Complete Buying Guide about Lightsabers and its Types

Let’s talk about the core features real lightsabers must include so that you do not get conned into buying a fake one.Fake lightsabers often have several issues compared to a high quality replica available in the market. Many fake lightsabers, especially versions that are low quality, are not built for heavy blows and long-term use. They can easily break or be destroyed if they are used for intense dueling. Aside from that, different lightsabers made from poor quality materials, may have sharp edges or brittle parts, which may present a hazard. The real lightsabers are simply the closest replicas made from every minute detail of the lightsabers shown in the star war series, movies or anime.

Lightsabers are similar to sword like weapons which consist of plasma beam and hilt when you have it activated for the battle. The authentic lightsabers have these hilts and blades which also have capability of lighting up when it is activated.

You can have this color customized as per your preference or choice. The real ones will also include the sound effects like humming, crackle sound when one lightsaber hits another etc. to ensure the closest version of lightsabers.

One key point to remember when shopping for the lightsabers is to remember that there stands nothing like the best lightsaber in the whole world. There stands an ideal option which is often relying on what you want and the budget you have. Therefore, if your lightsaber consists of the basic features then it is already the best one!

Things you should consider when buying a lightsaber

These lightsabers were a unique invention on their own and a signature weapon of a very popular series and movies which made sure that it is loved by everyone. One more attraction to these lightsabers is the usage of these swords. How they are capable of cutting, melting and burning various materials without any hindrance. Therefore, you will come across an unlimited variety of lightsabers in the market. To ease the buying process, we have listed down the features which you must know before buying.

Blade Lights:

The lightsabers must include visual effects. However, the visuals of the lightsaber are made a little shaky which allows the sword to look as if it is vibrating. The added sound effects complement these visuals and bring out authenticity in the light sabers. Some of the blades can even permit you to change the colors. If the blade is of high quality, it will allow a smooth transition from blue to red. Therefore, different colored lightsabers or lightsabers including the switching light feature are superior.

Sound Effects:

If you check the basics of the lightsabers, all of them must include the sound effects which include the buzzing, sparkling sound which complements the humming of the projector motor. However, different blades have unique sound properties therefore you must look for the blade which offers the closest sound effects, huing and if possible, include the motor sensor controlled sounds.

Power Options:

Usually, the lightsabers are powered by batteries and the common battery in market for these are AA batteries. You may find this included in the package or will have to buy these. It is obvious that without power, the sword will be incapable to perform even the basic functions Therefore, when looking at the features for buying, it is vital to consider the power saving abilities offered by various lightsabers.

Design:

One more key point to adhere to while buying a lightsaber is the design. Over here, we are talking about the nature and appearance of the hilt. Usually, in the market you will come across plastic or metallic hilt. When you are looking for a lightsaber which has a plastic handle, make sure that it has the strength to hold up in intense cosplay battles. You must also go for the light sabers which ensures the hilt to look and feel like a real weapon.

TYPES OF LIGHTSABERS- STAR WARS:

To offer the customers with the best lightsabers, here are the lightsabers from Star Wars we offer:

The Phantom Menace

Lightsabers are represented as hand built as part of a Jedi or Sith’s training program. The first ever movie appearance of a dual-bladed lightsaber was in The Phantom Menace (initially depicted in the comic series known as Tales of the Jedi). They were formed after merging two regular swords, the blades stand independent of one another, and one can be used without activating the other, or can be divided into dual lightsabers.

Lightsaber Piker

In the video game called, ‘The Force Unleashed’ introduced two more variants which are known as, a lightsaber piker (a lightsaber with a smaller blade but a larger handle, somewhat resembling to a shape of spear) and a Tonfa-style lightsaber having a right-angle hilt. Count Dooku uses a regular lightsaber with a curved hilt.

Hybrid Lightsaber

The Star Wars extended universe includes multiple lightsaber types which include short lightsabers and dual-phase weapons (these can be doubled in width or length). In the movie Star War Rebels, Ezra Bridger’s personal lightsaber is a hybrid sword which features a completely functional blaster pistol incorporated in the handle.

Double bladed Saber

Next in The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren owns and utilizes the lightsaber which features two crosshill blades which brings out a unique and exquisite look of a great sword. The sword had a fiery and flickering appearance which was detailed in canon reference books in the following words, “… as stemming from a cracked kyber crystal…” The inquisitors of the Galactic Empire are depicted as practicing a distinct type of a double-bladed saber, fixed on the top of a rotating ring allowing the blades to rotate completely 360 degrees and giving edge in short-term flight capability.

Lightwhip and its variations

More ambiguous lightsaber types like the “lightwhip” which is a long and flexible blade utilized in a matter similar to a whip. Next up is the “lightclub” which is an enlarged but a traditional lightsaber and last one in the list is the “shoto”, a dramatically shorter variation often combined with a standard sized saber, which have also appeared several times.

We will now look at the most recent and advanced types of the lightsabers available in market which you can get your hands on:

Neopixel Lightsabers

At times they are referred as Plecter Pixel Sabers or if simply put Pixel Saber. They are the most technologically advanced and realistic lightsabers present in the lightsaber market today. The Neopixel lightsabers are always brighter in color and propose RGB colors, varying customization along with vast customizable effects.

Proffie NeoPixel

The proffie neopixel comes under the neopixel lightsaber category. They are horses of different colors and are available with config which highlights multiple proffie features. It allows functions like melting effect where the tip glows, localized flash on clash etc. They are also moddable and programmable. The program running it is open source and extremely popular to allow the users to alter the sound effects, blade styles effects opening up endless possibilities.

Eco Sabers

The eco sabers are available moderately charged and in deep sleep. To activate the saber out of the deep sleep mood, you have to hold the activation switch for approximately 6 seconds until the audio cue will play. Once it is out of the deep sleep, the power LED will light up. Finally, to activate the blade, you will have to press the activation switch. It is also a subcategory of Neopixel with advanced and realistic features.

The traditional classification and types of the lightsabers are discussed below.

COLORS:

We are now moving on to the colors of the lightsabers and their history and symbolization. In the first two released movies called, A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, there were blades of blue and red color. Blue was associated with Jedi and ref for the Sith.

In the movie, Attack of the Clones, they displayed Mace Windu’s purple-bladed lightsaber. This was because the actor Samuel L. Jackson stated that purple is his favorite color and therefore, purple blade was utilized for his character, and it also helped in standing out from the other members like Jedi’s lightsaber. Jackson is commonly known to frequently demand the characters he play to use an item which is purple in color. In the movie The Clone Wars portrayed the guardians of the Jedi Temple using the yellow-bladed lightsabers and at the end of The Rise of Skywalker, Rey is shown to have built a gold-bladed lightsaber utilizing part of her staff like the hilt.

As shown in The Clone Wars and Rebels, the builder of a lightsaber selects a kyber crystal and meditates within till the crystal takes over a desired color. This color of the crystal will become the color of the lightsaber when placed into the lightsaber hilt. In one of the books called Star Wars: Ahsoka and the comic series Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith, it is displayed that dark side users eliminate the crystal from a defeated Jedi’s lightsaber and concrete force energy on it to crack its relationship to the light side. This is a process referred to as ‘bleeding’ to make a red crystal. This process can also work backwards, as displayed in Ahsoka, when the titular character does so to a pair of crystals taken from an Inquisitor. She utilizes them at the end of the novel in a pair of white-bladed lightsabers which she manufactures herself.

The Darksaber is a distinguished lightsaber which has a unique black blade along with a white halo. It was introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and also appeared in the Star Wars Rebels. In the later movie, it was described as an ancient lightsaber made by the first Mandalorian to become a Jedi and later it was used to serve as a symbol of Mandalorian authority. It subsequently appears shortly in the hands of Moff Gideon in the finale of season one of The Mandalorian.

Later, by the end of the second series, its ownership was shifted to the series protagonist Din Djarin who beated Gideon for it however, didn’t want it. Therefore, he wishes to turn it over to Bo-Katan, but as Gideon explains, the Darksaber cannot just be given to one another but it must win in a combat.

Some more colors have also been displayed in various other media projects like anime and video games. It was also left on the character’s choice to select their lightsaber color for their character or player. All of these colors are available in lightsabers at our platform.

LIGHTSABER SPECIFICATIONS AND MECHANISM

Elements:

Huyang speaks to the class of Jedi Younglings as follows, “From the Battles of Rashfond, to the Peacekeeping of Parliock, to our very own Clone Wars, the lightsaber is a Jedi's only true ally. But how do they work? Hmm? Yes, you have brought me crystals, but they're all useless unless you give them life.” Likewise, we work to give our customers lightsabers that are full of life with exceptional manufacturing methods.

The lightsabers used in movies drew power from a sufficient-sized power cell. The elements of the lightsaber include energy gate and modulation circuits. Some of the necessary ones include blade emitter shroud, specific kinds of activators to operate the lightsaber and the emitter matrix. Other ingredients included in the lightsaber formation include handgrip ridges and length adjustment equipment.

Some of the lightsabers also include a non-lethal and low-power setting which was needed for training. Most of the single-bladed lightsabers had a belt ring to enable it to hang from a belt hook, or a wheel shaped attachment which slotted into a matching belt clip on the owner’s belt when it was not in use. Specifically designed lightsabers could even use unstable crystals like Kylo Ren’s lightsaber that included two laterally facing vents which are designed to alter the excess energy away from the cracked crystal while maintaining the lightsaber stability.

While assembling the ingredients, it was crucial to not mistakenly invert the emitter matrix; when activated the lightsaber’s power grid would backfire. In some cases, it could cause the blade to quickly short out too but if it was kept on, the fault in the weapon can cause it to violently explode and therefore, killing the people in nearby areas.

Esthetics:

Lightsabers are built with extra care and offer exceptional esthetics. And to make them as close as possible to the original lightsabers described in movies and animas, we take guidance from them.

Hilts are developed with multiple parts which enveloped and safeguarded the internal components. Metal selected for the manufacturing of the hilt included simply alloys to Haysian smelt with a casing made from carving Brylark tree. This tree had wood strong like metal to ensure it is well protected in every way. At times, hilts for some people were even manufactured from gems.

The inlay decorating for the hilt may be manufactured from materials like pastillion ore, black ore or bones of specific creatures like the bones of the Cartusion whale. Every piece of the hilt is ensured to be aesthetically manufactured towards one of the multiple distinct design beliefs, which all were informed by the maker’s choice of materials, elements, ideas and the personal preference of the user.

There was a Jedi Order of the late Galactic Republic. It made use of the four styles like duty and resolve, peace and justice, elemental nature and lastly, valor and wisdom. The first two mentioned were the simple design intended to reflect the Jedi commitment to a life of devotion to the Force and the Order’s ideals. And, the other two made use of the resilient nature materials which originated from flora and fauna to evoke the living force.

The other order is the Sith order which utilized two styles called Passion and Strength and Power and Control. Both of the two styles were characterized by strong and sharp forms which displayed the owner’s brutality, insatiable desire for power and relentlessness.

One more style worthy to talk about is the Protection and Defense. This was favored by the earliest Force users in old times. It included designs and inscriptions along meaning which have become hidden in mystery. However, the style was itself thought to have been made with the intention of conferring anonymity upon and representing the emotional detachment of the wielder who only utilizes the lightsaber for their personal protection and not attacking others.

Cutting Power

"It is heavier than I thought"

"Energy constantly flows through the crystal. You are not fighting with a simple blade as much as you are directing a current of power."

―Sabine Wren and Kanan Jarrus on the Darksaber

One of the best things about the energy blade was its power. It was so intense that it could go strike through everything except a few exceptions. One thing to remember about the wound being received from the lightsaber is that even if a limb has been cut off, it will hardly bleed, which indicates that the wounds barely bled. The reason why the wounds don't bleed a lot is because they are cauterized by the energy blade when the skin comes into contact with the blade, preventing even the severe wounds from bleeding a lot. However, real life lightsabers are made as safe as possible for you.

Lightsaber ―Headstrong Materials

Just like the fictional lightsabers, we offer strong lightsabers which are capable of resisting damage if they come across any obstruction. Apart from this, a few other uncommon materials can withstand the blade of a lightsaber as stated in the Star Wars are as follow:

• Beskar: Only on the planet Mandalore and its moon Concordia, a very rare iron is available, which is used to make uniquely designed steel, for the production of Beskar. Beskar is known to be an uncommon material that can resist the lightsaber's blade. The armor of Din Djarin succeeded in withstanding the blades of Ahsoka Tano's lightsaber. Also, Din Djarin was able to defend against Tano's attack because the beskar team, by Morgan Elsbeth, provided Din Djarin with the magistrate of Calodan. That way, Ahsoka's blades were useless in harming Djarin.
• Cortosis Armor: The armor was made by unique weaving cortosis fibers under a safe matrix. It was designed and produced in a way that was successful in redirecting the energy received from a lightsaber into itself. The stored energy could then be used to withstand the attack of a lightsaber's blade as the blade is forced to shut itself off when it comes into contact with the cortosis armor with the stored energy.
• Zillo Beast: Since the species do not exist anymore, the material, i.e., zillo beast, is extremely rare to find. However, we can include the zillo beast as one of those rare materials that can withstand a lightsaber's blade.
• Personal energy shield: It is made from an uncommon kohlen crystal, which could resist the lightsaber made from kyber crystal. However, if you exchange the kohlen crystal with the kyber crystal in a lightsaber, then that would generate an orange blade, which has a very low power and it could strike through the shields.
• The armor of the Elite Praetorian Guard: This particular armor was also successful in withstanding the strikes of a lightsaber. It was possible because the gauntlets were suitable for averting a lightsaber's strikes forthrightly. But if the strike is straightforward and is more a stab or a deep thrust, then it is possible that it can strike through the armor.

CLASSIFICATION:

Now we will look at the variations of the lightsabers shown in the Star War Series and Anime. These classifications were used to build different kinds of lightsabers for the fandom. There are some new lightsabers also coming up which are inspired by the traditional ones but with unique features and innovation.

• Sith Lightsaber: these lightsabers were owned by the members of Sith. These designs are just like traditional lightsabers but have slight innovation dependent on the user.
• Double-bladed Lightsaber: The double-bladed lightsabers consisted of a hilt which projected a blade from both the ends and therefore, resulting in a fatal staff-like weapon. There are some more classification in the double-bladed lightsaber:
  • Split saber: A split saber comprises the two distinct lightsabers which combine together to form a double-bladed lightsaber.
  • Hinged double-bladed lightsaber: this is a type of a double-bladed lightsaber which has the ability to bend in half. This makes it easier to store when it is not being used.
  • Lightsaber pike: This features two yellow plasma blades on all sides of the staff, lightsaber pikes were mostly used by the Jedi Temple Guards.
  • Double-bladed spinning lightsaber: A double-bladed spinning lightsaber has a blade from all ends of the hilt. But, the hilt had a similar length of the single lightsaber combined with a circular rim which, when activated for use, allows the blade to spin along the track.
• Lightwhip: A lightwhip as the name suggests, had a flexible blade which was multiple meter long and could entangle the opposite party in combat.
• Darksaber: This is a unique but old lightsaber with a black blade which was flattened and molded to appear like a traditional sword instead of the rounded beam of the regular lightsaber.
• Broadsaber: It is a simple lightsaber with a broad flat blade which resembles a traditional sword.
• Lightsaber Pistol: It is a modern variation of the lightsaber which may appear as a regular lightsaber but had a function which allowed it to fire the blaster bolts.
• Dual-Phase lightsaber: the dual-phase lightsabers comprises one or multiple focusing crystals that allow its blade length to be extended or shortened during the middle of the fight or combat.
• Cane lightsaber: It is a traditional lightsaber covered as the head of a cane. During combat, the handle can be detached from the body of the cane and projected and used normally.
• Great lightsaber: This great lightsaber was built specially for the individuals with a giant statue.
• Training Lightsaber: the training lightsaber was carefully manufactured with a consistent low-power setting. This is because they are only made for the purpose of training, teaching and guiding the use of lightsabers and not during real combat.
• Curved Lightsaber: The curved-hilt lightsabers are a special design which features a hilt with a built-in curve. This was mostly done to allow the hilt to adjust better in the palm which facilitated the users to fight with one hand like Form II.
• Shoto Lightsaber: A shoto is a short lightsaber. It is a small length blade and was used as the secondary blade by the users during the dual-blade combat.
  • Guard shoto: the guard shoto is a lightsaber with a hilt perpendicular to the blade which allows the user an unique way for blocking and attacking.
• Crossguard Lightsaber: this one is an ancient design which origins back to the Great Scourge of Malachor. This crossguard lightsaber comprises a traditional blade with two small blades perpendicular to it at the end of the hilt.

You may also come across a type of blaster which is known as a lightsaber rifle that was manufactured to be combined with a lightsaber. To use this, the owner must insert a traditional lightsaber into a slot above the rifle. Once it is loaded, the weapon could fire powerful beams of energy which were highly damaging.

THE LIGHTSABER COMBATS:

Lightsaber combat takes place when two or more rivals use lightsabers or even if one of them is using the lightsaber and others are using some other different bladed weapon and are engaged in a duel. These opponents in the Star Wars series were usually Sith and Jedi. There stand seven most common forms of lightsaber combat seen in Star Wars, anime and other movies featuring lightsabers.

Form I: Shii-Cho is usually considered as one of the basic, traditional forms. It might come across as brutal and aggressive but is very effective.

Form II: Makashi is a very graceful form of combat and is for the skilled duelists. It involves careful and controlled strikes instead of power and strength.

Form III: Soresu is the third form, which is usually believed to have developed in response to the increasing number of the blasters in the galaxy.

Form IV: Ataru is considered as one of the most aggressive forms which relies heavily on Force-dependent acrobatics.

Form V: Anakin Skywalker’s favorite form is the Form V. It was developed by the practitions of the Soresu form who thought there stands a need for more offensive edge.

Form VI: Niman is usually considered as the synthesis of the previous forms. It was the last form to gain acceptance and it focuses on the balance in the forces.

Form VII: Vaapad is s force which allows Jedi to embrace their emotions and utilize them to fuel a relentless assault.

LIGHTSABER REPRESENTATION:

The lightsabers were existent in the earliest drafts as mundane plasma weapons which were utilized along with the laser guns. The establishment of the Force in a later revised version made the Jedi and the Sith extremely skilled; originally they were only shown as swordsmen.

However, later the lightsaber became the force-user’s tool which was described in A New Hope written by Obi-Wan Kenobi in following words “not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.” The lightsaber is powered by the Kyber Crystal. These crystals are also utilized as the power source of the Death Star’s super laser.

In movies like Revenge of the Sith and The Last Jedi, melee weapons like the electro staff and plasma-lined blades redirect lightsabers. You will come across lightsabers in many movies apart from the popular star war series which include star crash, clone wars, evolution: lightsaber duel etc.

Anime is the one more dimension where you can find different forms of lightsabers. The anime which has portrayed unique lightsabers include The Gundam Franchise, Tenchi Muyo, Lost Universe, Yu Yu Hakusho etc. These shows portrayed even more variation in lightsabers which not only attracted the users but also, expanded the variety while shopping for the lightsabers.

Final Verdict-The lightsaber that should be yours!

Choosing a lightsaber for purchase can be an exciting yet conflicted choice, especially if you’re a deeply involved fan. Customers tend to choose different lightsabers for a variety of reasons. Some go for aesthetically pleasing choices, some go for exact replicas to stay true to source material, and some make the choice based on build quality and features.

If you are a Star War fan or any anime fan and wish to get your hands on the lightsaber. Here is everything you must know to ensure that you choose the right lightsaber for yourself. Because of the vast variation in lightsabers, you may get confused in which to get but if you walk by the basics, you can find the right one for you easily at possible prices.