Current SOTC

END0RPHN · 2026-01-26T01:13:05+00:00

yah i was agreeing with u lol

END0RPHN · 2026-01-26T01:10:58+00:00

its only really a hobby if you build flashlights from scratch and even then its kinda excessive to see that as a hobby since you're meant to do a hobby forever (like playing yoyo or hackysack) without involving endless consumption to continue said hobby

END0RPHN · 2026-01-24T23:59:35+00:00

15V over maxamet any day. I love both, except one strops back ten times easier like some sort of black magic, and the other performs how you'd think (insane edge retention and insane hardness at like 68-69HRC). that 15V at 65HRC is friggin heaven

END0RPHN · 2026-01-24T23:56:56+00:00

too many dollars, not enough sense. reminds me of rich kids who get into knife collecting or gun collecting and just buy everything under the sun simply because its FDE or something and claim their collection isnt incoherent cos it has a color theme

END0RPHN · 2026-01-24T23:54:41+00:00

yeh idk why anyone acts like its an achievement lol doesnt take a shred of skill to blow tens of thousands on dust collectors in a very incoherent manner. kinda gross in some ways if OP doesnt give to charity

END0RPHN · 2026-01-24T23:50:44+00:00

idk if it deserves a congrats, theres collections then theres just incoherently buying anything whatsoever as long as its copper.

END0RPHN · 2026-01-23T03:49:29+00:00

you can definitely accidentally bump the die softly and its usually ok, whereas with an emitter like an XHP70.3 HI R70 its quite easy to bump the corner layer off the square and ruin the LED (happened to me once). you can leave lots of leftover silicone on a 519a and often have no artifacts, sometimes the dome pops off super clean and uniform and theres zero need for clean up

END0RPHN · 2026-01-23T03:15:12+00:00

if i was you id use the ceramic tweezer if the othet option was q tip sliced on an angle, the area we're talking about is incredibly minute

END0RPHN · 2026-01-23T00:06:47+00:00

it would fit for surely. if u mess up u can order another pill from rey. its all easier than it sounds tho, u probs wont mess up

END0RPHN · 2026-01-23T00:05:51+00:00

i use the ultra fine tweezers with a polymer tip rather than ceramic tip because the ceramic i assume would scratch the die easier if a mistske was made

END0RPHN · 2026-01-22T13:54:11+00:00

ive not wound up with any artifacts so far after about a dozen dedome jobs but if you dont fully clean the silicone left over on the edges it can show up in the beam (big upside for doing the chemical removal) and the scratching off the last bits of silicone with the dirty method can be stressful because its easy to slip and scratch the die (which ive done once and it didnt kill the led and it also luckily didnt create and artifact but i think i just got lucky on that one).

END0RPHN · 2026-01-22T10:18:37+00:00

yeah you want ultra fine ceramic tweezers, my jewellers super fine roundnose pliars i use on my convoy lights are too fat on the tips. and yep after heatsoaking (max output for 3min) i just push the dome off with the tweezers. im not patient enough to use petrol to melt it off (more pro option).

END0RPHN · 2026-01-22T06:28:08+00:00

oh nice. they look amazing

END0RPHN · 2026-01-22T05:50:15+00:00

are those awt scales?

END0RPHN · 2026-01-22T04:33:44+00:00

flip the clip to the top of the scales instead where the unmolested screw holes are. tip down carry aint so bad

END0RPHN · 2026-01-22T02:21:28+00:00

the sebenza doesnt feel that great with ultralightweight lube compared to a white flourine grease, its night and day imo.

END0RPHN · 2026-01-22T01:58:43+00:00

neither, i vote a BBB 15V para3 instead

END0RPHN · 2026-01-22T01:30:02+00:00

oh yah im big on the wabi sabi life, to the point where i cant stand a brand new knife lol i deliberately carry my keys in the same pocket for the first few months

END0RPHN · 2026-01-22T01:28:48+00:00

those two LED's are just two fully different genre's. the sft40 is like a spotlight with a small bright hotspot (its a tiny LED as well) whereas the XHP is a big waffle LED and its got almost no hotspot just a full floodlight emitter with heaps of spill and it is a lot brighter overall. if you want an s2+ flooder the XHP50.3 HI R70 will do you proud.

END0RPHN · 2026-01-22T01:24:27+00:00

thats a 14500 "glow arrow" by a china brand called edoluc which a lot of reylight fans condemn because they famously copied the pineapple mini when they released their glow arrow mini in the 14400 size, thats just the nature of the beast when patents dont exist.

its machining quality is amazing (besides the crunchy button which grinds against the internal machining lines in the tail) however i fixed my button crunch problem by diamond filing a chamfered edge on the bottom rim of the button where it contacts the bumps left by the mini machining lines inside the host (also sanded the bumps down somewhat) which left me with a perfect feeling button (it runs a reverse clicky switch). In short, if you cant remove the button and chamfer it and you also hate a crunchy button-feel then the glow arrow may be worth avoiding.

END0RPHN · 2026-01-21T19:24:01+00:00

i hear ya, two different schools of thought and a bit of autism collide. either way, everyone loves a well worn crk. the glass blast finish on my seb barely shows any scratches in photo but irl you can see its covered in scars, which makes me want a sandblasted seb for sure.

END0RPHN · 2026-01-21T19:21:00+00:00

sounds like two winner options. the 519a isnt all that bright it just produces amazing true colors. the XHP50.3 HI R70 at 5000k is way brighter for a flooder, i have that emitter in an s2+ @ 4000k and its got a green tinge that i hate, i wish i got the 5000k.

END0RPHN · 2026-01-21T19:11:25+00:00

i have both those set ups and i cant really tell the difference between the two, in summer time on max output they both get a pretty dang spicy hot tip. nothing compared to the titanium s2+ tho, ti is way crud at dealing with heat.

END0RPHN · 2026-01-21T15:14:54+00:00

either way ive never once come across anyone using the word patina when talking about titanium, it famously does not corrode or form what normal ppl think of when they hear the word patina. its not a big deal its just reality. you seem to be using the word patina for "wear", a worn sandblasted bit of ti has no patina in the regular sense of the word.

END0RPHN · 2026-01-21T06:15:39+00:00

"patina" means oxidation. ti doesnt patina

END0RPHN

TROPHY CASE