TOPIC: Juggernaut 12W+ Champion Standard Finish & Staff

Before I jump into what I think is going to to be a long review, let me give you a little background on myself. I'm the sort that always roots for the good guy (or gal). Most of the time I would much rather the bad guy rediscover the benefits of good rather than simply be defeated (which is tougher). I like my happy endings and for people to find release from their pain. Even as a kid, I always pretended to be the good guy.

So, what does this have to do with anything? Well, when I got into buying sabers, I told myself I would not buy a red or Sith themed lightsaber, because it was going to be a waste of money. I would be buying it just to own it but never play with it because, frankly, I do not see myself as ever wielding a red Sith saber.

So a few years back I saw Malgus's saber and I thought, "Now THAT is a lightsaber". HA So, when I was introduced to Saberforge, I picked up one from Etsy not being sure if it would be one of my favorite sabers or if it would become a wall-hanger.

Let's dive in and find out which it will be:

- Appearance -

I wanted the standard finish because I wanted this to look like Darth Vader's saber with "blades". I was concerned that maybe I had made the wrong choice since the weathered versions looked so good. However, I could not be happier with the way this turned out. It has the right mix of shiny aluminum and black metal. The top of the emitter even has a nice black ring around it that really adds to the effect.



The blades have a nice silver edge on them. I was hoping to get a hamon effect on them and might swap them out for weathered blades when the ASP system goes live. However, I am very pleased with the way these look!

- LED -

What color did I get? Well, 12W+ Red of course! Lit up, this thing is AMAZING! The 12W+ Red shines beautifully through those little vents in the emitter. And with the blade plug in, the inside of the blades shine red to the tips...so awesome!








With the blade in...it is so very bright! It lights up everything! It was really hard to get a shot where the red didn't just flood the background.



To see what color it appears, this is the best I could get:



I requested the quick connects in this, but honestly I can't picture anything other than this or blood orange in this hilt.

In Part 2, I want to discuss the grip and final thoughts.

Damn that's sweet. The Juggernaut is bad-ass! Gotta have it!

- Grip -

I was certain that the control box was going to be a major hinderance on this hilt. However, to my surprise, the control box is much smaller than I expected. My hand either fits very nicely under the control box or around it with my fingers at the choke with no issues. Also, the control box acts as a guide to my hand so I always know which way the blades are pointing without having to look down.









This is also my first saber with leather wrap. I was pretty sure I couldn't picture a saber with leather wrap. Now that I own one, it is SO much more comfortable than I expected. I will be using leather more often in the future. This is another thing I was very surprised by.

This saber is also longer than it looks, being only slightly shorter than my Epoch. It's the blades that make it look shorter. I am sure this thing would be a lot of fun without the blades, but for now, I'm going to leave them on.

On the down side, the hilt is a bit heavier than I would like, but that may be due to the blades.

- Sound -

This saber has the Sabercore 2.0 Crimson sound board. I've been playing a lot with NEC Spark boards lately, and so I didn't expect to think much of the sound. However, I like this font BETTER (again to my surprise) than the Viridium Light Side Sound Font. This saber and this board were made for each other! I can't picture needing another font in this saber. The hilt also does a great job of projecting the sound.

- The New Kill Key -

Okay, so my saber came with the new kill key. Technically, this has little to do with the saber, but since I have it, I'm going to review it. I think it can be summed up this way....function over form. The new kill key does a great job of what it is supposed to do....be a kill key and show off Saberforge's logo. It is considerably lighter (it might not be metal?) than the originals. I found the grip on it MUCH easier to get on and off than the original kill keys when they are in a deep slot or socket that is not easy to get to (like a control box).

However, I will maintain that the old kill keys look much better. With the kill key in, for me, this breaks the illusion of a "real" lightsaber. It's like eating a veggie burger with a little flag sticking out of it that says "THIS IS NOT MEAT". You know that, but you really don't want to be reminded. I mean no disrespect to Saberforge in this. I simply like the look of the old keys better.








- Final Thoughts -

This Saber looks good from EVERY angle. From the blades, black ring atop the emitter, port holes in the emitter, leather wrap, to the bottom of the pommel....to quote a well-known saber smith, "This thing is gorgeous" (shout out, Jordan). The 12W+ Red LED is super bright and the Crimson Sound Font works OH-SO-WELL with this hilt. It is also more comfortable than it looks for someone who is not a duelist. On the down side, the hilt is somewhat heavy and I'm not a fan of the new kill key.

Great job, Saberforge!!!

Where my last review of the Epoch was that is was a great saber in its simplicity, this saber is great in its "in your face", over the top, boisterousness. This IS a saber I would own a second copy of and may do again with a coupler.








And all of this coming from a guy who never wanted to like being the bad guy. I feel like the nerdy kid in school who just bought a Harley...and surprise, it FITS!

That is one beast of a saber. It looks so vicious and terrifying. Congrats HotRod!

Hi Hot Rod,

That is a fabulous Saber, congratulations. Your review is equally impressive and I enjoyed it very much.
I think I prefer the old style Kill Keys also. I was very fortunate that I received a black (anodised?) Kill Key with my standard finish Disciple and it just looks soo right, it is part of the aesthetic of the saber.

Anyway, thank you for giving me something great to read and enjoy your Juggernaut,

For Tyeth

(You may need to change your name to something like Destron, if you are turning Sith!)

For Tyeth wrote:
HA, I can't tell you how much I appreciated this comment! Thank you!

I bet the black kill key looks great with that hilt. I have to admit I just placed an order for a few kill keys just in case. I forgot to get the black though. I'll order another when I order my next blade.

Looks great HotRod! I always found the Juggernaut intriguing on etsy and you gave it a great review. This has always stood out as Sith to me and if I ever wanted to go evil, this would be my choice. Enjoy it!

I've been trying to come up with a heartfelt and involved response, but I'm just not feeling it today, so I'll just go into "broken record" mode and write:

Cool saber, very well done review. Congratulations!

...

Oh, and I totally agree with you about the kill keys, though I haven't seen one in person. You and I seem to have a bit more in common than a name.

Great Review and Hilt Mister Good Guy, a nice variety of pictures also. Your Collection grows in numbers and with strength. Your wrote to me once asking if the next Hilt received gets better than the one before, (from delivery of your Monarch, Epoch, DIY Sound wiring success and soon incoming Exalted) I raise the same query to you, Does it get better? If I may ask also, noted you have ordered the Standard Finish, did you have an option with selecting Wrap type and Sound Font? Your comments about Grip have certainly provided great reassurance to where my apprehensions were present. Am certainly tempted, Thank You Hot Rod.

RyanRising wrote:
Thanks! I'm so glad I'm not the only one this happens to! There are so many great sabers out there that people are getting, but it's tough not to sound repetitive. OvrcAHst does a great job giving unique responses....speaking of which....

OvrcAHst wrote:
Funny you should ask...with my Monarch, I was blown out of the water...but being my first saber it was anticipation mixed with nervous excitement. With my Epoch, I was thrilled but not really surprised, just very pleased. The Juggernaut took me by complete surprise. I thought it was cool, but did not expect to like it as much as I do. It really depends on the saber I think. I'm not sure what to think for my Exhalted. Will it top my Monarch? Will I be not as impressed compared to the Juggernaut and Monarch? I'm just not sure.

Since this was on Etsy, I did not. Honestly, I did not know the Juggernaut had leather wrap. That might be why I was so surprised. I thought it was just black metal. I requested the sound font and AV switch color in the comments when I ordered. I ask for weathered blades and they told me they could not do that.

Please also keep in mind I am not a duelist (except for the shadows in my house, ha). So if you are hardcore, you might come to a different conclusion than I did. I find the Monarch relatively easy to spin though.

Congratz on a stunning saber! I like that read backdrop with your Juggernaut in the photos! That thing just screams Sith (and maybe a wood chopper axe). What are its measurements? It looks gigantic!

Should I get one, should I not get one, should I get one ....

When did you place your order for this? I'm curious because on yours the control box is perpendicular to the blades, while all others I've seen have the box in parallel to them. I'd prefer the latter, and I wonder if this was a one-off or the new way they're assembling the Juggernaut. I'll have to shoot SF an email.

The parts are in ASP, but they're missing the piece between the emitter and control box (and it looks kinda stumpy without it).

I will say that the way yours has it makes it looks more comfortable to hold.

Execute66 wrote:
Thanks, that's where I photograph my eBay items.

Let's see:
Length - Emitter to Pommel: 12"
Length - Blade Tip to Emitter: 15 7/8"
Length - Blades from Emitter: 3 7/8"
Length - Blades top to Bottom (bottom exact at top of Choke): 7 3/4"
Length - Grippable Area - 7 7/8"

Pommel (is a monster) - 1 3/4" Diameter
Body - 1 1/2" Diameter

Jaden Korr wrote:
I never noticed that is how it was pictured on the site. Good catch!!!! I may be just used to it as I never expected it to be any different.

Ordered on Etsy: 2/7
Tracking Number Received: 4/5
USPS Pickup: 5/6
Received: 5/8

Time invested: 13 Weeks and 2 days.

I have tried to think what it would be like if the box were to be rotated 90 degrees. Hmm, not sure I'd like that but maybe I would.

I can tell you that every time I try to light this thing up without looking at it, I seem to want to press where the recharge port is....not sure why my muscle memory goes there.

So I may or may not be in the process of doing something very silly that will serve no purpose. I will say I bought a coupler. More to come....

Thanks for the info. Since it was lined up so nicely I assumed it was intentional (as opposed to not being timed properly). I did send SF an email about it, so report back with what they say.

Those measurements are also very helpful, especially knowing it has that much hand space.

After watching Shameem's latest video (he does two ROTS Obi-Wan hilts from SF and KRsabers), I've suddenly got an urge for more of the canon sabers like this one (even though Disney is being a bit ambiguous with the pre-TPM stuff).

UPDATE: Just got an email from Melissa. She says that this appears to be a one-off, and all others will be as pictured on the website.

Looks like you've got yourself a one of a kind Juggernaut!

Are you serious? That's wild. I want to see another review of one. I would really think they would all be this way. Hmmm. Maybe someone who has one on order can throw up a review when they get theirs. Either way, I love the hilt!

So, this is something I have wanted to do for a long time. It's impractical, it's definitely not comfortable, barely functional....oh, but I love it so!

I always talk too much...let's just do pictures for this one:




















It's worth noting a few things....yes the timing on the control box is not standard on either one of my Juggernauts. Also, the timing does not work with the coupler. I needed shims (ugh...not more shims). This is with 2 32" blades and normal Red LEDs (which have some orange in them). I may change over to Medium or Deep Red at some point. I'm really liking my one Deep Red LED right now.

So, there you have it. Completely Absurd. Maybe that's what I'll call it.

Edit - To the admins - Sorry about making this a separate thread. Thank you for combining this with my existing thread.

That.. is an interesting Staff configuration you have made there. I remain uncertain which of the two previews is more awesome, the Oarsome Twin Juggs or the hinted at SF Saber Case. When you shared with us your Single Juggs it was noted that the switch alignment was a one-off but apparently this once-off miracle of nature struck twice with you? Or did you configure the second using ASP?

Oddly enough, rather than as a Staff, I imagine those Twin Juggs with chains in the Pommels, much like..

Awesome! I have never seen a Juggernaut staff before!

OvrcAHst wrote:
Well, I told Saberforge what I was doing and ordered the hilt and coupler together and explained I had a Juggernaut that has the control box clocked 90 degrees off by mistake. They were very nice but made it clear that they would do it again "This one time". So that means this is not meant to be an option, but it makes sense considering my staff would be off otherwise. Kudos to Saberforge to repeating the clocking for me, but I wanted to throw the disclaimer out there that this is not an option (I guess unless you go ASP and build your own).

Yeah, I love my Saberforge Cases. They rock! If you guys have sabers to store, I recommend them.

I exaggerated on the staff a little bit. It's not so uncomfortable as it is the blades are a bit unwieldy to deal with. I did this because I had never seen one before and this is the only blatant Dark Side hilt I own, so I wanted to go all out.

The chain Idea is a REALLY good one! By the way, where did you get that picture of me?