TOPIC: Saberforge VS. Ultrasabers

Before you type: please no hate speech. I'm just a guy trying to evaluate two opinions.

Before buying my first saber, I wanted to know a few things...

Ultrasabers. I've heard a lot of horror stories about them, but I like a few of their designs. are they any good compared to Saberforge? Specifically within the following categories:

1. Overall Quality

2. Durability

3. Programing (ease of changing soundfonts, and so on)

4. Repairability

...And whatever else you can think off.

I haven't heard horror stories about either SF or US for a while now. Both are good at what they do. That said;

1. Overall quality is decent, Their sabers are solid, but don't use as much material in their hilts as SF, as well as less pieces, with a majority of their hilts consisting of 2-3 pieces. It seems like SF puts more effort into design quality in that regard. US is nice if you don't like the extra trimmings.

2. Durability; I'd rate them about the same. As long as you don't thow your saber in a pool or into a fire, they won't break or chip. Both use really nice metal. Imo, SF puts more metal, making the sabers a bit heavier and sturdy.

3. I've never bought a hero saber from SF, but on US, it's as simple as plugging a usb cord into the saber port, after installing the accompying software, and setting the colors, sound, etc.


I've shopped at both before, and favor saberforge over ultrasabers for their attention to detail, and effort put into each design. Although they make hundreds of sabers for each model, It feels somewhat personalized. Staff listen to requests, ie, changing the color of some components, trimming down the hilt, and feels like they care more for their customers. (I don't appreciate US spamming my inbox every week with the same material.) The reason I switched over was because of the diversity of each saber here, and how different each one was from one another, with still the high amount of craftmanship and effort put to design each model. I like the 3D images they launch online over the couse of months too; it really shows how much effort they put into each model, and the search for perfection before each launch to give customers the best they have to offer.

IMO, after sampling both extensively (I've been a Mod on the US forum for a couple years now, so I have a pretty good exposure to their products), they both have their advantages. In terms of hilt design, Saberforge has much more accurate and well sized hilts, so if that's something you stress then definitely go with SF. That said, I've used both the US Consular and the SF Guardian (Qui-Gon themed hilts) and they have their own advantages. I use the SF Guardian as my current sparring hilt because it's awesome - the size, balance, and overall design make it a great hilt. However, the US Consular is MHS compatible, which I've seen used in MANY different threads on Saberforum to great creative effect.

Price is tough to compare because Saberforge offers more bang for your buck - their Champion level has sound with in hilt recharge and a killkey for much cheaper than Ultrasabers could offer. However, if in hilt recharge isn't a huge priority to you and you're on a budget, many of the V3 hilts from Ultrasabers can be ordered with sound for around 200-250 depending on what deals you use. You're saving a little money there, plus you get the feature of changing soundfonts on the Obsidian board.

I realize mentioning that board is a can of worms because it's seen as unreliable, many people have had issues with theirs glitching or outright burning up. However, I can't refrain from bringing it up, because I've owned or used at least a dozen hilts with that board with no real issues, so I can only speak from personal experience.

Ultimately my advice is buy from both, and if you can't stretch your budget that far then pick a hilt design you really like and go with whichever company has a better version (in your personal opinion). They both offer great stuff, Saberforge with their different soundboards and 12W LED and Ultrasabers with their huge assortment of hilt designs.

I think Ultra is a good "gateway" saber so to speak because a very very basic saber is cheap. We've had a couple before and like they remind me of training sabers in a sense.
I don't think they are all that well made in the wiring department, especially when compared to Saber Forge, but that's only what I have heard from other people… I'm not a wiring/electrical expert by any means.
Saber Forge also had an amazing warranty on the sabers and blades!
Ultras design has never appealed to me, so I can't really comment on that.

I think personally, it's better to invest and get the saber you really want, so I know for me that choice would be Saber Forge.

I know that I recently saw a youtube video shared of a guy talking about his Ultrasabers experience and if I had been thinking about buying from them his experience definitely would have made me think twice about it. I am sure I can find it if you want.

I own a US and my good friend owns a SF. Although comparable I just ordered a exhalted from SF. The hilts at SF are just way cooler looking. Yes it is an opinion but I feel the attention to detail is way superior with SF and the weathering is top notch. Phil seems to be extremely passionate about putting forth solid products. The SF I have seen and held is the Gladius and the hilt is just a beast. Nothing against US but if you are going to splurge on something that costs a few hundred dollars I would lean towards SF. Can't wait for my exhalted to arrive !

DarthDfresh wrote:
That's one other thing I neglected to mention before - Ultrasabers does have some different anodizing options on the V3 hilts (aka the Dark versions of each regular hilt), but Saberforge offers one hell of a weathering option. Between the regular and grey weathering, and all the different options you can select on their hilts, you could really get a wide range of different styles depending on your personal preference. They also have some fantastic thin necked hilts, although I'm not a huge fan of them for dueling/sparring (comfort wise).

"They also have some fantastic thin necked hilts, although I'm not a huge fan of them for dueling/sparring (comfort wise). "

What about the Exhalted? It looked like it could be awesome for dueling...

Also, I keep wondering about soundboards, so which is better, sabercore (SF), or the obsidian (US)? I am thinking in terms of...

1. User Friendliness
2. Durability
3. Ability to change fonts.

Etc.

The exhalted is my favorite non-canon-inspired SF saber to date, and I use it heavily for dueling and it's great.

As for the soundboards, I have no personal experience with the obsidian, only with the sabercore, which so far has not had any problems in terms of durability. It is EXTREMELY user friendly, no need to plug it in or take out a microSD card to change the settings, I can cycle through blade flicker, volume, impact, and motion settings in less than 20 seconds with the press of a button.

The "downside" to the sabercore is only one sound font, and it's not changeable once you get it, it's permanently flashed into the board. However, this doesn't bother me one bit, or the lack of color options. For me, a lightsaber should have one, distinct personality, so I'm not a fan of switching sound fonts or blade colors on the go.

Someone else can weigh in on the ups and downs of the obsidian.

DarthMario95 wrote:
This is my queue !

Ah... The Obsidian ...

The obsidian where to start...

I use to have a lot of love for it, in fact out of the box its great. Lately I played with a C7 and a Spark Mini and I have to say both of those blow the Obsidian apart... but that is not hard because oftentimes Obsidian can do that to itself.

Pros*

Its customization options are fairly endless. Saberforum.com has a great list of user created and edited sound fonts. You basically plug in saber, open launcher (Ill touch on that in a min) and you can select/ drag and drop the fonts in the right places "Power Up, Power Down, multiple clashes, lock up effects etc.

It is fairly user friendly, it does not take a lot of time and the learning curve is short.

Cons*

Its cheap. That is the best way I can put it. It is not inexpensive it is simply cheap. They coat the thing in a black primer like rubber that hides all the shotty and quick solder.

I have spent hours tweaking and customizing my own custom font packages, swings, clashes etc and no matter how hard I try it is simply not accurate. Loops will loop when they are not suppose to, clashes wont happen with precision all the time but for the most part it is ok. I am a nut case when it comes to accurate sound parameters and I could not be happy with it.

I have 2 Obsidian equipped Sabers- one a Belicose with just the sound board and one with the Emerald Driver as well.

Obsidian / Emerald .... Oh boy.. So Emerald is a fantastic option in my opinion for those saber owners who just want a color changing stunt... Which is a very small minority. I love my DSI that is Emerald without sound because I can just make so many damn color options with the 4 channels and I truly adore that saber. My Obsidian / Emerald saber- Oh man... so messy in that hilt... It is basically two separate boards wired very "humorously" is the best way I can put it. When I opened up the free saber I got in a raffle, after just a few attempts at soldering and some basic repair work of another US model I realized just how bad the wiring/ mounting these things can have. I wish I took pictures, but at the time I was still in Ultrasabers FanBoy mode and I thought... "I bet they just missed this one" and so I cleaned it up a bit.

Hours of working with the calibration and actually fixing parts of the board that were .... not connected properly and mounting it with plenty of velcro, I had a decent saber.

Then there is the Ultrasaber Launcher...

I was at one time helping newbies with the Obsidian / Emerald / and US Launcher...

Extremely buggy on Windows 7 and up

It was designed strictly for Windows XP on earlier versions with a lot of errors / on Windows 8

No Apple Support

Linux runs it buggy unless you have an older version


It does have a great built in help screen

Jayskywalker21 wrote:
It's better than the Prodigal Son and Redeemer because of the lack of a box, but honestly I'd still rather have a more uniform hilt. The thin neck isn't all that comfortable IMO (personal preference issue from what I've seen). This isn't necessarily a design issue with SF hilts, any thin neck I've held isn't terribly conducive to the saber's handling.

Again, my personal experience. I'm a fan of my Gladius and Guardian for dueling. I'll still use my Prodigal Son sometimes for fun, but that's more of a show off type of hilt to me.

Hi. I own at least a dozen ultrasabers with sound or stunt. I have to agree with everyone's posts. Just received my Champion Venom and Warrior Gladius. There is simply no comparison. Saberforge makes fantastically awesome gorgeous well-constructed sabers. I love being able to simply adjust the options on my champion and not have to be using my computer to make changes. That experience can be stressful and have a negative result. The 6 watt is bright and the newer 12 watt LED and the well-constructed v3 blade are a bonus.

I really like my Ultrasabers as they serve the purpose that I want them for. I like the fact that the v3's and above are MHS compatible so that the saber look and balance can be altered. I may be lucky as have had no bad experience with wiring, power, sound or color distortions. My favorite is the Prophecy. I really have nothing negative to say and the building and shipping time is a big bonus.

However, Saberforge is well worth paying a bit more for as one can clearly see that these sabers are designed and built with a passion for the craft. Love the weathered look. Yes, the custom build time is longer but I can say that it is worth the wait. My sabers were packaged safely and the shipping charge was reasonable. So I say get stunt sabers from Ultrasabers for practice and heavier sparring if concerned about dents and then get yourself some Saberforge sabers. You deserve only the best!

Hello. I'm new to the hobby, although I've lurked and stalked it for years. I think I'm finally getting to a position in which I'll actually be able to jump in and purchase my first lightsaber. I just want to thank all of you for this thread. This has been THE MOST respectful, mature, fact-driven, informative, non-douchy thread I have ever seen on any forum about any topic. I wish some of my other hobby forums were the same way. Thanks to all of you, I feel much more comfortable about making a decision about which company to give my business to and what options to explore for my first saber. You guys rock! Don't ever change!

I had the same concerns about ultrasabers but after watching the video below I decided to steer clear of ultrasabers and go with SaberForge


this happened earlier in the year

To begin I would like to clearly state that I am basing this analysis of Saberforge vs. Ultrasabers off my personal experience and the reviews of others.

In the area of Overall Quality:

In terms of material Saberforge hilts tend to be lighter than Ultrasaber hilts (this does not affect their durability) this makes them generally slimmer and easier for spinning techniques. Unlike many of Ultrasabers hilts Saberforge hilts are not made with MHS parts which takes away a tiny bit of the customization element in their sabers but with the many selection options available when purchasing from them many of their customers do not see this as a weakness. To put it plain and simple, Ultrasabers hilts are bulky. This makes them just as durable as the Saberforge hilts but because of this it is difficult for people with smaller hands to completely grip their sabers. On a side not I would like to add that a friend of mine dropped one of my initiate sabers from them on the concrete one day and the saber received not a scratch.

In the area of Durabilty:

In my opinion durability lies not with just the hilt itself but the blade and the internals of the hilt.

The Infinity Edge Blade is probably the most durable blade I have ever owned. I had 2 Mid Grade blades and Two Heavy Grade blades from Ultrasabers and both of those styles resulted in damage after just a few duels. In the Mid grade there were clear scuffs on the blade and the paper which carried the light on the inside was crumpled. Likewise with the heavy grade. Granite the Infintiy Edge is heavier than any Ultrasaber blade combined with its durability and light illumination it is in my opinion the superior blade. I suggest checking out some video reviews and comparisons on Youtube. Now internals wise Saberforge's design which includes a flush activation switch gives them the upper hand. I read a review once where an Ultrasaber customer dropped his saber on the activation switch and it rattled the internal components of the saber and loosened its parts. My saber as well came with a lose activation button as it was not flush with the hole drilled for its placement.

In the area of Programming:

Outside of quality and design I believe this is where the Saberforge and Ultrasabers differentiate the most. Saberforge now offers two soundfonts SaberCore Viridium (light) and SaberCore Crimson (dark). On the other hand Ultrasabers has one Obsidian which is a programmable soundfont which can be manipulated into countless options of downloadable soundfonts to your preference. The only downside of doing this is having to open and expose the internals of the saber to reach the USB port which could potentially result in ripping or disconnecting of wiring as I have read before in a few reviews.

In the area of Repairability:

There are not too many reviews about Saberforge saber repairs many of which only consist of customers wanting to upgrade a outdated feature on their saber (I will get back to this shortly). Ultrasabers on the other hand...well not so good. Many have had to send a saber back for repairs at least once or like myself multiple times to resolve an issue.

Now there are two more critical things one must consider before purchasing a saber: Pricing and Customer Satisfaction

In the area of Pricing:

Saberforge is the way to go. Plain and simple. I've compared Saberforge with Ultrasabers, Vaders Vault, Genesis Custom Sabers, and more. To get all the features that are on a Saberforge Hilt Champion edition at Ultrasabers will cost you over $450 without a discount whereas you only pay on average $339 here at Saberforge. For those like myself who just don't have thousands to spend on sabers Saberforge offers the most bang for your buck.

Lastly in the area of Customer Satisfaction:

My first 3 sabers came from Ultrasabers. 2 of those 3 malfunctioned. One I repaired myself the other I sent in multiple times and the problem was never resolved, in fact even after sending a video showing the issue with my saber I was told by Emory that "nothing was wrong" and I was "imagining the issue" which made me very disappointed with their customer service. (If you would like to see these emails please let me know) Saberforge on the other hand based on reviews I've read, videos, and my own products seems to value the customer over all. No issue to my knowledge has gone unresolved by them and I've even seen customers talk of Saberforge providing deals such as free t-shirts to help compensate for issues with a customer's purchase. To me that alone is going above and beyond their duty as a business. There someone was sending a saber back for a simple repair and Saberforge does so AND offers them more merchandise. That's remarkable

My suggestion, take a deep breath, do some research of your own, and trust in your decision. May the force be with you my friends.

Haha yeah that happened to me too. Something so specific and direct. Hey when I tilt my saber to the side it loops constantly in the swing motion. He told me I was over exaggerating... I replicated the problem to him via video and he said I was imagining it.

I was a faithful US fanboy and I moved on to bigger and greener pastures with people that give a fuck about their customers.

I must admit to liking both smiths in about equal rate. I do prefer the 'original' SF hilts opposed to the US hilts. However, the Obi-Wan and Starkiller US sabers are incredible - and there isn't a version made by SF at this time.

And, in fairness, and I'm sure Nero a few posts up will agree (I believe he has a similar saber) my Dark Prophecy in Emerald Green is just about my favourite saber - though very close ahead of my Jade Fire.

That said, the thin-necked sabers and a few of the planned and upcoming sabers are just, in design at least, a class above.

DarthZexar wrote:
Yup, I'm the same way - I LOVE my SF hilts but nothing surpasses my Dark Prophecy for some reason. Mine uses a Lux V which I sent in for the install, so it's VERY bright too. Definitely a good thing, since SF hilts are quite bright and I'd hate for my favorite saber to look dim in comparison.

I don't know what it is either, maybe the Jacen Solo resemblance with the dark green too!

I remember reading your thread over there a while back - was an interesting one!

I'm glad there are 2 smiths quality smiths available at reasonable prices though!

I love my US prophecy and in general like the ultra saber hilts, the initiates are small light and slim. Once you get to the fancier sabers there get bigger than I would like in outer diameter. The saber forges on the whole are slimmer which is nice, though the new line of v4 sabers from US are looking pretty slim (but a bit bland visually).

SF has the edge in brightness single color, the spark and spark color sound boards are better boards for what they to as you can hold multiple fonts.

as far as color mixing though, the emerald lets you have any color that you want, SF gives you 3 color options though I think that if you really know what you are doing, you can get more out of the spark color. That will require A. user know how, B. voiding your warranty.

pro's and con's to both of them.