Okay, so I appreciate the input, and I especially like disagreeing on this because we still haven't a clue what these blades are made of and maybe something will come of the different ideas.. Hopefully future us is giggling reading this.
These are my gut reactions:
Yes - Mark's does have the black stripe. This means the blade was painted black and reflective stuff was added basically. For the rehearsal? I had originally thought these were left-overs from ANH, which would suggest wood. but they flex and clack and would be new composite blades for Star Wars at the time. Why decorate the blades?
Does the emitter damage match any other pictures?
Also, a side thing, how can the emitter on the V3 looking thing freely spin (like we've seen in this Warehouse) without also spinning the blade? Think about that for a minute, the emitter is usually attached to the blade and not the handle. In ANH it un-locked itself, and separated from the blade but it was being held upright. Halliwax may have some insight here.
It looks like the ANH stunt was rigged for sparring and we get some good shots of it in action. Not sure how many there are, since by ESB one of the ANH ones had bolts. Maybe it's the same one.
This clamp. Since we know the little graflex bar replacement blocks aren't a special one-off thing, I find it less conclusive that this is the V2 lever we see today, since they exist on other clamps. The shape doesn't seem to match to me, never has. But it DOES match the stunt saber. I know, I know, why would they remove a clamp, etc. but this just doesn't feel like that scenario. Either way, if this is or isn't the current V2 lever... these two seem to match to me.
The blades... I'm thinking the more expensive item we look at, the less chance there is they were used. Bob Anderson, Peter Diamond, etc. probably had to decide what would be safe for actors if it broke and what would flex and hold up to light dueling. I've been searching for interviews, hoping for an anecdote about it.
These are my gut reactions:
Yes - Mark's does have the black stripe. This means the blade was painted black and reflective stuff was added basically. For the rehearsal? I had originally thought these were left-overs from ANH, which would suggest wood. but they flex and clack and would be new composite blades for Star Wars at the time. Why decorate the blades?
Does the emitter damage match any other pictures?
Also, a side thing, how can the emitter on the V3 looking thing freely spin (like we've seen in this Warehouse) without also spinning the blade? Think about that for a minute, the emitter is usually attached to the blade and not the handle. In ANH it un-locked itself, and separated from the blade but it was being held upright. Halliwax may have some insight here.
It looks like the ANH stunt was rigged for sparring and we get some good shots of it in action. Not sure how many there are, since by ESB one of the ANH ones had bolts. Maybe it's the same one.
This clamp. Since we know the little graflex bar replacement blocks aren't a special one-off thing, I find it less conclusive that this is the V2 lever we see today, since they exist on other clamps. The shape doesn't seem to match to me, never has. But it DOES match the stunt saber. I know, I know, why would they remove a clamp, etc. but this just doesn't feel like that scenario. Either way, if this is or isn't the current V2 lever... these two seem to match to me.
The blades... I'm thinking the more expensive item we look at, the less chance there is they were used. Bob Anderson, Peter Diamond, etc. probably had to decide what would be safe for actors if it broke and what would flex and hold up to light dueling. I've been searching for interviews, hoping for an anecdote about it.
