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I've mentioned this before as a point of annoyance with both RotS and RotJ, but I thought I'd mention it here and see if it's worth exploring. In the lightsabre duel with General Grievous, one of Grievous' lightsabres is clearly identical to Obi-Wan Kenboi's, one is clearly identical to Anakin Skywalker's, and one is I'm sure one of the "backup" weapons that the Jedi threw to Obi-Wan and Anakin in the arena in AotC.

There's also the fact that Luke has a very similar lightsabre to Obi-Wan's in RotJ (stated to be so because of respect for Obi-Wan- even though this rubs me the wrong way since it looks completely different from Anakin's and he wouldn't be nearly as used to its design- sentimentality over practicality).

Now, with General Grievous, I chalk it up to pure lazyness on the part of the animators/artists or whoever's responsible- but should we assume that a Jedi constructs his lightsabre from pre-made parts that differ in minor details and can be "mixed and matched"? Or just chalk it up as lazyness and stick with the unique lightsabre for each Jedi thing (for which there is plenty of evidence).

Grievous didn't build his own. He apparently collected them from dead jedi. Now presumably, he kept the ones he took from Obi-wan and Anakin on the invisible hand. The 'backup' lightsaber might be a more common model, a sort of generic saber, as opposed to a jedi's personalized custom-made.

LaserRifleofDoom wrote:Grievous didn't build his own.

I didn't say he did.

He apparently collected them from dead jedi.

Exactly. So why are these dead Jedi lightsabres the same as Obi-Wan and Anakin's?

Now presumably, he kept the ones he took from Obi-wan and Anakin on the invisible hand.

Did you miss where Anakin and Obi-Wan got their lightsabres back mere seconds after he took them? How else do you think they fought their way out of that?

Anakin and Obi-Wan have been fighting for years and both of them have lost lightsabers in the past. They maybe using lightsabers built from standard parts just because they need one fast and don't plan on getting attatched to it.

Is it possible that there are standard casings for lightsabers?

I imagine that while the trials to Knighthood involve constructing your own lightsaber which presumably includes locating certain parts yourself (particularly the crystal), it doesn't include actually stamping/forging/molding the casing yourself. Now, while some Jedi usee their own casings, I suppose there must be a "standard" casing that the Jedi Order provides.

Thus, it could be that those Jedi that GG had slain were using standard casings, as were Obi-Wan and Anakin.

To expand a bit on what Cykeisme wrote. As Bob Brown pointed out on his website, the lightsabres in TPM were different in style from those seen in the OT. It's possible that the Clone Wars led to some standardization of lightsabre components due to a high rate of destroyed or lost lightsabres.

Too many Jedi lost lightsabers to be able to spend the time to customize their own in the middle of a war. THey just used standard lightsabers. Kinda like when the Shadow Academy mass-produced lightsabers for its dark jedi.

On another note, you know what they say - imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.

Kenobi & Skywalker are the most readily-recognised, easily-glamourised Jedi team of the current day, having been through countless escapades throughout the years as fate dealt its hand, and I'd imagine that out of ten thousand or so Jedi by the time of AotC, and still a good few by the time of RotS, there were a few starry-eyed padawans who looked up to them as heroes and role models to a considerable degree. What better way to look up to them and eventually become just like them than by modelling your saber after their own?

Bullshit theory, but you never know...

I thought the fact that Grievous uses the saber hilts of Obi-wan, Anakin, and Palpatine was merely an easter egg?

Well that gets into the thorny issue of whether or not "easter eggs" are canon... consult the holocron I guess!

Yes, easter eggs are cannon. For example;

"I have a bad feeling about this..." is in every episode

There is a Gallofree Transport (the one the rebels left hoth with) in every episode (if you use the remake of Episode 4-A New Hope)

don't know of any others.

Really? Where are the ones in TPM, AotC, and RotS?

Trooper TK12746 wrote:Really? Where are the ones in TPM, AotC, and RotS?

There's a couple of TIEs chasing an X-Wing during the speeder chase in AOTC.

Oh, and in AOTC you see Anakin and Obi-wan get tossed new lighsabers during the arena battle. Those were probably standard ones.

you can also see ET as a senator in AOTC.

Sharpshooter dont hit urself i believe that is highly likely.

There probably has always been a basic "starting kit" for jedi padawans, now if their eager to just have the lightsaber thier probably not going to do much customization, not that it is said they can customize their lightsabers not that they will. and still just cause they look the same doesnt mean they are, you have to pull them out together and look at them close up to see small differences.

According to I, Jedi the jedi ritual for building a lightsaber takes a month od meditation and practice, though i may be wrong about the time yet there is a yechnique for emergancies that cuts it to a day or 2. The GR can't afford to lose it's Armies Generals every time s/he breakes or loses his sword so they speed this process up even more by providing standardised parts. That my theory anyway.

Lord Pounder wrote:According to I, Jedi the jedi ritual for building a lightsaber takes a month od meditation and practice, though i may be wrong about the time yet there is a yechnique for emergancies that cuts it to a day or 2. The GR can't afford to lose it's Armies Generals every time s/he breakes or loses his sword so they speed this process up even more by providing standardised parts. That my theory anyway.

Bingo, Corran mentions how the great Jedi masters used the technique in time's of war or pressing danger for rapid construction with basic "everyday" components.

I really dislike the EU brainbug that use of the Force is somehow required to build a lightsaber. Why can't it just be a piece of technology the Jedi find really useful in their line of work? I mean did every medieval Knight build their own sword, or every Samurai build their own sword? Was either part of their training? Oh well...

Kurgan wrote:I really dislike the EU brainbug that use of the Force is somehow required to build a lightsaber. Why can't it just be a piece of technology the Jedi find really useful in their line of work? I mean did every medieval Knight build their own sword, or every Samurai build their own sword? Was either part of their training? Oh well...

He doesnt say that using the force is essential to building a lightsaber, just that it wouldnt perform at a level beyond mere technology without it.
The force enhances the sabers performance.

Anja Gallandro from the YJK series uses a saber without being force sensitive although she didnt build it.

The Force is required to use a lightsaber competantly enough to make it better than weilding a blaster.

Was there really once a silver lightsaber?

Battlehymn Republic wrote:Was there really once a silver lightsaber?

In the Knights of the old republic games there was, not sure if it's a canon colour

the .303 bookworm wrote:

Battlehymn Republic wrote:Was there really once a silver lightsaber?

In the Knights of the old republic games there was, not sure if it's a canon colour

How does one detremine if its a canon color? Really?

I'm still sticking by my theroy that most of the non blue and green crystals have been mined off Ilum by the time of the PT, and the Jedi just dont look elsewhere like older and newer generations did.

Battlehymn Republic wrote:Was there really once a silver lightsaber?

Yup, uses hyperexpensive durindfire gems. Using them appears to be a tradition in the Horn/Halcyon family line.

Kurgan wrote:I really dislike the EU brainbug that use of the Force is somehow required to build a lightsaber. Why can't it just be a piece of technology the Jedi find really useful in their line of work? I mean did every medieval Knight build their own sword, or every Samurai build their own sword? Was either part of their training? Oh well...

The explanation is that using the Force is used for placing the parts just right to maximize efficiency. The precision offered is supposed to be greater than what machines can use. There's probably use of precognition and such to tune things to compensate for imperfections in the gems and other materials for peak performance, whereas a machine would have to play it safe and deal with a margin of error and expect standardized performance.

Once the lightsaber is built, anyone can use it.

Mad wrote:

Kurgan wrote:I really dislike the EU brainbug that use of the Force is somehow required to build a lightsaber. Why can't it just be a piece of technology the Jedi find really useful in their line of work? I mean did every medieval Knight build their own sword, or every Samurai build their own sword? Was either part of their training? Oh well...

The explanation is that using the Force is used for placing the parts just right to maximize efficiency. The precision offered is supposed to be greater than what machines can use. There's probably use of precognition and such to tune things to compensate for imperfections in the gems and other materials for peak performance, whereas a machine would have to play it safe and deal with a margin of error and expect standardized performance.

Once the lightsaber is built, anyone can use it.

I read that part of the lightsaber construction is fusing the components together at such a level that there is almost no resistance, and that the saber only uses a significant ammount of energy when it touches other objects, but I got that off of wiki so its not entirely reliable.