Lightsabres- standard models?

[Mad]

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.

That also sounds familiar. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost my copy of I, Jedi so I can't confirm it. (Note to self: be careful who you let borrow your books.)

[DPDarkPrimus]

I recall from one of the Essential Guides (can't remember which) the mentioning of lightsabers only expending energy when they came in contact with something. So it's a reliable statement.

[GeneralTacticus]

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.

According to the Star Wars Visual Dictionary (page 6):

A lightsabre must be assembled by hand, as there is no exact formula for the crucial alignment of the irregular crystals. The slightest misalignment will cause the weapon to detonate on activation.

Emphasis mine.

Also on page 6:

Building a working lightsabre is one of the threshold tests for Jedi initiates: accomplishing the impossibly fine alignment task proves their Force sensitivity.

Again, emphasis mine.

This may be contradicted by other sources; I just though I'd throw that out there.

[The Grim Squeaker]

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.

According to the Star Wars Visual Dictionary (page 6):

A lightsabre must be assembled by hand, as there is no exact formula for the crucial alignment of the irregular crystals. The slightest misalignment will cause the weapon to detonate on activation.

Emphasis mine.

Also on page 6:

Building a working lightsabre is one of the threshold tests for Jedi initiates: accomplishing the impossibly fine alignment task proves their Force sensitivity.

Again, emphasis mine.

This may be contradicted by other sources; I just though I'd throw that out there.

So?, he said use not build

[GeneralTacticus]

That was in response to his statements about the Force only being required to make high-quality lightsabres. According to the VD, you need to be Force-sensitive to create a lightsabre at all.

[Trooper TK12746]

It is very hard for anyone other than a trained force user to handle a lightsaber effectively. Even Corran Horn, powerful forceuser, couldn't weild one effectively until he began training as a Jedi. A non force user would cut their arm off, unless they have loads of cybernetic implants like Grevious.