A note concerning some of the rumors flying around...

[Kaiden Shardsbane]

Like others on here, my first saber was going to be from a certain other fabicator, but having read lots of stuff online about orders going missing, people struggling to get refeunds and general cruddy customer service I decided to come to Ultrasabers instead.

Expecting my babies within a few days, so I can't comment on the product yet, but the service has been faultless so far.  Trust me I know about girning (complaining), I'm a Scotsman, but it's Ultrasabers all the way for me and the UPS van will soon be able to find it's own way to my house.

Points to you for being a Scottish Jedi.  I want to visit the land of my ancestors someday.

And I too was planning on buying from another Sabersmith, but then saw that Ultra's prices were much more reasonable.  Naturally, I was suspicious of being ripped off, because there were no other vendors pricing their sabers so low.  So I did some research, and found that Ultra's work was more durable than a lot of vendor's products in most cases.  Thus began my addiction.

[Ravenseye8]

Ultrasabers are very good for the money, and I think they've occupied a great and necessary place in the hobby.  I've got a few of the really high-priced sabers recently, and they really are amazing, but Ultra allows the hobby to be less niche by being far more affordable than those 1K or 2K sabers, making the hobby accessible to more than the hardest of the hardcore.

[Darth KazRick]

I've ordered 2 sabers from u guys so far, and I will never buy from anyother manufacturer..... you have my loyalty and my walletLOl!!!

All jokes aside you guys are great and I'm by your side...

[Amanita]

I've also said that Ultrasabers fills a niche within this hobby. There's some amazing custom sabersmiths out there who can turn out phenomenal one of a kind hilts. But that kind of custom work takes time and money, lots of it. Not everyone can afford several hundred dollars for a saber, or to wait a few months.

Hence the niche that Ultrasabers fills so nicely- it's a great choice for those who want a saber that's durable and attractive but still affordable.

[Canadianknight]

Chiming in as a newb with his first US saber now proudly at home.

I was nervous ordering.  I saw the negative stuff on YouTube... a few locals I talked with scoffed a bit ... and of course I saw the rumormill in full swing online.

I took a look around HERE.. and saw all the happy people.  Plus I see Deep and Ultra responding to requests/questions/concerns in a timely fashion.

So... I took the plunge, and bought a fully-loaded saber for my first purchase.

Long story longer.. I couldn't be happier.  The quality of this saber is top-notch.  The interior workmanship is excellent as well.  It's solid, gorgeous, well-made and quite frankly stunning.   So much so that I ordered another saber within a week of getting my first. 

I'll be ordering more.  As others have said, the workmanship is awesome, the price is great, and the wait-times are practically non-existent.   Why would I go somewhere else, spend MORE, wait LONGER and get something dimmer and/or without sound?


I'm here to stay.  Much to my wallets horror. 

[Veldryne]

Hrm, considering you organise Calgary Expo...you should see if ultra would send someone up for it next year to put up a booth? maybe give them a deal on it ^_^

[Canadianknight]

Hrm, considering you organise Calgary Expo...you should see if ultra would send someone up for it next year to put up a booth? maybe give them a deal on it ^_^

I'm just a minor part of the Calgary Expo.  However, I *do* know the organizer... and my wife is on the board that runs the show.   

[Jm419]

Howdy folks.  I thought I had an account here from when the boards started up, but I guess not, but I'm here now.   

Now, if it's not too much trouble, I do have some musings for you.  If any of this is inappropriate, feel free to edit the post and PM me about it, I'd hate to step on anyone's toes here.

I'll be honest, I'm a FX-Sabers member, and I have been for years.  I'm not particularly involved in the community, but I do still harbor hopes of becoming a mod over there; the community is, to me, very welcoming.  I like watching people's builds and oggling the runs I'm not a part of.  I like chitchatting about which Jedi I'm most like (seriously, the quiz is unreal).  Yes, I've seen the US posts be closed, usually with a (IMO) polite note from a moderator, just saying something like, "Sorry, but we don't discuss UltraSabers products here.  Please refer to the CoC for further information," or along those lines.  That's basically all the info I've had on UltraSabers since the forums split (yeah, I was around back then, and I remember when Saberforum launched), save for some of the more heated posts back when all this unpleasantness occurred.

I also happen to be a member of the Replica Prop Forum, located at therpf.com.  These guys are the ones who figured out that the Graflex was the part used in the film (I think), ID'ed the number of grips on the ANH saber, figured out what the heck was on the end of Han's blaster (it was a part of a German machine gun, actually).  They're very, very interested in accuracy, and unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), I've become accustomed to highly accurate sabers as a result of my time there.  I can, and have, help(ed) members build accurate Luke ANH sabers, you know, by giving out parts lists and things.  If you want to build an all-real-parts Obi-Wan ANH, it's upwards of 4k USD - and if you don't happen to get lucky with the jet engine part, more like $15k.  Not my cup of tea, but some guys are really into that sort of thing.  MPPs (the Vader saber) are more like $800 for the raw part.  Crazy, if you ask me.

Because of that accuracy obsession, though, I have purchased a few high-end hilts over the years.  For all the commentary about how foolish it is to buy one of these, let me tell you, they're something else.  Having never spent over $750 for a complete saber, I have a screen-accurate Luke ANH and Luke ROTJ saber, with all the bells and whistles - including blinkies on the ROTJ and a crystal chamber on the ANH.  Do I ever think about the money I spent on those two sabers?  Sure, and sometimes I go, "Whoa.  I spent a lot of money on these."  (I'm a college student, so it takes me months to save for them).  Do I ever regret it?  Not for a minute; those sabers are special, and in the case of the Graflex, absolutely unique.  There's no other one quite like it in all the world, and it's almost exactly what was used onscreen.  For me, that's special. 

I guess what I'm saying is that there's more than one avenue to go down in this hobby - and to be honest with you folks, I'm getting to have too thin a wallet to keep going on those high end runs, but I'm glad I did one of them, at least.  My Luke ROTJ saber is one of the best (read: most accurate) in the world, and only 55 were ever made.  That has it's own special feeling for me, and it's worth a lot to me.  Still, I'm getting out of the hobby, not because of the quality of the workmanship, or because of the squabbles between forums, but because of the rising costs.  That's it; I just can't afford the hobby any more.  I'm having one more saber built - with a Crystal Focus board, the only one I've ever seen - and I can hardly wait for it to come home.  Once that's here, though, I'm essentially finished with buying anything in the hobby, and that's kinda depressing; sabers have been a part of my life for years, now, and once I don't have any more coming in, it'll be a real change.  The hobby has changed me, and, despite all the unpleasantness of recent months, I think it's been a good stay.   

What's the point of all this?  I'm just saying that I'm not an expert in a lot of things, so I can't speak intelligently about them.  I have a few wonderful hilts that I paid a lot for, but feel they're worth every penny.  I just think that everyone has their own niche in the hobby, and that it's not right for me to lecture you about how much better my sabers are than yours, just because I paid more for them.  Do you enjoy your sabers?  Sure you do.  Do I enjoy mine?  Heck yes I do.  At the end of the day, that's all that really matters, anyway. 

[Darth Caugnien]

   

What's the point of all this?  I'm just saying that I'm not an expert in a lot of things, so I can't speak intelligently about them.  I have a few wonderful hilts that I paid a lot for, but feel they're worth every penny.  I just think that everyone has their own niche in the hobby, and that it's not right for me to lecture you about how much better my sabers are than yours, just because I paid more for them.  Do you enjoy your sabers?  Sure you do.  Do I enjoy mine?  Heck yes I do.  At the end of the day, that's all that really matters, anyway. 

^^^ this. 100%. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Master Bluespike74]

Howdy folks.  I thought I had an account here from when the boards started up, but I guess not, but I'm here now.   

Now, if it's not too much trouble, I do have some musings for you.  If any of this is inappropriate, feel free to edit the post and PM me about it, I'd hate to step on anyone's toes here.

I'll be honest, I'm a FX-Sabers member, and I have been for years.  I'm not particularly involved in the community, but I do still harbor hopes of becoming a mod over there; the community is, to me, very welcoming.  I like watching people's builds and oggling the runs I'm not a part of.  I like chitchatting about which Jedi I'm most like (seriously, the quiz is unreal).  Yes, I've seen the US posts be closed, usually with a (IMO) polite note from a moderator, just saying something like, "Sorry, but we don't discuss UltraSabers products here.  Please refer to the CoC for further information," or along those lines.  That's basically all the info I've had on UltraSabers since the forums split (yeah, I was around back then, and I remember when Saberforum launched), save for some of the more heated posts back when all this unpleasantness occurred.

I also happen to be a member of the Replica Prop Forum, located at therpf.com.  These guys are the ones who figured out that the Graflex was the part used in the film (I think), ID'ed the number of grips on the ANH saber, figured out what the heck was on the end of Han's blaster (it was a part of a German machine gun, actually).  They're very, very interested in accuracy, and unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), I've become accustomed to highly accurate sabers as a result of my time there.  I can, and have, help(ed) members build accurate Luke ANH sabers, you know, by giving out parts lists and things.  If you want to build an all-real-parts Obi-Wan ANH, it's upwards of 4k USD - and if you don't happen to get lucky with the jet engine part, more like $15k.  Not my cup of tea, but some guys are really into that sort of thing.  MPPs (the Vader saber) are more like $800 for the raw part.  Crazy, if you ask me.

Because of that accuracy obsession, though, I have purchased a few high-end hilts over the years.  For all the commentary about how foolish it is to buy one of these, let me tell you, they're something else.  Having never spent over $750 for a complete saber, I have a screen-accurate Luke ANH and Luke ROTJ saber, with all the bells and whistles - including blinkies on the ROTJ and a crystal chamber on the ANH.  Do I ever think about the money I spent on those two sabers?  Sure, and sometimes I go, "Whoa.  I spent a lot of money on these."  (I'm a college student, so it takes me months to save for them).  Do I ever regret it?  Not for a minute; those sabers are special, and in the case of the Graflex, absolutely unique.  There's no other one quite like it in all the world, and it's almost exactly what was used onscreen.  For me, that's special. 

I guess what I'm saying is that there's more than one avenue to go down in this hobby - and to be honest with you folks, I'm getting to have too thin a wallet to keep going on those high end runs, but I'm glad I did one of them, at least.  My Luke ROTJ saber is one of the best (read: most accurate) in the world, and only 55 were ever made.  That has it's own special feeling for me, and it's worth a lot to me.  Still, I'm getting out of the hobby, not because of the quality of the workmanship, or because of the squabbles between forums, but because of the rising costs.  That's it; I just can't afford the hobby any more.  I'm having one more saber built - with a Crystal Focus board, the only one I've ever seen - and I can hardly wait for it to come home.  Once that's here, though, I'm essentially finished with buying anything in the hobby, and that's kinda depressing; sabers have been a part of my life for years, now, and once I don't have any more coming in, it'll be a real change.  The hobby has changed me, and, despite all the unpleasantness of recent months, I think it's been a good stay.   

What's the point of all this?  I'm just saying that I'm not an expert in a lot of things, so I can't speak intelligently about them.  I have a few wonderful hilts that I paid a lot for, but feel they're worth every penny.  I just think that everyone has their own niche in the hobby, and that it's not right for me to lecture you about how much better my sabers are than yours, just because I paid more for them.  Do you enjoy your sabers?  Sure you do.  Do I enjoy mine?  Heck yes I do.  At the end of the day, that's all that really matters, anyway. 

First, welcome back.  Sorry to hear that you are leaving the hobby but I have had to cut back some some of my hobbies as well once my daughter was born. 

Second, as our beautiful Amanita has pointed out many times, nobody here was knocking higher end sabers but simply commenting on how Ultrasabers fill a market for those that cannot afford to buy those higher end sabers.  I agree that they are works of art and people should be proud of that work.  Some of the newer members have made comments and I have personally tried to steer this conversation back to the main topic.

The main topic was that people on Saberforum were being harassed for buying Ultrasaber products.  Those of us that were vocal about our support had things done to them that in my opinion were crossing the line of the original argument that involved two people taking a legal issue to court.  In my personal case, I had a YouTube person that had a long history of liking and reposting videos of a person that is no longer allowed on these forums but is still a huge contributor to other forums make personal attacks against my wife, less than one year old daughter and myself on my YouTube Channel.  Not one apology has been issued to me and when the banned member was contacted on his personal YouTube Channel, I got blocked.  People can take issue with Ultra or me, who by the way is not an employee or in person acquaintance of Ultra, but taking it to the next level of making anti-gay statements and slandering my wife and infant daughter was too far. 

You can go back to my earlier posts to get a clearer picture.  This is the main reason why I personally will never buy from anyone other than Ultra.  Members of FX-Sabers decided to make me a personal target simply because I would not stop buying my stuff from Ultra nor stop asking questions about why my personal shopping habits were any of their business.  I am not a member of FX-Sabers or any of their related forums so none can say that I went to their site to start this conflict. 

To keep the topic back on track, this thread was started so that Ultra could address questions that were being asked since many were claiming that since he was not commenting that he was guilty of all charges being levied against him on other sites.  That is the purpose of the original post and subsequent posts were allowed so that people could voice support or non-support of Ultra.  This has never been about knocking another product.  Have a nice day and happy sabering.

[Jm419]

^^^ this. 100%. Couldn't have said it better myself.

The hobby's supposed to be fun, you know? 

First, welcome back.  Sorry to hear that you are leaving the hobby but I have had to cut back some some of my hobbies as well once my daughter was born. 

Oh, I'm probably not leaving the hobby; my wallet is.   I'll still hang around and post, and hey, if I need a new saber now and then, UltraSabers does have some pretty reasonable prices.

Second, as our beautiful Amanita has pointed out many times, nobody here was knocking higher end sabers but simply commenting on how Ultrasabers fill a market for those that cannot afford to buy those higher end sabers.  I agree that they are works of art and people should be proud of that work.  Some of the newer members have made comments and I have personally tried to steer this conversation back to the main topic.

No, no, I don't mean to give that impression.  I agree with you 100% - I think UltraSabers makes the hobby accessible to many who can't afford the higher end models.  I simply wanted to point out to the new members why some of us do choose to pay more for the sabers - for me, it's the accuracy.  For others, I'm sure it's the bells and whistles - and while they're nice, they're not what really makes a saber for me.  The guys at the RPF don't light their hilts up, because to do so would sacrifice prop accuracy.  I think it's really a spectrum, about what any given person wants from any given saber, and that, in the end, is what the hobby's about.

The main topic was that people on Saberforum were being harassed for buying Ultrasaber products.  Those of us that were vocal about our support had things done to them that in my opinion were crossing the line of the original argument that involved two people taking a legal issue to court.  In my personal case, I had a YouTube person that had a long history of liking and reposting videos of a person that is no longer allowed on these forums but is still a huge contributor to other forums make personal attacks against my wife, less than one year old daughter and myself on my YouTube Channel.  Not one apology has been issued to me and when the banned member was contacted on his personal YouTube Channel, I got blocked.  People can take issue with Ultra or me, who by the way is not an employee or in person acquaintance of Ultra, but taking it to the next level of making anti-gay statements and slandering my wife and infant daughter was too far. 

I did read the whole topic, and I think this is actually the only place I've seen active discussion about the issue.  Sure, I've mentioned it in passing to a few members, and Nova sent me a brief note when I asked him what was going on, but before I found this thread, I really hadn't seen much of either side of the issue. 

From my perspective, I don't have the same view of Caine that you folks do, but as I mentioned above, I never made myself an expert on this issue, so it's hard to speak on the specifics.  I don't know the whole story, and so I don't think it's appropriate for me to put information out there which isn't necessarily based in fact, but on feeling. 

Now, I did see the comment posted on your page, and I do think that whoever posted that was acting immaturely.  Especially the fact that it's posted on your daughter's page; that's surprising, and sours even me toward the hobby, and I like to think I'm a pretty tolerant guy.

You can go back to my earlier posts to get a clearer picture.  This is the main reason why I personally will never buy from anyone other than Ultra.  Members of FX-Sabers decided to make me a personal target simply because I would not stop buying my stuff from Ultra nor stop asking questions about why my personal shopping habits were any of their business.  I am not a member of FX-Sabers or any of their related forums so none can say that I went to their site to start this conflict. 

Having read through the whole thread, I must applaud Ultra for asking his members not to engage in any smear campaigns against the other forums.  However, though I don't frequent TCSS, and I can't speak for the closed forums like JSSDC, I've never seen any rallying cries go up at FX-Sabers.  I think Mike is doing everything he can to keep his forum out of this, but the community there has heard Novastar's side of the fonts issue, and I think many of the less experienced members got engulfed in the heat of the moment, and unwisely chose to engage the members of Saberforum.  I'm not trying to defend their actions - far from it - but I just want to point out that the attacks here are the fault of the membership, not the administration of FX-Sabers (at least, as far as I'm aware.)

To keep the topic back on track, this thread was started so that Ultra could address questions that were being asked since many were claiming that since he was not commenting that he was guilty of all charges being levied against him on other sites.  That is the purpose of the original post and subsequent posts were allowed so that people could voice support or non-support of Ultra.  This has never been about knocking another product.  Have a nice day and happy sabering.

Fair enough.  While I have a few questions of my own, I respect Ultra enough to go to him in PM and allow him a chance to answer me privately, and allay any concerns I might have about his products or practices.  I think that's respectful to both him and his community, and were I in his position, I would expect others to extend me at least that courtesy.

[Master Bluespike74]

Fair enough.  While I have a few questions of my own, I respect Ultra enough to go to him in PM and allow him a chance to answer me privately, and allay any concerns I might have about his products or practices.  I think that's respectful to both him and his community, and were I in his position, I would expect others to extend me at least that courtesy.

That is very sound advice.  I know that many have had problems with other saber smiths and I encourage them to take their complaints to the saber smiths personally.  Have a nice day.

[Jm419]

Exactly.  A little courtesy gets a long way in this world.   

[Solinus]

I came around after the issues. I don't concern myself with the past. If you keep looking behind you, you'll eventually stumble and fall. Either that, or you'll miss something truly wonderful.

I love Ultra Sabers. This is the only community I am a part of. I don't even lurk on any other forums. The US products are perfect for me. I don't need screen accuracy, and honestly, I don't want it. I want something that I can call my own.

The community here is great. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!

[Master Nero Attoru]

Hey Jm, I do recognize you from FX.  Welcome to our forum.

It's good to see someone with experience from the "other side" of the saber community step up to respectfully discuss these things.  I know not everyone here has experience with the products displayed and sold on FX, but I'd say those that do are pretty satisfied with what they have.  Despite the price tag, I love the Luke V2 I got from there, so it's not really a question of "why buy that stuff" versus "this stuff."  As you said, you're happy with your sabers and I'm happy with mine... so we're good!

Anyway, thanks for contributing.  Here's to hoping one day the "lightsaber Berlin wall" will come down and we can all be nerds together