Sold/Expired ENDED! Katokichi Ichishiki-B, KI-B is here, NEW body

Mikhail said:

No fair! Maxlites are faster processing rather than KI-B. I have kept in mind that KI-B has couple pieces and it take bit longer processing. I have to wait patiently for KI-B. :hairpull:

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It will be well worth the wait! Trust me.

It's a "keeper"!! Played it out with some tough competition last night. I'm not a scientific reviewer by any means but, the only difference I can see between my Maxlite and a whole "slew" of single CR123 powered lights I own (slew=12+) is the tint!! Now that, is amazing! This baby has come from a great line of lights and so I shouldn't have been surprised but, ya just never know! Anyway, great design, heft and.......light!!! :rock:




Karlthev

Mikhail said:

No fair! Maxlites are faster processing rather than KI-B. I have kept in mind that KI-B has couple pieces and it take bit longer processing. I have to wait patiently for KI-B. :hairpull:

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The KI-B Project is the faster project then the Maxlite AA Project. The KI-B is being created 200% faster despite being a far more complicated system.

The Maxlite project was started in May of 2005 but publicly announced around February, 2006. In reality the Maxlite took a year to make from concept to arriving on the kitchen table. The KI-B Project was conceived six months later, around November 2005. The KI-B is truly the accelerated project compared to the Maxlite. If we used the Maxlite timeline then the KI-B would be ready November, 2006, six months from now.

The KI-B has many bodies with a single head compared to Maxlite with one head and one body. The KI-B carrying case had to be designed and made. With the many body options, the parts count of the KI-B is staggering to make.

The KI-B is close to being completed and mailed six months faster then the Maxlite was made.

Update:

I apologize for the late updates. I forgot that I could log on to CPF...... The KI-B bodies will finish anodizing within this week as I've just received word from the anodizers. Then its off for laser engraving and finally back to Japan for final assembly.

ARC mania

UPDATE TIME.

The light is fun. I'm thrilled over the performance.

The prototype KI-B light is fully operational and works beyond expectations. This 'mule' light I'm testing needs its anodizing and engraving. It is simply bare aluminum. A brighter upgraded emitter is installed in the light. How much will the upgrade emitter cost you? You already bought it.

The KI-B light will have a brighter Lux I emitter upgrade because delays in machining allowed us to find a previously unknown and better bin emitter. The KI-B project benefited from its unfortunate delays.

No charge for the upgrade emitters. It is a present from Katokichi and ARC mania for the patient buyers of the KI-B light. We managed to make a deal with LumiLEDs, the maker of the Luxeon I, III, and V emitters. A very desirable and previously unknown, unobtainium, Lux I emitter will be installed in the KI-B light. The emitters are called the ARC mania SuperSbin (SS) emitters. The emitters are very bright and a bleach white tint at the rated 350mA. Because we wanted brighter, the unique KI-B converter is running slightly over specs. The KI-B beam will please you. I think we need to use the SS emitters for other projects; it is good.

In case you have forgotten, the KI-B light is an ambitious project with many body options. Only one wide range, 1.2 to 9 volt, converter is used. The light comes with three tubes for AA, CR123 and 17650. Rechargeable AA, alkaline, lithium or simply anything with a voltage range of 1.2 to 9 volts can be used with no change in brightness. When finished the light kit will include an exclusive pouch with individual pockets to protect the kit.


This bare KI-B is a very well built light. The SS emitter is very bright. Kato's last official US light is quite a marvel from head to toe. 4 to 8 weeks and the light should be in your hands.



Here is a picture using the intervalometer in my camera. The time is set for 15 minutes. The KI-B is using a single NiMH battery (1.2 volt) versus a 2xAA alkaline battery (3.0 volts) Mini Maglite. This is the toughest test because the NiMH battery only has 1.2 volts. The boost circuit is working the hardest. The spot beam is brighter and the spill beam is very rich. The poor Mini Maglite beam was tired and the KI-B still has lots of power left in it.

If you forgot how good the buck/boost converter regulation is then here are the charts patiently done by CPF member Belyo.



The finished lights were anodized in sets. I understand the consistency of tint between the parts have never been as well matched as in the KI-B anodizing. Next stage is the laser engraving.

The KI-B is born. Like the others, this one, has a shiny white nose.

I believe the term may be "sweet"!


karl

I think I just got drool on my keyboard!

The 'ss' bin is great news.

Thank you, ARCmania, TrueBlue and Katokichi for this project.

Marc

WOW . Thanks for the update, looking good. Can't wait for this light!!!!!!

The light has very a consistent beam with different voltages. For brightness tests I took a sample of batteries with different voltages. Because of the different size bodies, the test was easy to do.

The first picture for a reference beam shot is the SMJLED PR Bulb emitter in a 2xC (or 2xD would work the same) Maglite. Many people can understand that light for a reference point. Then the KI-B brightness test starts with a 2 x 3.7 volt (7.4 volt total) rechargeable CR123A followed by a rechargeable 3.7 volt 17650, a 1.7 volt Lithium AA, a single 1.5 volt alkaline then a 1.2 volt NiCad battery. The tested power range is 7.4 down to 1.2 volts. The pictures are really quite boring because the beam is very consistent from picture to picture.

The KI-B light beam is medium size spot beam with a large spill beam in a ratio of 66% spot and 33% spill. The SMJLED is a small spot beam with a spill beam 80% spot and 20% spill. For a general-purpose light I would prefer the beam of the KI-B.


The KI-B light passed all battery tests with flying colors. The light has a very consistent beam range from 1.2 to 7.4 volts. I would believe the beam would be just as consistent with the maximum of 9 volts.

Belyo was kind enough to share the KI-B power usage graphs. The graphs show the KI-B converter has excellent regulation. Since Belyo did a great job with his graphs, I won't bother to retest the light.

I'm finding the light is a very dependable light. It makes a nice walking or general purpose light.

Thanks Bill! Just love these updates!



Karl

Thanks for kept update. The pictures arent really quite boring becuase I did noticed bit different (1.5 volts). Maybe I stared the pictures too long.

Mikhail affirmed what I saw in the pictures. The 1.5 volt alkaline battery had brightness sag. In real life I didn't see the sag but the pictures show different. I'd guess a 15% drop in brightness. Even with the brightness sag, the light is very useable. The brightness came back using a 1.2 volt NiMH rechargeable battery.

Use rechargeable batteries is the moral of the story. Using rechargeable batteries is PC too.

Those are great beamshots was that AA shot using standard AA or Lithium?

I'd love to seen a beam shot showing the rest of the beam with the hotspot the orange tree is nice but hides the rest of the beam. do you have any comparison shots against another light like the Maxlite or LionCub.

sweet light you all!

doug

On the bottom panel the batteries were primary lithium, Duracell alkaline then Energizer 2500mAh NiMH. The spill beam actually fills the panels so you can't see the edges. Get both and see for yourself!!! :nana:

Compare the beams of the KI-B and Maxlite AA lights? Although the KI-B, Maxlite SS and Maxlite TTM all share the same Lux I, ARC mania SuperSbin emitter, the lights have radically different beams. But I'll show beam shots anyway. And give a long-winded post too.

With numerous options, the Maxlite beam would terrorize a lot of other light around including the KI-B. The Maxlite light is open ended and the KI-B is a complete kit. Even in stock form, Maxlite and Maxlite TTM beam would still beat it up the KI-B easily. But there is more- the beams are different.



I've changed the comparison picture to show The Maxlite and Maxlite TTM beam on the first panel.



KI-B concept was the all-purpose, all battery combination flashlight. It is a close end, complete design. The light is complete. The KI-B is more of a general-purpose light. For a close and mid range beam the KI-B light excels with a large spot beam and a generous spill beam. The wide voltage range and different bodies allow many battery options for different run times. It changeable size can be easily adjusted to fit in your pocket.

Maxlite is modular and has built in two-brightness. The stock reflector is designed to throw a narrower beam with less spill light. But Maxlite will use Surefire and Aleph options so the beam can be modified to your taste. Primarily, it is designed to run on the AA battery but will run 14500 Li-ion battery. The Li-ion option opens the door to lots of amazing options including a Surefire KL4 head, Aleph heads and light engines. A side-project to Maxlite is what I'm working on now. When completed, Maxlite would run a Lux V Tower Module through a Surefire Turbo Head and a 14500 battery.

If you were wondering, we had toyed with the idea of putting the KI-B multi-voltage converter in the Maxlite. But the beam output would not be as bright as the Maxlite dedicated converter.



Is the KI-B beam inferior to the Maxlite beam? No, each light has its advantages that show up in use. For closer, around the house use, the KI-B excels. For outside use, looking further down the road, the Maxlite shows its advantage. Each light has different personalities.

Wow nice lights. What is a Lux V tower module?

TrueBlue, I'd be interested to know how you think the KI-B roughly compares to the KI-LE; output, beam pattern, etc. I'm not necessarily asking for comparison pics, just your opinion. I'm familiar with the KI-LE's beam and output, and was just wondering how my new KI-B will compare. I know there's certainly no comparison when it comes to runtime and battery flexiblity. Have a good one, thanks.

Thanks for the explaination Billy I greatly appreciate it.

Doug

You are welcome, Doug.

The KI-B will not surprise you if you are familiar with the KI beam. The beam is the same as the KI except bigger and brighter. Except for the size and battery options, the KI-B is the same.

The severe 20 minute, .0762 meter depth, underwater test was given to the KI-B today. It passed easily.

You didn't forget you were getting carrying cases with the KI-B? The cases are 100% handmade in Japan. To make sure the quality is maintained, only 10 cases per day can be made. There is still a delay as the extreme detail of the case is very difficult to work with. Inside, you can hold 4pcs of AA batteries and 4pcs of CR123 batteries. The case has foam padding inside to protect the batteries and bodies. You are going to find the KI-B carrying case is overbuilt.

You might also look at the zipper carefully. The zipper is hidden internally on the case.

The last KI lights are going to be nice and complete kits.

TrueBlue said:

You didn't forget you were getting carrying cases with the KI-B? The cases are 100% handmade in Japan. To make sure the quality is maintained, only 10 cases per day can be made. There is still a delay as the extreme detail of the case is very difficult to work with. Inside, you can hold 4pcs of AA batteries and 4pcs of CR123 batteries. The case has foam padding inside to protect the batteries and bodies. You are going to find the KI-B carrying case is overbuilt.

You might also look at the zipper carefully. The zipper is hidden internally on the case.

The last KI lights are going to be nice and complete kits.

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TrueBlue, I was trying to keep these lights out of my mind. Now I am all anxious again! :huh:

Thanks for the pics anyway, I guess? What a light kit!:goodjob:

Ken