. I'm actually more drawn towards the Cobalt Stingray you've chosen. Not one (with colouring) I would have considered but it could pass convincingly as the scaly hide of a varactyl..


And look, she too is rocking some Sunday hair!

OvrcAHst wrote: Haha, thanks, I'll lie and say that was what I was going for

I have to say that looking at the photos, I can see how both Reborn and Gladius don't seem to have much difference on weathering. Unfortunately I already send the Reborn for repair, otherwise I would've taken pics of both on maybe a less contrasting surface (I think the white marble makes them look more similar than in real life). Here is one photo I took of the Reborn to show damage, maybe the V2 weathering shows off better there?



For what it's worth, the V2 Reborn to me really felt like a Dark Side saber (as I intended, seeing as is it after all Revan's lightsaber) that had been damaged/weathered by battle and the likes, whilst the Gladius V3 felt more like a Light Side saber that had been lost in time (say for instance in the sands of Tatooine) and had been dug up as a cool Jedi artifact.
The cobalt stingray wrap makes it appear more that way I feel than if I would've gone with a brown/bronze/black reptile/leather wrap, which would've given it a more darker feel (especially with the suggestion that it could've been from a varactyl I think it works extra fine, seems like a sort of Light Side buddy )
I agree that of the wraps that are offered, my preference is also leaning more and more towards stingray; reptile seems too dark side (which could work for some sabers, just not the ones I have in mind) , whilst the leather is too 'plain'. The stingray offer this nice balance of having some texture to it, but not too much. I do have to say that with the cobalt one I have now, I'm thinking of a crimson one (duh ) for my own ASP design and maybe I'll try a bronze one on a Reliant V3 with yellow blade and brass accents... but then I'm getting way ahead of myself.

I don't know how to really describe the difference otherwise; my best bet would be to say that it felt like the Reborn V2 had been weathered by metal and oil and the likes, whilst the Gladius V3 had more of a 'sand-blasted' feel to it. Therefore the Gladius V3 feels like a soft and smooth weathering over a long period of time, whilst the Reborn V2 felt more aggressive.
Again, as intentioned, where a Jedi would've taken much care of his Gladius lightsaber, but would've lost it by having fallen in battle - and then the sands of Tatooine or any other desert planet slowly eroding away the shiny polish - whilst the Reborn V3 feels like that of a Sith who uses it daily and only looks after the functionality of the saber and not for the aesthetic.

In any case for what it's worth I am happy with the difference in weathering in real life (photos don't seem to do it justice as it seems with most blade colours as well), but having both I have reconsidered a bit on future purchases.
Before I bought these 2 first sabers, I was pretty much entranced by weathering and figured I would want it on all lightsabers, as I felt that the shiny, polished look seemed off somehow.
Seeing now how the weathering looks in real life, I'm beginning to notice that I'm figuring out on which sabers it could and could not function.
The Archon I'm still split down the middle on (on the one hand really wanting a V3 grey weathering with brass accents, but on the other hand that dual tone makes it look way more regal, especially if I have my wife add some painting details), but for instance the Grand Master and the Fallen I'm slowly leaning towards getting in a normal finish - once that time comes of course, I'm not made of money - whilst my own ASP saber design I do see functioning better with a V2 weathering.

But as said, right now my main focus is my own ASP saber design, so I have some time before deciding on the Archon (and who knows, the Grand Master really feels like it should be shiny, but even some of the Fallen V2 I've seen have this allure to it... argh, the choices!

CrimsonJax88 wrote: I played with an Amber Day with a Lime Green LED on my V3 Exile and Whilst I have thought about swapping out the LEDs to an Amber on V3 Avenger and V3 Juggs, it honestly didn't occur to me to sub in a Yellow. Spose I should get around to trying that even if just to satisfy curiosity. I'm not any closer either with differentiating the V3 finish. shameless self-plug time. GrandMaster Shiny = Great! It's been several Months since that Posting, I really should get around to maybe updating the photos.

OvrcAHst wrote: BY THE FORCE that thing is amazing! Now I want the same Not only shiny, but with that acid etching it's perfect
Yeah, now you in any case definitely convinced me on that one needing to be shiny - and probably finding somebody to do some custom work on it, the hilt itself is gorgeous on it's own, but having that Satele Shan detail to it makes it exquisite!

Now it's just left figuring out what to do with the Fallen and the Archon

CrimsonJax88 wrote:
Yeah, we all pass out from amazement every time he pulls his Grandmaster out, ha! It's a work of art alright.

HotRod wrote: That and his Reborn; I'm almost sad I bought my Reborn right before they offered up the ones on Etsy with the windows removed - but who knows, now that customs is taking orders again

HotRod wrote:
CrimsonJax88 wrote: