erlomd
Active Member
Alright guys,
this review has been a long time coming and my apologies for taking forever in writing it up but regardless, here we go...
the minute I looked into actually sitting down and learning how to build a saber was back in 2015 (duh) and obviously the Graflex was the one I had to have! as I was scrolling along the ol' interweb reading about the new Korbanth 2.0 models I also came across a post by JQ Sabers in the FX-Sabers website...I was immediately drawn to the beauty of what my eyes were seeing in the review that Master Yoda wrote about it...anyway, flash forward to summer 2017 and I hear they're finally making them for the general public and its actually on sale (lol if 300 British pounds is a "sale").
So after 2 weeks waiting for it in the mail it finally arrives...(as well as Steve Belenski's stainless)...and I was blown the xxx away!!!...you see, its not about "screen accuracy" or "replica accuracy" to me as it is blow my freaking mind on how gorgeous its is. let me elaborate...
since this is made of solid stainless steel, it is extraordinary how something this gorgeous could be made with such an incredibly difficult metal to work with. stainless steel is notorious for not just evading rust, but for being extremely durable...so bends and cuts need to be done with prisicion tools backed with precision experience and artistic style.
The steel is smooth....way smooth, as you can see in the pictures, not one imperfection, not one scratch or dent or chip...nothing...no machine marks, no chemical process, no coatings...nothing!!! its just one beautifully flowing metal that just slides at your fingertips.
clamping and unclamping it is as smooth as silk...as is removing the clamp and the bottom section.
In the pictures, I focused a lot on the heavy bends around the clamp section so you can see that even the stainless lines match up perfectly, and flow with the bends which makes it so easy on the eyes to just gaze upon. This same situation occurs through out the saber and is what makes this Graflex so much different and special than anything out there.
at the pommel you can clearly see that its no where near accurate...the lettering is laser engraved and it actually has a rounded curve around the circumference of it...not accurate at all but it screams beautiful to me. even the cobalt ring (which I believe is aluminum) is actually 6160 billet aluminum thats cut so freaking nicely.
This was the less expensive of the 2 kits with a much less accurate 1" blade holder, no lip, no spilt section but the pins are very nice...it serves its purpose for the time being (a solos hold accurate blade holder is already on order) but as you can see, as inaccurate as it is, its still pretty xxx nice.
the bunny ears are the correct hight, and its partially stainless...I believe that the ears themselves are polished but the actual band underneath is stainless...im not sure on that, but thats how it seems to me.
It comes with a screw in glass eye and rubber glass dome thats reminiscent of the one found in the korbanth one...again, not sure if its 6160 aluminum or stainless...but regardless, i had it changed to an actual glass eye replica from TGS who in my opinion make the best glass eye replicas by far...Ive tried them all but TGS replica is on par with the original Parks Graflex V1.
as for the activation red button, its aluminum but its been anodized in a perfect dark brick red so it looks perfect...and the beer tab looks amazing as well with the beveled edge.
Slothfurnace (Brad Lewis) supplies the gorgeous TFA clamp that says "JQ Stainless" at the edge of it.
the grips are very soft soft and warm rubber (again not "screen accurate") but looks and feels perfect!
the grips have a thin layer of tape underneath just like most grips nowadays so installation is easy...and I did replace the allen screw that comes with the saber with rivets.
inside the hilt has a built in bracket to install a standard chassis disk system which is nice...bt more than likely that will be removed to install a Martin Beyer chassis inside.
don't know if I forgot to mention anything else...but as size comparison to a vintage? look at the pics...My ANH Vintage and this TFA Stainless is Night and day...so picking them apart should be easy.
weight wise, its pretty hefty but similar to a vintage...I can't make a good weight comparison since I already have electronics installed on the vintage...
One last thing I forgot to mention is the Clamp...as you can see, the JQsabers Clamp is laser engraved and there is no logo.
Compared to a vintage, it's actually around 85% there...with the few percentages that it's missing not being a bad thing at all. Again, this Hilt is amazing and beautiful...it's constructed very well and is just jaw dropping to see in person...so there really is no comparison...both make you feel very happy and excited to see and both are in there own way jaw dropping my gorgeous and extremely special to me.
Would I recommend this saber? Yes but not for someone who is just getting into the hobby...this is more of a shelf queen and for the cost, well...it's obviously not the cheapest...xxx, My vintage didn't even coat this much...but I truly love it.
If your a purest, but can't afford a vintage at today's market prices, I suggest looking into TGS Replica Graflex which Matthew Duley will be reviewing with a fine tooth comb since thats more of a detailed oriented replica for even the most addicted of Graflex Addicts.
well, hope you enjoyed this review...i will have build pics as it comes along...ao ill leave you with this...
whatever you decide to build, make it an awesome build...take your time, dont ever rush anything and be patient...have faith in yourself, ask questions and always keep learning some new skill as often as possible...you will never regret anything you do this way!
So...here are a ton of pictures I took with my little sisters canon DSLR camera (I'm still learning how to use this thing so please bear with me on some of the pics.)
some pics...more at the link below
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PNrSiazLYBcxNdWY2
this review has been a long time coming and my apologies for taking forever in writing it up but regardless, here we go...
the minute I looked into actually sitting down and learning how to build a saber was back in 2015 (duh) and obviously the Graflex was the one I had to have! as I was scrolling along the ol' interweb reading about the new Korbanth 2.0 models I also came across a post by JQ Sabers in the FX-Sabers website...I was immediately drawn to the beauty of what my eyes were seeing in the review that Master Yoda wrote about it...anyway, flash forward to summer 2017 and I hear they're finally making them for the general public and its actually on sale (lol if 300 British pounds is a "sale").
So after 2 weeks waiting for it in the mail it finally arrives...(as well as Steve Belenski's stainless)...and I was blown the xxx away!!!...you see, its not about "screen accuracy" or "replica accuracy" to me as it is blow my freaking mind on how gorgeous its is. let me elaborate...
since this is made of solid stainless steel, it is extraordinary how something this gorgeous could be made with such an incredibly difficult metal to work with. stainless steel is notorious for not just evading rust, but for being extremely durable...so bends and cuts need to be done with prisicion tools backed with precision experience and artistic style.
The steel is smooth....way smooth, as you can see in the pictures, not one imperfection, not one scratch or dent or chip...nothing...no machine marks, no chemical process, no coatings...nothing!!! its just one beautifully flowing metal that just slides at your fingertips.
clamping and unclamping it is as smooth as silk...as is removing the clamp and the bottom section.
In the pictures, I focused a lot on the heavy bends around the clamp section so you can see that even the stainless lines match up perfectly, and flow with the bends which makes it so easy on the eyes to just gaze upon. This same situation occurs through out the saber and is what makes this Graflex so much different and special than anything out there.
at the pommel you can clearly see that its no where near accurate...the lettering is laser engraved and it actually has a rounded curve around the circumference of it...not accurate at all but it screams beautiful to me. even the cobalt ring (which I believe is aluminum) is actually 6160 billet aluminum thats cut so freaking nicely.
This was the less expensive of the 2 kits with a much less accurate 1" blade holder, no lip, no spilt section but the pins are very nice...it serves its purpose for the time being (a solos hold accurate blade holder is already on order) but as you can see, as inaccurate as it is, its still pretty xxx nice.
the bunny ears are the correct hight, and its partially stainless...I believe that the ears themselves are polished but the actual band underneath is stainless...im not sure on that, but thats how it seems to me.
It comes with a screw in glass eye and rubber glass dome thats reminiscent of the one found in the korbanth one...again, not sure if its 6160 aluminum or stainless...but regardless, i had it changed to an actual glass eye replica from TGS who in my opinion make the best glass eye replicas by far...Ive tried them all but TGS replica is on par with the original Parks Graflex V1.
as for the activation red button, its aluminum but its been anodized in a perfect dark brick red so it looks perfect...and the beer tab looks amazing as well with the beveled edge.
Slothfurnace (Brad Lewis) supplies the gorgeous TFA clamp that says "JQ Stainless" at the edge of it.
the grips are very soft soft and warm rubber (again not "screen accurate") but looks and feels perfect!
the grips have a thin layer of tape underneath just like most grips nowadays so installation is easy...and I did replace the allen screw that comes with the saber with rivets.
inside the hilt has a built in bracket to install a standard chassis disk system which is nice...bt more than likely that will be removed to install a Martin Beyer chassis inside.
don't know if I forgot to mention anything else...but as size comparison to a vintage? look at the pics...My ANH Vintage and this TFA Stainless is Night and day...so picking them apart should be easy.
weight wise, its pretty hefty but similar to a vintage...I can't make a good weight comparison since I already have electronics installed on the vintage...
One last thing I forgot to mention is the Clamp...as you can see, the JQsabers Clamp is laser engraved and there is no logo.
Compared to a vintage, it's actually around 85% there...with the few percentages that it's missing not being a bad thing at all. Again, this Hilt is amazing and beautiful...it's constructed very well and is just jaw dropping to see in person...so there really is no comparison...both make you feel very happy and excited to see and both are in there own way jaw dropping my gorgeous and extremely special to me.
Would I recommend this saber? Yes but not for someone who is just getting into the hobby...this is more of a shelf queen and for the cost, well...it's obviously not the cheapest...xxx, My vintage didn't even coat this much...but I truly love it.
If your a purest, but can't afford a vintage at today's market prices, I suggest looking into TGS Replica Graflex which Matthew Duley will be reviewing with a fine tooth comb since thats more of a detailed oriented replica for even the most addicted of Graflex Addicts.
well, hope you enjoyed this review...i will have build pics as it comes along...ao ill leave you with this...
whatever you decide to build, make it an awesome build...take your time, dont ever rush anything and be patient...have faith in yourself, ask questions and always keep learning some new skill as often as possible...you will never regret anything you do this way!
So...here are a ton of pictures I took with my little sisters canon DSLR camera (I'm still learning how to use this thing so please bear with me on some of the pics.)
some pics...more at the link below
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PNrSiazLYBcxNdWY2
