TOPIC: Advice from 'larger' saber wielders

Greetings all, and thanks for stopping by what I hope is my first of many posts!

I stumbled onto SF after seeing a pin of the Bane and quickly fell down the rabbit hole. I've been debating a first saber purchase for a long time, but never came across something that really spoke to me. As I'm sure many of you agree, it's impossible to comb through the SF inventory and not fall in love with multiple pieces.

After many hours of ogling the merchandise (luckily my office doesn't monitor internet usage), I decided it was time to invest in my first saber. I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to spending money, so I went on to many more hours of product, company, policy and service research. After countless reviews, tutorials, unboxing vids and the like, I decided SF was the spot to buy.

Now came the hard part......which saber do I spring for?

Again, many hours later, I landed on a Warrior tier Oracle with 12W Amber and 37" blade.
It was a leap-day gift to myself. I decided to stay with a Warrior tier apprentice saber as my first, so that I could evaluate and review the process and product for myself, before shelling out even more cash for bigger and better down the road.

I'm anxiously awaiting and hoping the next 8-10 weeks pass quickly, however I'm starting to get a little nervous.
I recently came across a post about a customer that stopped into the SF showroom and posted a pic of him holding the Oracle. He noted how tiny it felt. My anxiety rose due to the fact that I'm 6'3" and 250lbs of former linebacker. The unboxing videos I watched didn't seem to make the hilts look particularly small, but again I'm getting nervous.

Once my Oracle arrives, I'm incredibly confident that I'll love the workmanship and appearance of it, but concerned that it'll be a bit small for a primary weapon.

To other larger collectors and duelers out there, have you been comfortable with apprentice sabers? Or did you find an elite saber that fit your hands and frame more appropriately?

If I find the Oracle is too small for me, I'll probably look to make it and off-hand shoto weapon. But I'll need good recommendations on what to order next for my primary saber. Thanks in advance!

I'm a pretty big guy, and found the Consular (which is, AFAIK, the shortest hilt SF makes) fine as a one hand / off hand, but a little too short for a proper 2 handed grip. The Gladius, and now my new ASP saber, take care of that for me, though, and I have a Silver Knight coming that I expect to be good for that as well.

I have handled a friend's Arbiter and thought it was long enough that I'd be fine two handing it - without having seen the Oracle in person I'm not sure, but I think you'll be able to make it work.

Large man here. Hand measures 8" long and 3.75" wide. I haven't gotten a chance to wield an apprentice saber, but in my hands my Fury feels almost the perfect size for a hand-and-a-half sword. I was pretty surprised at that image earlier, as well... seems a LOT smaller than I would expect. It may work as a one handed primary weapon, but otherwise I'd say throw a 26" blade on there and make it your off-hand.

As a plus, since the hilt is so much smaller, it should be easier to spin.

For as big as you're saying you are, yeah that hilt is going to be really small in your hand. One handed for sure. At least it will be easy for you to practice spinning!

But now you have an opportunity. Buy another one. A bigger, badder one. This time, make sure you get a 12w again (good call for your first one, some people cave and get a 6w) and then also spring for a champion tier.

I have no idea how people buy these sabers without sound. They are literally like having a pretty flashlight. The only case I could see for buying one with no sound are as follows:

You plan to install sound yourself
You plan to put it on a shelf and never use it
You already have a "main hand" saber with sound and you just want a silent offhand

Other than that, you'll regret your purchase I bet. Or maybe not regret (because it will still be beautiful) but you'll damn well think "man I wish I didn't have to make the saber sounds with my mouth"

Heres the biggest problem with not having sound and its something I bet most people don't even know when they buy a warrior tier because it "seemingly" has nothing to do with sound: The blade has no flicker! Its just a solid light stick. Literally a pretty flashlight with a glowstick at the end. The blade flicker is what makes the saber look "real" and "alive" and its controlled by the soundboard oddly enough, so without sound, no flicker.

I was going to buy a warrior tier myself at first because I figured I didn't need sound and I was going by the cheapo hasbro toys I had heard before. Then I saw some videos of what the sabercore boards sound like and I knew I had to have it. I saw a video of a guy with a consular who started in a dark tent. He starts the video by saying "lets cut to the chase" and he fires it up in the dark. The sound of that thing blew me away and the flickering indigo blade in the dark just made me drool all over myself. THAT was what a "real" lightsaber was supposed to look and sound like.

What really sealed the deal was watching a video of a warrior tier being turned on.

it goes "click" and the blade is a solid flashlight color with no flicker.

That just isn't a lightsaber to me!

Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

jbeem, as long as everything goes smoothly (which I'm sure it will), I've already started socking money away for a champion tier. Was a little cautious dropping close to $400 on my first purchase.

Snakeeyz99, I'm assuming you using your Fury as a main weapon?

BZArcher, would love to hear about your Silver Knight once it arrives. I've had my eye on it. I'm hoping it makes it back to the main page after the update, since Etsy is on hiatus.

Yeah, I use my Fury as my main weapon at the moment. In the long term I'm planning on custom-building the electronics for my upcoming ASP hilt and will probably use that as a main. Best thing about that is if the hilt is too short you can just get a few extra couplers to extend it to an optimal length.

I have around 20 SF hilts and I'm a huge fan of the slimmer Apprentice sabers; IMO they're ideal for single handed use. From there I jump to the other side of the spectrum where the Archon and Silver Knight I feel are best for two handed use due to their length. I have medium size hands.

Also in case you wanna check it out a discussion about duel ability you might be interested in : SF Saber Duel Ability

Considering your size, yeah the saber is going to feel very small bro. All apprentice sabers are amazing for dual-wielders as they serve as a saber used in your off-hand. I hear that they are super comfortable. Also, because of their thinner diameter and length, they are a perfect choice for children as they have smaller frames and hands. I have a little bro and I'm gonna get him an oracle in the future once he matures more.

Thanks @jbeem
I was thinking in a warrior tier and your post makes me rethink that...

I started saving for an apprentice warrior, and after seeing the size, and reading this post, now I target for a elite champion

So maybe before the Episode VIII is released I can get mine, haha

@samross04 and Neesh Kedoo, You guys may have noticed this is addicting as hell. In Dec I bought my first "real" saber a grab bag from US. And @jbeem is 100% correct without the flicker " FOC or flash on clash" it really is abit of a downer. Anyway I was planing on buying 1 and considering another in a year by June I will have 3, lmao. Good luck in the future peeps, oh and you can always but a modular piece to extend it. though that would end the warranty.

I've noticed that only the apprentice sabers give measurements once you click the configure button.

Does anyone know where the measurements for elite sabers may be listed? Either on the site or in the forums?

Right now, I'm eyeballing a Venemous Fury or Resilient, as they both seem a bit longer. Or at least their individual parts measure longer on ASP.

@h2soy.....awesome post about rating saber characteristics. If others on this thread haven't read that post, I highly recommend!

samross04
I do not believe there to be a comprehensive list as a reference point of all the Hilt measurements for the Elite Sabers. My suggestion (if you haven't explored it already) would be to try the Search Tab with specific key words to return the results you seek.
Another would be to read the reviews in the Review Section of the Forum Index as most
(not just the most current ones) will often include this piece of information.

Saberforge Hilts 'typically' average between 10"-12" (less claws if applicable) and is measured from Emitter to Pommel. Should the Review Section still fall short, it may be worthwhile to Post a question to the Hilt Owner specific to the Hilts that you are interested in, whilst in the Reviews.

FYI, if you weren't aware. As a New member with a low Post count, your Posts (up to 10) require approval by a Moderator before they become visible. Sometimes, this may alter the time-stamp sequence of your Posts.

EDIT:
Resilient Length = 12.5" (courtesy of Elim Vos)
Venomous Fury Length = 12.7" (courtesy of Zeddicuus)

OvrcAHst, thanks for all your help! Not just with the saber measurements, but getting me more acquainted with the ''rules and regs' of the forum!