How much are your sabers? This is the most asked question we get, getting it every couple of days. The problem with the answer is that each and every saber on the site is custom machined and has a 'customized' price. The cost on each hilt is/was completely dependant on its design. We have had customers pay upwards of $300+ for a maxed out double sided design of theirs, all the way down to a simple $50 for a low-detailed fan-film hilt that doesnt need to be flashy since it never sees closeup screen time. Keep in mind, also, that we dont own a single saber on the site...each one is made and shipped off to its happy little home. Asking to buy a specific design is futile, since we dont have it anymore. However, we can remachine designs ->see below.

What are the different saber types? Stunt sabers make up 90% of our armada, and are sabers that are high-end machined hilts, that have all of the good looks of movie-style HERO sabers. Junior Stunt sabers are just like regular Stunt sabers, but made for smaller hands. FanFilm sabers are similar to Stunt sabers, except they have less detail. FF sabers were introduced to filmmakers on tight budgets, who needed something that was instantly recognizable as a saber, but didnt have all of the flashy buttons and knobs, since they wont be needed for filming. Solid sabers all of the high-end machining of our other sabers, but made solid. Since these sabers wont ever be able to hold a dueling blade, they are usually made for display or belt use only. EL sabers use electroluminescent electronics and feature light-up blades. We can machine a hilt to be EL-ready so that electronics can be added in later, OR they can be machined FULLY LOADED with our own electronics installed by us.

What do the price ranges mean? Because we really dont like to remachine an exact duplicate of an existing design, when we work up a remake of a saber, we set the price up in a price range. For example: take TEMPEST. On its page, the price range is from $50 to $75 - essentially, this just means we could reproduce a similar hilt to this one for as little as $50 or as much as $75 (or more obviously). It may seem like a silly way to classify the hilts, but it can create a much broader range of hilts, being that each remachined hilt based on TEMPEST can be made less flamboyant, with little detail, or even more ornate, by adding more detail to it. Many times we have customers who are on a specific budget (self imposed, or if you are among the majority of our customers: a budget imposed by your wife/girlfriend/spouse). If this is the case, you can let us know a general cost range or even a specific price that you need to keep - it will help us, help you to design the new saber so that it meets your budget.

What are the different blade types? ARCYLIC BLADES are solid, colored acrylic suitable for display. They will fit inside Stunt sabers, Junior Stunt sabers and FanFilm sabers, as well as EL sabers (EL ready and ELITE -fully loaded). CARBON FIBER BLADES are tubes from the same manufacturer that supplied filmmakers for EP3 in 2005. They are high impact tubes of woven carbon fibers that provide an amazing strength-to-weight ratio. Each of the tubes weigh less than half a pound, and can be outfitted with an accessory kit; adding a machined aluminum rounded tip, and a machined aluminum adapter allowing the smaller diameter blades to be used in larger 3/4" diameters. They will fit inside Stunt sabers, Junior Stunt sabers and FanFilm sabers, as well as EL sabers (EL ready and EL FULLY LOADED). EL BLADES are electroluminescent wires in a high-impact polycarbonate tube. They are removable blades that can have any one of ten different colors inside them. They will fit inside Stunt sabers, Junior Stunt sabers and FanFilm sabers, as well as EL sabers (EL ready and EL FULLY LOADED), but unless the hilts they are in are wired for EL technology, they wont light up, and will just remain a dull-off-white color. we apologize for not having pictures of all of the 10 colors offered yet - we planned on having them by now, but have been delayed. We dont offer any guarantees as to just how fragile or how durable any of the blades are. While we can tell people that the blades have been used in the past for film work, light sparring and even heavy dueling - we dont offer any assurances that they wont be damaged.

What color EL blades are offered? We will be offering 8 different colors, including: PURPLE, BLUE, GREEN, RED, PINK, ORANGE, YELLOW and even WHITE. Pictures will be up shortly. The EL blades will be offered in sizes custom chosen by the customer - so if you need a 42" blade, it can be done.

How do I place an order? Since there is no order form, because we dont sell the designs shown on the site anyway, all you need to do is send us an email. Essentially, we can use your description or sketches to give you a price quote on your design. Once we give you a quote on your project and you are happy with the price, we can help you design your new saber giving you a clean CAD drawing of the saber. Do keep in mind that because of the fluctuating prices for steel, aluminum and brass, the price quotes we give are good for 15 days from the date we give them.

What format do you want the saber design in? We have had past customers send in anything from a barely legible sketch on construction paper, to ornate photo-realistic renderings to help us with their design. Just keep in mind that the more detailed you show your design-to-be, the better we can understand what you are trying to convey. We can use just about any format of image, and we use AutoCAD 2005 for our CAD program. If you are planning on sending in a CAD drawing, its always safest to send it in as a .DXF file. If you have your drawing on paper and dont have access to a digital camera or a scanner, you can always just snail mail us a copy...just email us for the address.

What are the sabers made out of? We use high quality 6061 or 7075 T6 aluminum, commonly refered to as "aircraft aluminum". We also machine with common brass, extruded acrylic, cold-rolled steel and even Delrin (which is a high tolerance plastic, not unlike nylon). In some instances we use 'real world' parts, but for the most part we like to machine each of the pieces involved in our sabers.

Do you machine 'movie' sabers, or other vendors designs? No. No bending the rules, either. We only machine custom designs. For obvious legal reasons, we wont machine designs that are held in copyright by other manufacturers. We also wont remachine another saber-makers design, like Parkssabers.com or Lighttech's - its just not ethical, since we wouldnt like it if someone were doing the same things with our work. Many, many customers send us the small 'icon' images from thelightsaber.com - keep in mind, with a few exceptions, the sabers featured on that site are almost all from movies, books or comic books; all falling under the helmet of copyrighted materials. In other words: even though you are welcome to send us those small images, there isnt any chance we'll machine them for you. One final note: there is a great hardware saber site called Big Yellow Box. While we are willing to take elements from the great collection featured on that site - do keep in mind that because we are offering a completely machined saber, as opposed to a hardware version, the price isnt going to be anywhere near as cheap as it is quoted on the BYB site. While its still a saber, there is a big difference in harware vs. machined - and while neither one is necessarily better - its best to make sure everyone knows that we cant machine a hilt for the same price someone could gather found parts and assemble one for.

Will you remake your own designs? Yes...sort of. Each one of the sabers on the site are unique...most of them were designed by the customers who now own them, and one of the goals of this website was that each individual could have their own, personal design. That being said - we can remachine a design with enough significant changes to make it, too a one-of-a-kind hilt. Take for example BLITZ. This design was so popular when we first machined it, that we had at least one request a day for a copy of it. We instead began to machine clones of the original with subtle differences: different emitters, odd grip configurations, etc. If you look around the site, there are 9 other hilts that take off of the original design.

Can you provide electronics for my custom saber? In 2006, we began to introduce our own lineup of EL sabers called our ELITE sabers. These hilts come pre-installed with our electronics and come with the blade color of the customers choice. Because we are supplying these electronics, we dont charge anything additional to install them...however, if you choose to order electronics from another vendor (be it, EL electronics, LED electronics or other) we do have an installation fee. We have installed a few different types of electronics kits from E.L. drivers to Plasma drivers - and even simple LED drivers. As far as the best company to purchase the electronics from...its all a matter of personal choice. All of them out there are wonderful to work with, we cant play favorites.

What sorts of finishes are offered? Most of the sabers on our site are featured quite 'naked' -without much if any, paint. We can mirror polish the aluminum and brass, or give it a light or heavy brushed finish. Unfortunately, we dont offer anodizing. The problem with anodizing custom sabers is that anodizers usually wont take a small project such as the back end of a single saber...and on the off chance that they will just add it to their current run - there is always the factor of time. We use a fairly specialized paint coating called 'aliphatic resin' - essentially its a two part epoxy paint. Nothing will last quite as long and be as durable as anodizing or oxidizing, but the epoxy paint is the next best thing.

How are the dueling rods held in place? We use setbolts that are typically hidden among the design, or simply placed in inconspicuous places near the emitters. We use a rounded Allen-head cap bolt, and we supply an Allen-key with each hilt to use on the bolts. While they arent as quick to tighten and release as a large thumbscrew, they are much safer, in that they can be secured against the blades much tighter than tightening a thumbscrew by hand. They also cant be broken off if they are struck by your opponents blade, and because they have rounded heads, there is almost no chance of them injuring you our your opponent with them.

How long will my design take to get to me? This simply depends on just how busy we are at the moment you ask. The average project takes about a day to complete, however, each one is done in the order the project was paid for. By checking the STATUS page, you can get a general idea of a time frame. Keep in mind, though - that because each project is created by hand, there are sometimes problems that arise. The dates set on the STATUS page are tentative, and are there to provide an approximate date. We have learned early on not to promise a specific time frame.

How do I pay for my project? Currently we accept PayPal, Credit Cards, Bank Checks, Money Orders (even international Money Orders), MoneyGram, and even personal checks. we hold personal checks until they clear the senders bank While some of our customers prefer to pay for their entire project at once up front, others prefer to simply put down a 50% deposit (refundable, of course) to hold their place in the project list.

If I put down a deposit or pay in full, can I get a refund if necessary? All refunds are subject to a 25% refund adjustment fee, regardless of whether we have started your project or not. In cases of projects that have already been started, we will still offer a refund, but it will be based on elements such as material costs and labor costs already put into the project, in addition to any fees that your bank or payment provider may have charged.

What if I cant finish paying for the saber once its machined? If your saber has been fully finished, and an emergency comes up in which you realize that you can no longer finish paying for it, we are forced to sell off the saber, in order to process your refund. Because we dont have a buyer in mind already, this process may take some time. If your fully finished hilt is left for 30 days without the final balance being paid for, we reserve the right to sell off the saber for you, and you will only receive a portion of your initial deposit; typically the cost of materials that went into the saber.

Do you ship internationally? You betcha. We have shipped all over the world, and we even have our sabers on all 7 continents. We can ship through U.S. Post Office, UPS or FedEx - and rush shipping is usually available. Shipping out of the U.S. requires a quote, so dont forget to tell us where you are having the package sent to. A typical saber runs $9 to ship in the US, and includes insurance and a delivery confirmation number. Two sabers run $13, three sabers run $17. Shipping a saber and a blade typically runs $11. Everyone needs to keep in mind that forces beyond our control can affect shipping costs -namely: postal increases. While we can get you a price quote on international shipping at the time of your order, we cant guarantee that it will be the same price as when the order is actually ready to ship. We do reserve the right to change the shipping cost, based on the most current shipping quotes available.

How long have you guys been around? The RANDOM SABERS Project began nearly 5 years ago in one sense or another. Originally, we began by offering completely random designed sabers - hilts that we had swimming around in our heads as designs, and were finally able to make into a solid...so to speak. While we had some good times designing our own sabers - we quickly had too large of a collection to even try to display. The most logical thing to do was to try selling them to friends. Word quickly caught on that we were producing high quality sabers designs that were so unlike anything that people had been seeing before, that we began to get inquiries about making more custom work. Suddenly, we were being inundated with requests from people all over the country - word spread from one person at a convention to another until we had no choice but to open up this website =}.