Are Lightsabers Heavy?

HK47isLife
233 posts Member
edited August 2022
Have you ever wondered what a Lightsaber would feel like? Would it be heavy? Perhaps it's weightless? Hopefully, this short video will answer the age old question for you!
Any feedback is appreciated :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRcdZIXmuqA

Here is a quick written summary of the video for those who don't want to watch. (The video includes a lot more information)

'When the saber is ignited, it emits a strong torque force, which tries to establish a gyroscopically stable position. The blade will try to Rotate itself, kind of making it seem like it has a life of its own. This would at first be an extremely odd feeling. It would make the Lightsaber feel heavy, with the blade itself trying to reposition the user’s wrist. Force users who have connected with the crystal within, are able to negate this torque with force itself. Making the lightsaber feel almost weightless. But for non-force users and Young Jedi who are beginning to use lightsabers, they would have to use two hands to effectively and precisely control it"
Post edited by crzydroid on

Replies

  • crzydroid
    7252 posts Moderator
    Should be in Off Topic.
  • ShaolinPunk
    3486 posts Moderator
    Moved to Off Topic. Hi @HK47isLife! Sweet video, my friend.
    **Please tag me (@ShaolinPunk) if you need assistance.** My Collection. . My Poll.. Ally Code: 332-622-913 Discord: shaolin_punk#2107
  • HK47isLife
    233 posts Member
    edited August 2017
    Moved to Off Topic. Hi @HK47isLife! Sweet video, my friend.

    NOOOOO It has been put into no mans land :(
    Thanks Shaolin, how's things?
  • "Heavy enough to break the ice" :sunglasses:

    Boom, perfect pickup line at a Comic Con.
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  • Ya they are in season one of star wars the clone wars senator padma (auto correct) anakin said that light saver is his life and let her hold it she says MAN that way heavier than I thought.
  • Ghoatabyte wrote: »
    Ya they are in season one of star wars the clone wars senator padma (auto correct) anakin said that light saver is his life and let her hold it she says MAN that way heavier than I thought.

    Did you watch the video?
  • Ender22
    1194 posts Member
    Interesting about the gyroscopic force. That incurrs "weight". Shoot, I feel like the blade should be quite heavy. Perhaps equivalent to a long sword.
  • Errm... it's a LIGHT-saber, the blade should be virtually weightless. That's why they can make such sharp twists and flicks.
    Proud and Belgian officer of [DTA] BIER DTA | official Lando Calrissian fanboy KappaPride
  • Ender22
    1194 posts Member
    edited August 2017
    Errm... it's a LIGHT-saber, the blade should be virtually weightless. That's why they can make such sharp twists and flicks.

    Did you watch the video? Apparently the projected energy (light), is contained by a gyroscopic force, so, weight. Have you held a gyroscope and tried to wave it around in the air? It's heavier than it seems
  • No.
    Still, the weight/gyroscopic force should be in the hilt, not the blade.
    Proud and Belgian officer of [DTA] BIER DTA | official Lando Calrissian fanboy KappaPride
  • Ender22
    1194 posts Member
    Didn't ask if the blade was heavy, if the whole unit/system is heavy. Twisting gyroscopes is where the weight is at, it'd seem like it was the blade causing the weight
  • I think they discuss this in an episode of Rebels, when Kanan is teaching Sabine how to wield the Mandalorian Darksaber. According to the story, the blade does not have a lot of mass, but it does have a lot of momentum, and it takes a lot of force to change momentum, so the weapon feels heavy when wielding it.
  • Ender22
    1194 posts Member
    Yup, angular momentum causes torque, requires torque to move it.
  • Boo
    4134 posts Member
    Lucas when he first created the lightsaber mimicked the old samurai sword fighting in proper fight stance positions and being sure of their movements with a two handed grip. He explained that sabers emit a strong amount of power and are heavy to control and move.

    When the ESB came along, they realized that this "style" of fighting was essentially boring. They changed the fighting style to one handed grip as seen by both Luke and Vader - but mainly Vader. This continued into ROTJ.

    When the PT came along, choreography had developed to the point of quick fast paced movements. In order to make the Jedi and lightsabers more interesting. Jedi were seen flipping sabers in their hands and moved very fast with precision and skill.

    But why the difference in styles - why so slow initially - how does Lucas explain this away now?

    He went on to say that the training of lightsaber combat diminished after the fall of the Jedi, Luke is not as precise as a fully trained Jedi back in the day.

    But what about Vader - why is he slow? Lucas explained his suite was limiting.

    But what about Old Ben? Lucas went on to explain the he was simply old. - This makes 0 sense - look at Dooku, he was older than Ben Kenobi and moved better than young Kenobi or Anakin!!!

    Lucas then went on to explain about different lightsaber forms of fighting and the fans all seemed to eat that up and except it.

    At the end of the day - lightsabers are not heavy, and if they are, then it was the skill of the jedi that knew how to control it.
  • I think they discuss this in an episode of Rebels, when Kanan is teaching Sabine how to wield the Mandalorian Darksaber. According to the story, the blade does not have a lot of mass, but it does have a lot of momentum, and it takes a lot of force to change momentum, so the weapon feels heavy when wielding it.

    If you watch the video, the discussion is based completely around this.
  • HK47isLife
    233 posts Member
    edited August 2017
    Ender22 wrote: »
    Errm... it's a LIGHT-saber, the blade should be virtually weightless. That's why they can make such sharp twists and flicks.

    Did you watch the video? Apparently the projected energy (light), is contained by a gyroscopic force, so, weight. Have you held a gyroscope and tried to wave it around in the air? It's heavier than it seems

    It's the most logical theory to me :D
  • interesting. i always's thought they were weightless
  • Boo
    4134 posts Member
    interesting. i always's thought they were weightless

    They should be weightless - it's light! The only thing that should be "heavy" about it, scientifically, is the hilt with all the components that go into it.
  • Boo
    4134 posts Member
    Here's another one:

    Should a lightsaber have a shadow?
  • Ender22
    1194 posts Member
    Boo wrote: »
    Here's another one:

    Should a lightsaber have a shadow?

    Huh. Do they show shadows in the movies? Cuz wow, lightsabers, in my strong opinion, shouldn't have shadows
  • Ztyle
    1970 posts Member
    Boo wrote: »
    Here's another one:

    Should a lightsaber have a shadow?

    Absolutely not as they emitting light, however they can create something that looks like a shadow as they don't emit white light but only selected colors, except for Ahsoka's white blades
    Dark sabers however should create a very noticeable shadow as they absorbs the light hitting them
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  • Ender22
    1194 posts Member
    Interesting, I suppose the light emitted may indeed be lesser than the light from the sun, therefor a shadow will be created
  • Ztyle
    1970 posts Member
    Ender22 wrote: »
    Interesting, I suppose the light emitted may indeed be lesser than the light from the sun, therefor a shadow will be created

    That depends on your point of view what a shadow is, if you mean that a shadow is the blocking of a light source, then yes light sabers are creating shadows
    But if you mean a shadow is an area where only reflected light is the light source, then light sabers don't have a shadow
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  • lewisduncan12
    1 posts Member
    edited September 2021
    For Americans, five kilos is roughly 11 pounds, meaning a lightsaber is much heavier than it looks. In the Vogue piece, Ridley called this her “lightsaber workout,” but the heft of the lightsaber also nicely parallels the weightiness of the “real” lightsaber in that galaxy far, far away. In the original trilogy, the swordsman responsible for choreographing all the lightsaber fights was named Bob Anderson. Because of his background in traditional swordsmanship, Anderson crafted all the original duels to resemble the kinds of sword fights that would occur with tactile, metal blades at this website https://ziasabers.com/. This is why in the original three films, no one handles a lightsaber one-handed, save for Darth Vader on very rare occasions.
  • Xcien
    2436 posts Member
    For Americans, five kilos is roughly 11 pounds, meaning a lightsaber is much heavier than it looks. In the Vogue piece, Ridley called this her “lightsaber workout,” but the heft of the lightsaber also nicely parallels the weightiness of the “real” lightsaber in that galaxy far, far away. In the original trilogy, the swordsman responsible for choreographing all the lightsaber fights was named Bob Anderson. Because of his background in traditional swordsmanship, Anderson crafted all the original duels to resemble the kinds of sword fights that would occur with tactile, metal blades at this website https://ziasabers.com/. This is why in the original three films, no one handles a lightsaber one-handed, save for Darth Vader on very rare occasions.

    This is the worst necro I’ve ever seen. It’s a post from 5 years ago. How do people find these?
    I've found this whole experience to be very enlightening.

    Thank you for evaluating. Your feedback is appreciated.
  • Xcien wrote: »
    For Americans, five kilos is roughly 11 pounds, meaning a lightsaber is much heavier than it looks. In the Vogue piece, Ridley called this her “lightsaber workout,” but the heft of the lightsaber also nicely parallels the weightiness of the “real” lightsaber in that galaxy far, far away. In the original trilogy, the swordsman responsible for choreographing all the lightsaber fights was named Bob Anderson. Because of his background in traditional swordsmanship, Anderson crafted all the original duels to resemble the kinds of sword fights that would occur with tactile, metal blades at this website https://ziasabers.com/. This is why in the original three films, no one handles a lightsaber one-handed, save for Darth Vader on very rare occasions.

    This is the worst necro I’ve ever seen. It’s a post from 5 years ago. How do people find these?

    Not the worst I’VE seen. There was one for January 2016.
    How does ANYONE find these?
  • Marty McFly would probably say they're heavy.
  • Xcien wrote: »
    For Americans, five kilos is roughly 11 pounds, meaning a lightsaber is much heavier than it looks. In the Vogue piece, Ridley called this her “lightsaber workout,” but the heft of the lightsaber also nicely parallels the weightiness of the “real” lightsaber in that galaxy far, far away. In the original trilogy, the swordsman responsible for choreographing all the lightsaber fights was named Bob Anderson. Because of his background in traditional swordsmanship, Anderson crafted all the original duels to resemble the kinds of sword fights that would occur with tactile, metal blades at this website https://ziasabers.com/. This is why in the original three films, no one handles a lightsaber one-handed, save for Darth Vader on very rare occasions.

    This is the worst necro I’ve ever seen. It’s a post from 5 years ago. How do people find these?

    Not the worst I’VE seen. There was one for January 2016.
    How does ANYONE find these?

    The only answer I can think of is Google search for a certain topic and the thread is what pops up.
  • Blubcop wrote: »
    Xcien wrote: »
    For Americans, five kilos is roughly 11 pounds, meaning a lightsaber is much heavier than it looks. In the Vogue piece, Ridley called this her “lightsaber workout,” but the heft of the lightsaber also nicely parallels the weightiness of the “real” lightsaber in that galaxy far, far away. In the original trilogy, the swordsman responsible for choreographing all the lightsaber fights was named Bob Anderson. Because of his background in traditional swordsmanship, Anderson crafted all the original duels to resemble the kinds of sword fights that would occur with tactile, metal blades at this website https://ziasabers.com/. This is why in the original three films, no one handles a lightsaber one-handed, save for Darth Vader on very rare occasions.

    This is the worst necro I’ve ever seen. It’s a post from 5 years ago. How do people find these?

    Not the worst I’VE seen. There was one for January 2016.
    How does ANYONE find these?

    The only answer I can think of is Google search for a certain topic and the thread is what pops up.

    This. I found a bunch like this. I just don't necro.
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