TOPIC: Gladius....battlefield pick-up.

I just purchased a Gladius from another forum for what I thought was a very reasonable amount, lower than it's advertised price. It was apparently dropped on asphalt, and has the dings and dents that you'd expect from a well-used hilt. I personally like things that look like they've been used for their intended purposes, including old guitars and used firearms. Lightsabers, especially those from the old republic, should also look ancient and relic'd.

It's an older Gladius, with the 6W light blue LED, the Neutrino 1.0 soundboard, in the 'arena' grey weathered finish. The covertec had broken off, and the original owner apparently retapped the hole for a larger (10-32) size. I'll eventually re-drill a new hole for a covertec soon.

When it arrived, it worked right out of the box. The damage wasn't as severe as I thought it would be, and the wearing of the grey weathering gave it a look not unlike well-used firearms from the past. However as soon as I installed a blade and did some light sparring with it, the electronics cut off erratically.

I smoothed out some of the dings, and darkened them a bit to make it look like pitting. The leather wrap was cleaned and then darkened slightly with black and dark brown shoe polish. I used a grey thumbscrew where the covertec clip used to be, weathering it first to better match the overall look of the hilt. Right now I'm using a temporary blade plug that I picked up on ebay, but will eventually make a turbine-style plug to better match the saber.

I then gutted the hilt, and noticed that the positive lead on the 18650 battery was no longer soldered, and that one of the AV switch wires was loose. I resoldered everything, and added a JST connector to the LED leads so that I can quick-change the colors in the future with possibly a 12W unit...I'm thinking green would look great.

Now it works beautifully and after putting it back together this morning I've spent some time this evening sparring with it and it is absolutely solid. The hilt feels amazing in the hand and now I know why everyone who owns a Gladius raves about it.

My next saber purchase will DEFINITELY be a Gladius!!! Nice work!

For something that is beaten up it looks beautiful. Good job!

That is a well-loved Gladius.

Definitely. Now it's my turn to love it...I haven't put it down since it arrived on New Year's Eve.

Looks great!

Holy Force!

I wasn't too much drawn to the Gladius but this one ... It's marvelous, a piece of art (like any other SF sabers mind you), it is gorgeous!

I'll keep that in mind if I ever hesitate between a Gladius and another one!
Thanks!

Awesome find. Where is everyone finding these used sabers? I want in on the fun. I found some on Ebay but not at a good price.

A lot of the custom saber groups on Facebook have people putting up sabers for sale pretty regularly.

I will look them up thank you