Those did turn out nice! I like that name too…
Yeah, I was worried about the wide strips in your previous pictures. I have 4 spare 7.2 mm wide 3535 strips that I ordered over a year ago, so I am going to use those…although that orphans the fourth strip. 
The “cores” are printing out now, so I should have a blade to test today and we can see if the narrower strips have less cobbing and shadows.
sounds like the orphaned strip could be used of a short blade?
possibly a small saber knife?
good luck with the smaller strips!
I actually already have a small neopixel blade that I made for Ahsoka’s small saber! I’ll just have to convince my wife to let me order another two strips so I can build two tri-strip blades 
The edges of the print could be better, but I got most of the tolerancing right, so it stays together without any glue. I probably won’t glue it for assembly.
Here is a sample with PVDF heat shrink over it:
It slides perfectly into the foam, no play, but not hard to push in either:
I’ll probably not get to assemble until later tonight.
Looking great there, should be much better than mine.
Is that for a 1" or 7/8"?
I’m going to try both diameters.
The foam in the picture I have no idea. It was just stuck in my shelf and I’m not sure what diameter it is for.
what are the sk9812 mini strips like? not used them yet and have been looking into getting some in.
possible RGBW…
I’ve built both sizes, and while the wider strips with 0505 leds are slightly brighter, the narrower 3535 strips give much more even light and are easier to assemble.
KR strip is okay, but it gives some shadow.
I’m hoping the narrow tri-strip blade will be both bright and even.
fingers crossed!, i wait with baited breath!
if it turns out good i may try the twisted tri core… 
Assembly finished:
Wiring complete:
Initial power-on:
So with a 7/8 inch blade, foam, but no cellophane, cobbing is not bad, but the shadow is definitely there:
However, with 1 inch blade, foam, and no cellophane, cobbing is non-existant and the shadow is not any worse than a normal blade:
Even though the cobbing and shadows are disappointing, the blade is significantly brighter than the two-strip blade next to it in the pictures.
Edit: the pictures seem to say the opposite of what I typed, so you’ll just have to trust me on how they looked in person…
I couldn’t go to sleep. So I messed with some cellophane wrapped directly on the strips:
The reality is that the pixels are just too darn directional! That gave me an idea: file the side of the LED to expose some of the optical epoxy, instead of the white plastic. Still far away from the LED dice or connection wires. Like this:
Chck out the first test (the first four LED’s on the right are filed) :
It would be an hour or so worth of work to file them all, but it might be worth it…
OMG that is tedious, and dangerous (to break a pixel)…but looks like totally worth it!!
ooo how about these?
OMG dude, talk about going above and beyond!
Excellent thinking though batman.
The results speak loudly too.
The question is… are you going to talk the blade apart and file all the pixels?
180 degree!
I had a thought… wouldn’t the slight twist idea you had earlier mitigate some of the shadowing, since, with diffusion, pixels would be slightly overlapping around the blade?
That was my thought with @mcarcher.
Would have to test it though to see how it would compare to a normal setup.
Wow, these might just do the trick with 2 strips, would save all the hassle of multiple strip blade builds
@NoSloppy I like the idea of the lenses, but will they fit with the capacitor right next to the pixel? Maybe there is a way to use a drop of epoxy to act kind of like a lens?
@Driftrotor I didn’t actually build a blade…luckily…I just slid everything into the foam and blade tube.
It would not be that big a deal to slice the heat shrink, peel the strips off, and put a new core in place. I think we should go with @astromech 's suggestion and use the helical core, and maybe combine that with the modifications to the LED (filing, or lenses) to get closer to the ultimate blade.
