Lightsabres: Why so rare?

[Ender]

No, we have contradictory statements; Obi-Wan Kenobi clearly states in the ANH novelization that lightsabres are still in use in some parts of the galaxy. Granted, this may have changed with the advent of the Empire, with Obi-Wan being unaware of the change, but the fact that Obi-Wan knew of places where lightsabres were still in use at some point during his life in the Old Republic directly contradicts the statements put forth in Shadow Hunter. So no, it isn't pointless.

The Maul statement happened 32 years before the Jedi purge. All the lightsabres that are being used could have belonged to Jedi and were kept as collectors items.

Plus there was the Inquisitorium and the Dark Side Adepts. The jedi kept it secret from the public at large, but the Sith still passed it on and people who managed to get their hands on lightsabres kept them.

I see no contradiction.

[Crazy_Vasey]

Obi Wan also talks about a weapon called a "fusion cutter" in the ANH novelisation, have we ever seen that in another source?

[Joe]

Yeah, the fusion cutter can be seen in Dark Forces (the game).

[Crazy_Vasey]

I saw somewhere the other day that dark forces was retroactively tagged as infinities i'll try and track the page down again.

[Master of Ossus]

Obi Wan also talks about a weapon called a "fusion cutter" in the ANH novelisation, have we ever seen that in another source?

In Darth Maul, Shadow Hunter, it was stated that a fusion cutter could cause damage similar to that of a lightsaber, but that it could not be used as a weapon due to its bulk.

[Crazy_Vasey]

I've now found out that it was a mistake on the site...

[Crazy_Vasey]

Obi Wan also talks about a weapon called a "fusion cutter" in the ANH novelisation, have we ever seen that in another source?

In Darth Maul, Shadow Hunter, it was stated that a fusion cutter could cause damage similar to that of a lightsaber, but that it could not be used as a weapon due to its bulk.

ARRRGH WHY DO I NEVER PICK UP ON THESE THINGS

dammit

[Joe]

No, we have contradictory statements; Obi-Wan Kenobi clearly states in the ANH novelization that lightsabres are still in use in some parts of the galaxy. Granted, this may have changed with the advent of the Empire, with Obi-Wan being unaware of the change, but the fact that Obi-Wan knew of places where lightsabres were still in use at some point during his life in the Old Republic directly contradicts the statements put forth in Shadow Hunter. So no, it isn't pointless.

The Maul statement happened 32 years before the Jedi purge. All the lightsabres that are being used could have belonged to Jedi and were kept as collectors items.

Plus there was the Inquisitorium and the Dark Side Adepts. The jedi kept it secret from the public at large, but the Sith still passed it on and people who managed to get their hands on lightsabres kept them.

I see no contradiction.

Obi-Wan said lightsabres were USED, not kept as collector's items. Even if the the many thousands of lightsabres owned by the Jedi were to come into the hands of other beings and be used as weapons, this fairly small amount would not be enough to warrant Obi-Wan making a statement saying that the weapons are in common use elsewhere in the galaxy. For Obi-Wan to say lightsabres are in common use elsewhere in the galaxy, they must be owned in great quantities.

[Darth Yoshi]

Okay, point 1) The force must be used to properly attune the crystal (emphasis mine). Why is that so? Where is that written?

Corran Horn says in I, Jedi that in order for the lightsabre to work properly, the parts must fuse on a molecular level.

[Lagmonster]

Corran Horn says in I, Jedi that in order for the lightsabre to work properly, the parts must fuse on a molecular level.

And they've maintained that the parts could not be fused artificially? This is somewhat of a critical point in a less critical aside to the main point, but there you go.

[une]

maybe they aren't used for religious reasons. the Jedi are basically a religous group with ties in the government. Maybe it's due to some kind of religous respect for the jedi and their weapons that no one uses light sabers. You don't see alot of people who aren't priests wearing that little collar thing do you?

[Darth Yoshi]

Corran Horn says in I, Jedi that in order for the lightsabre to work properly, the parts must fuse on a molecular level.

And they've maintained that the parts could not be fused artificially? This is somewhat of a critical point in a less critical aside to the main point, but there you go.

Not sure. I'd assume that artificially fusing the parts would result in a lower quality construction, liable to blow up in your face. Course, that wouldn't stop laymen from trying.

[Crazy_Vasey]

I've just remembered something. In one of Stackpoles X-Wing books it was insinuated that some people had taken to wearing lightsabres in some type of hero worship of Luke. I think it was one of the X-Wing books anyway.

[Master of Ossus]

It has been stated several times that without extremely precise calibration a lightsaber can fail to function, or even explode. That precision calibration requires a Jedi or a Jedi adept, or similar, to perform. Thus, while the materials are fairly common, they are enormously difficult to construct.

[Anarchist Bunny]

In one of the Young Jedi Knights books a merc(I think it was, long time no since I read it) was using a lightsabre she bought off of a antiques dealer.
OH, and in the Shadow Academy books, they mass produce lightsabers for the dark jedi(the Dark Jedi Master, name escapes me now, picks up a couple to attack the Royal Guards)

[Anarchist Bunny]

In one of the Young Jedi Knights books a merc(I think it was, long time no since I read it) was using a lightsabre she bought off of a antiques dealer.
OH, and in the Shadow Academy books, they mass produce lightsabers for the dark jedi(the Dark Jedi Master, name escapes me now, picks up a couple to attack the Royal Guards)

[Mayhem]

It's probablya combination of reasons really... after all, can you think of anything in society/technology that happens for a single reason??

Reason #1
Social Taboo. The Jedi were such a persuasive and highly regarded influence on the galaxy on a whole that there was undoubtedly a lot of common mythology regarding the order and their tools... including lightsabers. Superstitions don't disspear as a society becomes more advanced, they just change to fit the times.

Reason #2
Difficulty of use. A lightsaber in the hands of a untrained person is a menace to everyone and everything around him/her. To use one with true skill you almost have to be force senstive. As for melee... yes, no-one's gonna block your swing... but if a gammorean using a vibro axe takes an accurate swing at you... you can't actually block that swing either. If you try you just slice through it and the peice you chopped off hits you anyway. For a non-jedi, a force pike is a better option... doubly so when you consider the fact that lightsabers ARE as rare as they are.

Reason #3
Laws. Lightsabers, due to their lethality and undoubtedly due to the influence of the Jedi and the Mythos surrounding them, are probably heavily regulated, quite possibly outlawed completely in many places.

Reason #4
Difficulty of manufacture. While they can undoubtedly be manufactured by machine, such machines are probably expensive as hell, heavily regulated, and generally hard to get a hold of for various reasons. And it takes a Jedi to build one by hand.

There are probably dozens of other reasons, many of them tied to the ones I've already listed. Just keep in mind that ina society as complex, diverse, advanced, and as OLD as SW, reasons for most things are going to be multifaceted.

Anyway, just my 10 cents.

[Master of Ossus]

When has a lightsaber ever been built by a machine?

[Eleas]

Corran Horn says in I, Jedi that in order for the lightsabre to work properly, the parts must fuse on a molecular level.

And they've maintained that the parts could not be fused artificially? This is somewhat of a critical point in a less critical aside to the main point, but there you go.

Not sure. I'd assume that artificially fusing the parts would result in a lower quality construction, liable to blow up in your face. Course, that wouldn't stop laymen from trying.

This is a particularly stupid Stackpoleism. Especially since, given Corran's inability to use Telekinesis, it's not even internally consistent.

[Eleas]

When has a lightsaber ever been built by a machine?

Young Jedi Knights. The Shadow Academy used mass-produced blades, if I recall correctly.

[Master of Ossus]

When has a lightsaber ever been built by a machine?

Young Jedi Knights. The Shadow Academy used mass-produced blades, if I recall correctly.

You're right. Were those machine made, though, or just made on an assembly line of Force-sensitives (or normal Joes with force-sensitives working only the parts they need to make)? I think they're just explained as being mass-produced, so it could still be consistent with the EU.

Incidentally, Corran's use of a cubit zirchonia bugged the hell out of me. It should not have worked, and it was so stupid that I could not believe I was reading it. That is part of why I dislike I, Jedi.

[Enforcer Talen]

course, the jedi that took them down noted the mass produced sabers were of lesser quality. . . but that could have been cuz the dark jedi were on a low budget. they had to steal their fleet, after all.

the djm was called brakiss, I think, and he was a wuss.

[Master of Ossus]

course, the jedi that took them down noted the mass produced sabers were of lesser quality. . . but that could have been cuz the dark jedi were on a low budget. they had to steal their fleet, after all.

the djm was called brakiss, I think, and he was a wuss.

Yes, but the lightsabers were still functional. I think it is possible that they were constructed with force-sensitives at all of the points they needed to be on the assembly line. That would explain everything.

[Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi]

Has anyone said that they could have been banned when th Empire rose? They could have been mass-produced during the Old Republic, but it could have been more challenging for a Padawan to build their own.

[Master of Ossus]

According to ALL of the books on the subject (which is supported circumstantially by canon), all of the Jedi build their own lightsabers as one of their tests while training to become Jedi Knights. I have always assumed that the majority of the OR lightsabers were destroyed with the holocrons during the Purge.