TOPIC: 12w Lime-Green Warrior

Introduction: The Phoenix, while being a Saber Forge original design, still wears its inspiration on its sleeve. It is largely inspired by Ahsoka Tano’s (the jedi padawan to Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars) hilt but also carries a number of design elements from other sources (namely Saber Forge designs). What attracted me to this hilt was this melding of disparate design elements into a unified whole. I appreciate Tano as a character but disliked her lightsaber which to me looks like a long metal tube devoid of interesting characteristics. So I was pleased to see Saber Forge taking the most obvious Tano elements: the body length emitter shroud, the emitter tip mirrored “graflex ears,” the greeblie, and incorporate several new elements such as an original pommel design, an exposed textured grip, and the windowed emitter tip similar to their Consular. I chose a Lime-Green LED as a further tip-of-the-hat to the hilt’s Tano roots and am very pleased with the overall finished product that I ogled for months as a rendered design.

Dimensions:
L= 11.80" W=1.25” C=5”



Overall Impressions: The Phoenix is quite pleasant to grip, but paradoxically hard to wield (for me at least). The textured grips hit very comfortably in my palm and as a one hander only my Disciple has a better grip. Once I started taking the hilt through some practice chops and spins I began to experience some “hand confusion”: the transitions from smooth to textured and from thinner to thicker made me frequently stop to look down to see where my hands were at and what they were doing. With the appropriate practice and time spent hands on with the hilt this feeling of unease will probably dissipate but the Phoenix is definitely not as easy to handle as a Disciple, Reliant, or Gladius. The hilt is well balanced though with the center of gravity located near the tip of the hilt. This said it is difficult to handle with two hands because there’s only 4 inches of textured handgrip space and the pommel is a bit overlarge and takes up some of that hand space. For people who share my preferences I would assert that the Phoenix is an ideal shoto saber as the one handed grip is quite comfortable and you have a great deal of traction.



Aesthetics: As mentioned earlier the Phoenix is a mix of multiple design elements. The hallmark feature is the body length emitter shroud that covers the saber from pommel to tip. This shroud splits on separate sides to reveal ribbed black handgrips and a runnel that exposes the black inner saber which culminates in double windows near the tip. Also attached to the outside of the emitter shroud are two tabs which are a design callback to the “rabbit ears” on the original graflex sabers. There is also a black dial positioned below one of the tabs which serves as an alternate blade retention screw. The pommel is pleasantly thick and has inset pits which complement the design. Some people online have voiced concern about the extensive use of anodization on this and the Ka’Tano sabers. However, I would assert the anodized surface is preferable to shiny metal when there is so much “negative space” (area without design elements) around the hilt. This is an aesthetic preference though so to each their own. I like color of the Lime-Green LEDs but I feel that the color is dimmer than the other LEDs I own so I will probably upgrade this to the 12w+ in several months.

Mechanics: The Phoenix is a fairly straightforward build with the exception of the body length emitter shroud. When I first received the Phoenix the emitter shroud moved around a bit. What I discovered is that the black dial is what holds the shroud in place so in order to keep it snug I have to keep the dial as tight as possible. Other than this the saber is typical with the pommel screwing off so you can access the battery.

Final Thoughts: The Phoenix is easily my favorite original Saber Forge design. Yes it is inspired by Ahsoka’s saber but they finessed the design enough to make it something wholly different. I find it to be quite beautiful and probably won’t duel with it. The mixed handgrip textures and limited hand space make it (in my opinion) a better shoto than two handed saber. Overall I would suggest the Phoenix to anyone looking for a saber that is more elegant than practical (but still usable) or who is a fan of Ahsoka Tano.

Gratuitous Saber Selfie to show handgrip and color:

Great looking saber man! I've got my eye on this one down the line, so let me know if I am thinking along the right lines.

Looks great! Is that the lime green?

it is limegreen

Awwww poo. Edited the title and internal references of the color to Lime-Green.

Looking forward to the review

Unique saber and unique color!
Really waiting for full review!

Updated w/full review.

That is the kind of information I was looking for! Thanks for the update.

Nice review... ironically enough this is EXACTLY the same as my saber... should be here tomorrow, if the USPS finds it, lol.

Mine in Deep Blue will be here tomorrow too!

So pumped!

Until I see pictures, it didn't happen!

Mine says the shipping label was created on the 24th of June and Shipped on the 26th but still hasn't shown any progress on the map in traveling towards me?

When you look at the detail, and see it has departed Portland on its way to a major hub near you, then the clock is ticking down the last days. Until then, they are waiting for the USPS guy to pick it up from the facility. I had the same thing happen to me.

Shipped status doesn't mean physically shipped out of the building... they create the labels and send the order to shipped status when it's next up in the build que. Once it's finally physically shipped the tracking information will update... just check it every evening to see when that is. It generally takes between 5-10 business days (Mon-Thurs) for them to build it and get it sent out.

Definitely getting the Phoenix Saber, hopefully it will be my first Saber Forge Saber.

Very nice review and saber.

I really fought with myself about getting the same one so I may have to get it as well as the Bane.

Thanks for the in depth review and pics.

So close, yet so far.
Delivery scheduled for tomorrow...

Toblerone!

Here some pics of the Lime-Green 12 w on the Phoenix, Shylo.