Ergonomic lightsaber

Paul Andrew

Paul Andrew

Master Member
Has anyone ever put any thought into designing a more ergonomic lightsaber? I look at my collection and can't help but think most of these hilts have weird grip sections that are too short to be held any way except one handed (comfortably), or have hard grooves and big control boxes that stick out in weird ways that probably make it difficult to handle for extended periods.

What would a "comfortable" lightsaber look like? A lengthy, rubberized grip section? Buttons and controls placed near the emitter? I dunno. Could it still look right, or cool?
 
I thought about doing something like that with a fitted grip years ago, but I always come to the same conclusion. If you have a grip fitted to your hand, it would make it harder to adjust your grip while you were fighting with it. It would only be perfectly fitted to a grip in a certain position. It would get in the way while dueling. Sort of like how they had dueling lightsaber props for the Prequels that didn't have any protrusions like the knobs/control boxes on the hero versions.

I think something like Dooku's lightsaber with flush fit rubber or leather would probably be the most comfortable.
 
Paul Andrew said:
Has anyone ever put any thought into designing a more ergonomic lightsaber? I look at my collection and can't help but think most of these hilts have weird grip sections that are too short to be held any way except one handed (comfortably), or have hard grooves and big control boxes that stick out in weird ways that probably make it difficult to handle for extended periods.

What would a "comfortable" lightsaber look like? A lengthy, rubberized grip section? Buttons and controls placed near the emitter? I dunno. Could it still look right, or cool?
Click to expand...

Evidently, take those hilts and wrap them in copious amounts of Gaffers Tape and you have all the comfort anyone may need for dueling…

02D5FA33-B027-4C51-B83F-6E0097CC5953.jpeg
 
There's some comfy lightsabers. Vader's is not very comfortable at all, so that's why you wear gloves! Luke's is much easier to handle by comparison.

Mace Windu's is very comfortable. So is Darth Maul's. Qui-Gon's is okay, but the activation button sticks out making it easy to switch off the blade by accident.

I imagine Revan's KotOR saber (not the pointy one from SWToR) would be very comfortable and easy to use (depending on button placement) as it's very smooth and has and exceedingly basic design. Same for Bastila's double, as it was essentially just two of those stuck together with very minor differences.
 
OddballFett said:
There's some comfy lightsabers. Vader's is not very comfortable at all, so that's why you wear gloves! Luke's is much easier to handle by comparison.

Mace Windu's is very comfortable. So is Darth Maul's. Qui-Gon's is okay, but the activation button sticks out making it easy to switch off the blade by accident.

I imagine Revan's KotOR saber (not the pointy one from SWToR) would be very comfortable and easy to use (depending on button placement) as it's very smooth and has and exceedingly basic design. Same for Bastila's double, as it was essentially just two of those stuck together with very minor differences.
Click to expand...
Most of the clan hilts are fairly smooth.
 
Pretty much most of the OT hilts fall into the category of better looking than actually wielding as a weapon with large camera clamps and levers digging into one’s hand and hard plastic T-Tracks not providing the softest of grip surfaces.

Dooku’s seemed to be the most ergonomic of any of the hilts seen, thus far.
 
I think Mace Windu's gold and black lightsaber looked pretty comfortable. I think Qui Gon Ginn's is pretty ergonomic too... if you make the black disks out of rubber.

The Original Trilogy ones were found objects so I think they cobbled them together in the first movie and then were kind of stuck with the general design. The first opportunity to do a custom design was Luke's lightsaber, and they ended up constrained by the Obi Wan Kenobi stunt saber they used for some of the filming.

I have definitely seen some nice original designs on here that are more ergonomic too.
 
ALLEY said:
Pretty much most of the OT hilts fall into the category of better looking than actually wielding as a weapon with large camera clamps and levers digging into one’s hand and hard plastic T-Tracks not providing the softest of grip surfaces.

Dooku’s seemed to be the most ergonomic of any of the hilts seen, thus far.
Click to expand...
I thought the T-tracks were rubber? I read somewhere that the original (?) ones were wiper blades. If so, the rubber ridges would give you a much better grip than just smooth metal would, especially if your hands become... wet. ;)
 
GreyGuard38 said:
I thought the T-tracks were rubber? I read somewhere that the original (?) ones were wiper blades. If so, the rubber ridges would give you a much better grip than just smooth metal would, especially if your hands become... wet. ;)
Click to expand...

That was the original thought going back probably into the 80s. But within the last 15 or 20 years, evidence has grown that they were actually plastic tracking for cabinet sliding doors. At least that is what I think is the current theory.
 
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I was a skier for decades. I've also been trained in various kinds of swordfighting... That grip would work for something like a parrying dagger ("main gauche") where you don't need to change the grip much, but for a lightsaber, with one and two-handed grip, spinning, changing hands, etc. like they show in the movies- that simply would NOT work.
 
I used to own the old no-longer-canon Leia Lightsaber like the one pictured here…

Star Wars custom lightsabers Leia Organa Lightsaber: The Last Command replica prop weapon

Made by a friend of mine, this lightsaber is the epitome of elegance. It was recreated from drawings in the graphic novel of the Last Command, and is a beautiful 3D representation of the 2D drawing. ...
www.yourprops.com www.yourprops.com

…and it felt really comfortable to hold.

Similar to my Kyle Katarn (Qu Rahn's) lightsaber from Dark Forces.
starwars.fandom.com

Qu Rahn's lightsaber

This green-bladed lightsaber was created by Jedi Master Qu Rahn. He passed it on to Morgan Katarn, who in turn gave it to his son, Kyle Katarn, who used it in his duel with the Dark Jedi Yun, Gorc, Pic, and Maw. It was later destroyed by Boc Aseca. The lightsaber had a cylindrical hilt is...
starwars.fandom.com starwars.fandom.com

For me, it was the narrow grip design that made it feel comfortable.
 

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