I've been a fan of Star Wars since the original novelization came out before the movie. I was always struck by the description of the lightsaber Obi-Wan gives to Luke:
"He handed Luke a small, innocuous-looking device, which the youth studied with interest.
It consisted primarily of a short, thick handgrip with a couple of small switches set into the grip. Above this small post was a circular metal disk barely larger in diameter than his spread palm. A number of unfamiliar, jewellike components were built into both handle and disk, including what looked like the smallest power cell Luke had ever seen. The reverse side of the disk was polished to a mirror brightness. But it was the power cell that puzzled Luke the most. Whatever the thing was, it required a great deal of energy, according to the rating form of the cell.
Despite the claim that it had belonged to his father, the gizmo looked newly manufactured. Kenobi had obviously kept it carefully. Only a number of minute scratches on the handgrip hinted at previous usage...
...“What is it?” he finally asked, unable despite his best efforts to identify the device.
“Your father’s lightsaber,” Kenobi told him. “At one time they were widely used. Still are, in certain galactic quarters.”
Luke examined the controls on the handle, then tentatively touched a brightly colored button up near the mirrored pommel. Instantly the disk put forth a blue-white beam as thick around as his thumb. It was dense to the point of opacity and a little over a meter in length. It did not fade, but remained as brilliant and intense at its far end as it did next to the disk. Strangely, Luke felt no heat from it, though he was very careful not to touch it. He knew what a lightsaber could do, though he had never seen one before. It could drill a hole right through the rock wall of Kenobi’s cave—or through a human being."
This is very different from the Graflex that we all know and (some) love. It sounds a lot closer to Obi-Wan's ANH saber. Now aside from the error that the pommel is the back end of the saber, it sounds interesting. I'm wondering if anyone has built a replica of one or if there's any images of what it would look like.
"He handed Luke a small, innocuous-looking device, which the youth studied with interest.
It consisted primarily of a short, thick handgrip with a couple of small switches set into the grip. Above this small post was a circular metal disk barely larger in diameter than his spread palm. A number of unfamiliar, jewellike components were built into both handle and disk, including what looked like the smallest power cell Luke had ever seen. The reverse side of the disk was polished to a mirror brightness. But it was the power cell that puzzled Luke the most. Whatever the thing was, it required a great deal of energy, according to the rating form of the cell.
Despite the claim that it had belonged to his father, the gizmo looked newly manufactured. Kenobi had obviously kept it carefully. Only a number of minute scratches on the handgrip hinted at previous usage...
...“What is it?” he finally asked, unable despite his best efforts to identify the device.
“Your father’s lightsaber,” Kenobi told him. “At one time they were widely used. Still are, in certain galactic quarters.”
Luke examined the controls on the handle, then tentatively touched a brightly colored button up near the mirrored pommel. Instantly the disk put forth a blue-white beam as thick around as his thumb. It was dense to the point of opacity and a little over a meter in length. It did not fade, but remained as brilliant and intense at its far end as it did next to the disk. Strangely, Luke felt no heat from it, though he was very careful not to touch it. He knew what a lightsaber could do, though he had never seen one before. It could drill a hole right through the rock wall of Kenobi’s cave—or through a human being."
This is very different from the Graflex that we all know and (some) love. It sounds a lot closer to Obi-Wan's ANH saber. Now aside from the error that the pommel is the back end of the saber, it sounds interesting. I'm wondering if anyone has built a replica of one or if there's any images of what it would look like.
