keep the bottom one and sell the other.
The Ultimate Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi Real Vintage Parts Lightsaber Group
- Thread starter Sym-Cha
- Start date
Im never parting with the nos. And i really like the one i got from you even tho its a male. You can hardly tell. And i like how you weathered it. Fire right?
Oh yeah! Thats some frakin eye candy right there! The lines are so crisp on a new one. The inconel is gleaming. For lack of better words. But you just know its never seen an install. Its lovely!
or keep the nos one, I admit it's nice, on a saber.
I used fire yes.
You can see picture, rough machined fired cleaned.
I made a blade drawing for my obiwan lightsaber, as the real balance pipe inner diameter is not 1", I remember I measured 26 to 26,3mm in the ones I got in hand, so I made a 26mm blade but with special shape to match this picture.
It will be 3D printed, I can make the item available in my shop(on i-materialise, not shapeways, shapeways doesn't make this resin) once printed, if someone is interested in the blade.
The design is the design I wanted to make for many years now.
I used fire yes.
You can see picture, rough machined fired cleaned.
I made a blade drawing for my obiwan lightsaber, as the real balance pipe inner diameter is not 1", I remember I measured 26 to 26,3mm in the ones I got in hand, so I made a 26mm blade but with special shape to match this picture.
It will be 3D printed, I can make the item available in my shop(on i-materialise, not shapeways, shapeways doesn't make this resin) once printed, if someone is interested in the blade.
The design is the design I wanted to make for many years now.
collector74
Well-Known Member
I have been following this thread for a long time. Have been "building"mine for a few years. Have some parts, some I need. I just wanted to weigh in on the AN/M2 discussion about the boosters. My father is an avid gun collector, mostly from the first and second world wars, and I have been in it as long as I have been alive (30+ years, don't want to giveaway my real age and admit I'm an old fart, lol) He also used to be a licensed manufacturer and FFL. As far as the boosters go, so many companies made these for the war it isn't even funny. We have a few made by about 4 or 5 different manufacturers and even the American firearms were made by different companies, especially the M1 and Enfield. C'mon IBM and Rock-Ola (the jukebox maker) made firearms during the war, and so did GE. The AN/M2 had to variants, the British and the G.I. and the AN/M2 is a variant of the M1919 and it had 7 variants of its own.
That being said, labeling some of these boosters as fake might be premature. Not all guns had chrome barrels and not all guns were made to the same specifications. I have had parts from one gun not exactly match another, some with different tool marks and some variations so big, you have to wonder what the hell they were thinking/doing. Back then, everyone made stuff for the war effort and most of it from the middle towards the end was slapped together as fast as they could crank them out. I am not saying the ones labeled as fake, are not, but not every one is going to be the same, have the same shape, markings, etc. My father has one that has a chrome barrel and one that does not. I am assuming the one that doesn't was made towards the end of the war and they were cutting costs and time to just get them out, which I have seen them do to other firearms, vehicles, etc. I would hate to fire the one without the chrome barrel because it would rust faster (Thats mainly what it is for, so it wouldn't get so dirty/worn so quickly, that and reliability), but for all I know the one we have that doesn't have the chrome lining, it could have worn off cause these guns were used and used hard. I guess the main tell tale sign would have to be the weld. I have not come across one that hasn't had one, but then again I haven't seen every single one made, so it wouldn't surprise me actually if a few didn't, cause like I said, they wanted to make them as fast as they could.
Just my 2 cents. Good information here though! Looking forward to seeing more.
That being said, labeling some of these boosters as fake might be premature. Not all guns had chrome barrels and not all guns were made to the same specifications. I have had parts from one gun not exactly match another, some with different tool marks and some variations so big, you have to wonder what the hell they were thinking/doing. Back then, everyone made stuff for the war effort and most of it from the middle towards the end was slapped together as fast as they could crank them out. I am not saying the ones labeled as fake, are not, but not every one is going to be the same, have the same shape, markings, etc. My father has one that has a chrome barrel and one that does not. I am assuming the one that doesn't was made towards the end of the war and they were cutting costs and time to just get them out, which I have seen them do to other firearms, vehicles, etc. I would hate to fire the one without the chrome barrel because it would rust faster (Thats mainly what it is for, so it wouldn't get so dirty/worn so quickly, that and reliability), but for all I know the one we have that doesn't have the chrome lining, it could have worn off cause these guns were used and used hard. I guess the main tell tale sign would have to be the weld. I have not come across one that hasn't had one, but then again I haven't seen every single one made, so it wouldn't surprise me actually if a few didn't, cause like I said, they wanted to make them as fast as they could.
Just my 2 cents. Good information here though! Looking forward to seeing more.
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Excellent info right there! Thank you and your dad for your contribution!
Unfortunately, there's just too many other things wrong with these boosters to believe they aren't anything but replicas...
collector74
Well-Known Member
I don't know about those. To me they look a little too "new".
Also, without the chrome, these boosters cannot perform their intended function. So, if someone found a booster with all other correct features, but no chrome, its either a part thats seen A LOT of use or its a well made fake. Its up to each individual to decide if they want to take the risk or not. Just be informed. The spitfire boosters just have too many other things wrong with them besides the chrome to be anything but fakes.
collector74
Well-Known Member
Agreed. You would see more use and/or tooling marks. The chrome can be missing due to use, but it would at least have the weld or a makers mark. It should have one of the three, missing all three? Extremely suspect.
collector74
Well-Known Member
Anyone know where I could possibly get just the wind vane? I have the grenade, but it is missing.
Although the reasoning is logical, I do maintain, based on my research, these boosters we seek were all made by one company in England: BSA (Birmingham Small Arms), under sub-contract from Vickers-Armstrongs. The main pieces and pattern of the Browning Machine Gun MKII* .303 British were manufactured by several companies including Colt (in America... very VERY limited numbers), BSA, Inglis (in Canada), and even a very small batch from Vickers-Armstrongs itself. There is oral history among the still active MG crowd stating that some small batches were also manufactured as necessary by other British manufacturing houses than those I mentioened.
The booster as we now know it was the third or fourth variant of the booster developed not at the very onset of war in the European Theater, but somewhat later as air-to-air combat was ramping up to be an unavoidable and major form of combat during WWII.
Also, the weldment nub/rivet, is not a sure “tell” as over 100,000 boosters were ordered and delivered as spare parts, for use if necessary as replacements. I was able to locate a batch of boosters a few years ago, one of which was NOS or damn near it, and it did have an oddly shaped fin at one spot, but no evidence of welding. For the 80/20 rule though, collector74 ’s advice is certainly worth heeding.
All of the recent talk of boosters pushed me to revisit my research notes and source material, and even though Colt did make some early boosters, they were not the MKII* variant but the earlier non-vaned type.
The booster as we now know it was the third or fourth variant of the booster developed not at the very onset of war in the European Theater, but somewhat later as air-to-air combat was ramping up to be an unavoidable and major form of combat during WWII.
Also, the weldment nub/rivet, is not a sure “tell” as over 100,000 boosters were ordered and delivered as spare parts, for use if necessary as replacements. I was able to locate a batch of boosters a few years ago, one of which was NOS or damn near it, and it did have an oddly shaped fin at one spot, but no evidence of welding. For the 80/20 rule though, collector74 ’s advice is certainly worth heeding.
All of the recent talk of boosters pushed me to revisit my research notes and source material, and even though Colt did make some early boosters, they were not the MKII* variant but the earlier non-vaned type.
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Guess now that I have more than just a clamp I can really claim to have a partial real parts Obi 
. Big thanks to TheNinja for the beautiful vintage AS handwheel.
. Big thanks to TheNinja for the beautiful vintage AS handwheel.
FolkyPatrol
Well-Known Member
Hello everyone
I'm glad to finally be able to post in this thread
I do have a partial vintage Ben Kenobi lightsaber and I require your help on a rust matter.
My hilt is made of :
I wanted to know if you have been in this situation before with these parts and how you've handled it ?
I read on Google that vinegar is a good solution to clean rusted parts without damaging them.
Thank you for your feedback
Constant
I'm glad to finally be able to post in this thread
I do have a partial vintage Ben Kenobi lightsaber and I require your help on a rust matter.
My hilt is made of :
- Vintage G R A F L E X Clamp
- Vintage Armitage Shanks Sink Knob (amber cubes chromed by Roman)
- Vintage Windvane
- Vintage Transistors (and machined washers not on the pics)
- Roman No°3 MK1 Grenade Body (I have to clean it and weather it)
- Roman ANM2 Booster
- I'm still looking for a static balance pipe replica
I wanted to know if you have been in this situation before with these parts and how you've handled it ?
I read on Google that vinegar is a good solution to clean rusted parts without damaging them.
Thank you for your feedback
Constant
Yes, vinegar will definitely remove a certain amount of rust and corrosion from the brass wind vane and ring. I would recommend watching several restoration videos that newmagrathea posted to his blog (www.propchopshop.com) or YouTube channel for further tips. Extremely helpful.
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