Luce de Notte -- the orginal sales thread

[olrac]

Thanks for the additional input paulr, I understand what you were trying to get across, so if I am clear now you're saying it won't be quite as bright as my Mag P7, right? just kidding you paulr. Seriously, thanks for your comments. I opted for a green trit so it should be a bit brighter than the blue, I sure whatever the case I'm going to love it if only for the curious/oddity factor.

[PhotonFanatic]

Hopefully I'll have time to get these all out today--well, at least for those who have paid.

The Line-Up:



L to R, the new owners: JohnTz, ScottH, future_prius, luminata, Rudi, olrac, and william lafferty.

Some close-ups:







Some over-heads:







I think I need a vacation.

[HoopleHead]

beautiful, i think mines a bigger versions of olracs?!

[Kiessling]

Just got mine ... beautiful. A real work of art. I am impressed.
Everything I wanted and then some.

Unfortunately I am really short of time right now in my life, so no pics, sorry guys.



bernie

[olrac]

beautiful, i think mines a bigger versions of olracs?!

It's not how big the light is but how you use it.

[PhotonFanatic]

It's not how big the light is but how you use it.

In that case, you'll need one with a domed tailcap, no?

[HoopleHead]

random thought/question

how far up is the tritium sphere seated, is more than half up inside the reflector? was kinda thinking that a double sided, dual reflectored version would be cool, but only if they could share the 1 trit sphere...

[BugOutGear_USA]

Well I tried mine when fully dark adapted and 1) the glow dome is quite visible from sitting on the shelf (this needs dark adaptation); and 2) the reflector end puts out enough light to see one's immediate surroundings (up to a few feet) dimly. Probably enough to find your way to the can with some care (this is with the 11mm blue sphere, the 18mm green should be several times brighter). Definitely not enough to describe in conventional terms of lumens or throw.

This is a work of precision machining and creativity and much beauty. But, one must remember that it is a GITD device and not a flashlight. It is dimmer than any flashlight ever made, at least 10x dimmer than the backlight of my Casio illuminator watch. If you are thinking of buying one, and do so with the expectation of getting a work of art to savor, admire, and use with a certain sense of imagination and thrill that overcomes its limitations, you will love it. If what you want is a no-nonsense utilitarian illumination tool to light stuff up with, you're better off with a conventional flashlight with an h3 locator vial or a clipped-on glowring.

So this won't be replacing my SF M6? I just want something to guide me and prevent me from slamming my shin into the foot of my bed at night! This aught to do it...with a lil style!

Regards,
Flavio

[PhotonFanatic]

random thought/question

how far up is the tritium sphere seated, is more than half up inside the reflector? was kinda thinking that a double sided, dual reflectored version would be cool, but only if they could share the 1 trit sphere...

I was thinking the same thing myself today.

But I couldn't see why one would need the same brightness from both ends of the Luce; but it is doable. Basically just put a reflector on each side of a sphere, with a cut-out to accommodate the teat, and two lens. A bit more machining work though as there would have to be either two pieces that screw together, or a bezel on one end.

Taking commissions, if you've got the sphere.

[olrac]

I was thinking the same thing myself today.

But I couldn't see why one would need the same brightness from both ends of the Luce; but it is doable. Basically just put a reflector on each side of a sphere, with a cut-out to accommodate the teat, and two lens. A bit more machining work though as there would have to be either two pieces that screw together, or a bezel on one one.

Taking commissions, if you've got the sphere.

One end with a red filter...so you can retain night vision

[Rudi]

Got my Luce -- my very first Fred light!
A brilliant concept exquisitely executed.
I'm delighted and grateful.

[paulr]

Addition to my above description, after a second night with the Luce next to my bed it somehow seems brighter than before. I had earlier had trouble seeing the dome glow without being well night-adapted. The reason is that my Luce was on a shelf a couple feet higher than my bed, and from a low viewing angle, light coming out of the dome is attentuated a lot. I moved it to a lower shelf so it's more visible now. From above, and from straight on, it's quite bright, enough to not want to look directly into it when dark adapted.

[JohnTz]

I just wanted to add my thanks to Fred for the Luce. It is fantastic and fun. The workmanship is first rate and it is quite usefull. The green sphere really is bright in the middle of the night. What a unique object!

[PhotonFanatic]

Yet another Luce soon to be on its way:



Sports a 15mm Ice Blue Tritium sphere, supplied by the customer.

This Fighter has a 316SS tail cap--and it took a wee bit more work to make that the AL version, and slightly heavier, too. Besides being able to use the tail cap as a weapon, one could always just heave it at someone.

This Luce won't be getting knocked over on the night stand, that's for sure.

[jch79]

[TECENG]

Every time I see this thread it makes me want one of these SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!!

[HoopleHead]

<doh bumped wrong thread>

[egrep]

replying to a very old post but it caught my eye!

I was fortunate to have just commissioned a Luce. My choices were very similar to paulr's so I thought I'd post a reply.

1) Brass. But Fred doesn't want to bother with knurled. I'm OK with that but originally wanted it for the same reasons as paulr expouses. In my case we're putting a SS tailcap on. The contrast will be swell!

2) I also choose 18mm. No desire to save space or money.

3) I also got the flat top. I want to be able to tail stand. I like that with all my lights

4) Orange. Not nearly the brightest color (40%) but better than blue and red (which I like with green on my flashlights, RGB == White!). I think/hope it will compliment the brass. Beside, B@rt was out of green. Ice Blue I'm saving for a future Ti Luce!

If I were doing it over , I'd

1) possibly go for brass knurled rather than grooved, for a more old-fashioned look. I originally chose grooved to look less industrial. However this is totally a matter of aesthetics, the grooved brass looks really flawless and precise, so it's a question of whether you want modern or traditional styling. Somehow the knurled version looks like it's been sitting there glowing since the 1800's and escaped from Alexander Graham Bell's lab or something like that, a cool effect in its own right. That was part of my reason for choosing brass over ss or ti as well. Anyway, hard to decide.

2) I'd probably try for an 18mm sphere for higher output.

3) Might go for the flat top rather than the hemisphere, for tail standing.

4) I'm not sure whether I'd try for a different color. I do like the blue despite the loss of output. Yellow might be interesting. Green is the most efficient but it seems sort of pedestrian at this point.

[RedLed]

Fred can we put in special orders for these? I would love one.

[PhotonFanatic]

Yes, I'm still making Luce de Notte bodies, but I can not supply any Trit spheres--you need to have one of your own. I now machine the McR-27 reflector so that the sphere can be easily epoxied in place, a very simple operation. You can then let the reflector, sphere and Norland Optical Adhesive cure under bright sunshine, or use a UV source, if you have one.

[jonglow]

id love one of these like the sports version any chance ?

[Bullzeyebill]

id love one of these like the sports version any chance ?

Sports version?

Bill

[jonglow]

sports version post 164

[Incidentalist]

If that one has a name, it's the Fighter. You are misinterpreting the usage of the word 'sports' in that post.

[PhotonFanatic]

id love one of these like the sports version any chance ?

jonglow,

I'm still making the Luce de Notte bodies, and I've refined the machining of the reflector so that installation of the Tri sphere with optical adhesive is very easy to do. PM me if you wish.

[PhotonFanatic]

The latest custom Luce:





Brass body and titanium tail cap with recessed polycarbonate plug. Client installed 18mm orange sphere in a McR27 reflector that was machined to accept the sphere.

[egrep]

I have to photograph my collection soon, but seeing Fred's post provoked me to take at least one quick shot.

Thanks Fred, this is a treasured part of my collection!

[Henk_Lu]

The latest Luce de Notte?

Yep, you're right, after all it took a good week until mine got to me, yesterday...

Fred did a marvelous work and I got exactly what I wanted to have, a quite original looking titanium Luce with blue anodized recessed parts. I'd gotten a blue 18mm sphere before from Bart and immediately installed it after receiving the Luce, I was lucky to still get a little sun to cure the Norland.

Let a few pictures speak :









Thanks Fred for this marvelous piece of art, which stand on my nightdesk from now on!

[jonglow]

pm sent :-)

[mcmc]

How much is a build these days?