Saber Length

[Bungalow]

Been told that the length of a lightsaber is determined by the Jedi's strength in the force.

Is this true?

I went to check this and in some scenes, Vader's saber is longer then Lukes. Might be the camera angle though.

[Si'Khal'Jinn]

no it's not true, if you go to starwars.com , and search a bit you'll find that light sabers don't take their energy from the Force, they have a virtually infinite power cell, and the blade only wastes energy when it cut through something

 

May the Force be with you.

[jmcdavel]

I think it has to do with what type of jewel is inside the saber handle (the jewel determines color as well if I'm not mistaken). I recall a Star Wars book I read several years back that had a rogue Jedi manufacture a saber with two jewels instead of just one that had a blade so long that it was a practically a saber-lance. I think Darth Maul's saber has a jewel on each end of the handle.

[igor]

The jewel is used to focus the energy through and in-turn determines what color. The length is determined by the maker.

[Dachande]

darth mauls saber has 4 crystals.

[Tetengo Noor]

Actually the length can be adjusted by the Jedi himself. For instance take Obi-Wan's in Ep.1. When he is kicked off the platform and force jumps back up, he ignites his saber and then if you look very closely he turns a knob and it lengthens as he's running down the catwalk. I believe I also read somewhere (I think it was the Visual DIctionary) that Jedi can adjust the length of his/her saber.

[Pedantic]

If a lightsaber has more than one crystal, the length can be adjusted using a knob or something.

[Ae0N]

Originally posted by Bungalow

Been told that the length of a lightsaber is determined by the Jedi's strength in the force.

Is this true?

I went to check this and in some scenes, Vader's saber is longer then Lukes. Might be the camera angle though.

 

 

 

It's not the size that matters, it's how you use it.

 

 

 

 

 

[Reb Starblazer]

Actually, in EVERY scene Vader's lightsabre should look longer than Luke's, because it is. I can't remember where I read it but Vader's "blade" is longer than average the lightsabre, mostly for the fact that Vader is rather tall, almost 7 ft. I know this is a bad example, but look at Gorc's in Jedi Knight. That lightsabre was HUGE, and Pic's was also smaller than a regular lightsabre. I suppose this is done to give a better sense of "balance", creating a lightsabre in proportion to the user. Vader also created that lightsabre to increase his already lengthy reach, and to give himself an extra advantage.

[Reverse]

ok heres the facts;

 

I'n i jedi when corran horn is constructing hsi lightsaber, the blades regular length is 160 cm. then when he adjusts the length while fighting the hutt, it grows to 300 cm. but in the book he said it would be virtually impossible to fight with the saber that long.

[Prince Legolas]

I always thought the standard length was 1 metre long for the blade?

[Kev'i Haric]

From StarWars.com databank:

 

Movies:

"At the press of a button the energy contained within is liberated and forms as a shaft of pure energy about a meter long."

 

Expanded Universe:

"These crystals are ideal for the creation of lightsabers, as they focus the energy released from a saber's power cell into the tight, blade-like beam."

- and -

"The blade's color depends on the nature of the jewel it springs from, and while its length is fixed in the case of a single jewel lightsaber, lightsabers equipped with multiple crystals can have their length varied by rotating a knob that allows the focusing crystal activator to subtly modify the refraction pattern between the gems."

 

Does that answer your question?

 

NOTE - This is a weird bit under the EU section:

 

"Early lightsabers did not have self-contained power cells, and were instead connected by a conducting cable to a belt-worn power pack."

 

I guess that woudl eliminate the "Oops I dropped my saber again!" routine...

[SPY_jmr1]

i have wondered, about the jedi without any TK powers, why do they not make a saber with a hand strap? in i, jedi thsi problem got someone killed....

 

Imean why not?

[D'akt Sangwar]

Originally posted by Pedantic

If a lightsaber has more than one crystal, the length can be adjusted using a knob or something.

 

all sabers have 2 crystals, a primary one and secondary one

[Roi Danton]

Originally posted by D'akt Sangwar

 

all sabers have 2 crystals, a primary one and secondary one

 

my saber has no crystal, but I can adust it's length, too

 

[D'akt Sangwar]

hehehe

i cant remember where it was though

but it was allllll about sabers and their construction (not in real life, in SW)

quite a good read

[Thrown Saber]

Sabers can have as many crystals as they want... and yes, the crystals determine the colour and length of the saber's blade. The blade is the colour of the crystal(s) in use. A saber's length can actually be changed mid-battle, here's how (only on SOME sabers, depends how they're made):

 

The saber-weilder can press a button to move crystals into the focusing chamber of a lightsaber. The number of crystals decides how long the blade is. The button can be pressed to move/remove any number of crystals for various saber lengths. You can see how long a saber can get if you read the online comics: Yoda: Padawan Jedi. The purple-skinned Dark Jedi has a short purple saber, but he presses a button to make it three times as long. goto this url to read this comic series:

 

http://www.theforce.net/fancomics/yodapadawan/

 

Along the left-hand side of the page there is a list of page numbers. I suggest reading them from start to finish, but if you want to see where the Dark Jedi lengthens his lightsaber, click on Page 49, and read on from there.

[OOO]

Does anyone else remeber that line from Space Balls

 

 

"I see your swortz is as big as mine"

 

LMAO

 

(PS I have no clue as to how to spell that correc'ly)

 

 

OOO

[jango fett (bh)]

you know what they say about the length of a jedi's saber...?

 

nm, bad joke, sorry =)

 

anyways, i dont think the length really matters to true jedi, but if it did, i wouldnt think any jedi would have a longer sword only because most are equal in different powers...

 

thats my boring oppinion, you don't have to agree with me the idiot though, so don't get mad =)

[CBrate]

Originally posted by Kev'i Haric

"Early lightsabers did not have self-contained power cells, and were instead connected by a conducting cable to a belt-worn power pack."

 

I guess that woudl eliminate the "Oops I dropped my saber again!" routine...

 

Yeah but it introduced the "Oh F***! I've got a lightsabre cutting me off at the ankles!"

[Thrown Saber]

Or the saber would still fall, along with the power pack and belt, as well as the pants, revealing the official Jedi boxer shorts, and possibly more...

[Silver Quasar]

Wait a minute... would't this mean that it would be possible to make a huge lightsaber in front of some spaceship and ram it into anything in it's way causing major damage? Or maybe a lightsaber that has the colors of a pool of water so that when stormtrooopers stop to rest (if they rest at all) they dip their hands in pure energy, severing them completely???

 

[Thrown Saber]

Welll, yeah... but I don't think you could do the pool of water one. I don't see how, instead of a lightSABER, a light POOL could be made. But yes, you could make a superlong lightsaber to slice thru ships/buildings etc.

[Reb Starblazer]

Yea, but imagine the size of the lightsabre, not to mention the freakin' huge crystal(s) you would need One of the problems with using a really long lightsabre, is that it's probably harder to control. I mean, first, swing a baseball bat. Then swing a 6 foot long stick. Which was harder to swing? Yes, I know that a lightsabre has very little mass, but a longer blade would give you a better chance of screwing up and hitting yourself, the floor, friends, low flying air/spacecraft...

[Sartori]

Originally posted by Reb_Starblazer

Actually, in EVERY scene Vader's lightsabre should look longer than Luke's, because it is. I can't remember where I read it but Vader's "blade" is longer than average the lightsabre, mostly for the fact that Vader is rather tall, almost 7 ft. ...(snipped).. I suppose this is done to give a better sense of "balance", creating a lightsabre in proportion to the user.

 

based on the measuring system for real katanas.

(note: i'm using generic sword terms for clarity)

 

the hilt should be roughly the length of your forearm. this allows enough space to use both hands (assuming the user is proportioned like a human) and creates the proper angles when the sword is held in a forward stance.

 

the length is roughly the distance from the hand to the users navel when the sword is held at the guard above the head with the point down.

 

if shorter it does not protect the forearms from a direct downward stroke.

if longer, excessively large openings are created when the blade is moved horizontally

 

there are additional considerations for weight and balance with real steel, but the geometry remains the same even when considering weightless blade.