These Fan Lightsabers Are Made Better Than Disney's Own Lightsabers

Lightsabers have been the most renowned piece of material from the Star Wars franchise for the past 40+ years. That trademark weapon has captivated plenty of fans, and they decide which Jedi or Sith model is their favorite, whether it be from Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Rey, Mace Windu, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, or Kylo Ren among others. This has often sparked interesting debates among the fanbase. The best part of owning a lightsaber for personal use is the ability to pretend to be a Jedi or a Sith. But it can come at a price. A hefty but expensive one, to be exact.

In the year 2019, Disney unveiled an experience at Galaxy’s Edge for attendees to make their own custom-made sabers. The user can pick a color for the beam and customize the hilt to his or her own preference. The lightsabers of Star Wars characters can be recreated piece by piece. Fanmade or custom-made can turn out to be beyond the wildest dreams of the Star Wars fan.

On the popular social media application TikTok, there are more and more Star Wars fans showing off their own clightsaber creations with wonderful delight. The hashtag “#lightsaber” on TikTok started trending in early March of 2021, and the hashtag currently has a massive 1.9 billion views on TikTok. It’s an impressive number for a hashtag compared to other social media platforms out there.

Take James Hobson, a Youtuber and former engineer, for instance. He shared a video where he has what he calls, “the first real working lightsaber.” In the video, the saber runs off of compressed liquid propane gas and essentially looks and works like a real lightsaber. The lightsaber can emit and retract a blade of light, while also being powerful enough to cut through titanium. This is reminiscent of Qui-Gon Jinn cutting through metal doors in The Phantom Menace. It’s highly impressive.

His video was shared on TikTok by Guinness World Records, and the clip immediately went viral, garnering nearly 22 million views and igniting a new trend under the hashtag "#lightsaber." Of all the attempts to recreate a lightsaber over the years, Hobson's definitely one of the best ones.

Hobson’s lightsaber is not for sale since it’s the only one that he built, as far as we know. There are plenty of lightsaber options out there, with some accounts that display custom-made sabers being compared to Disney and Lucasfilm sabers.

To make any fan-made hilts, a company called Neopixel is the best bet. The lightsabers tend to glow brighter, with more saturated color, and they also flicker like in the movies. Neopixel models will respond more quickly with sounds, whereas the Disney one lags a bit. These lightsabers are kind of expensive. A typical custom Neopixel lightsaber modeled after Kylo Ren’s weapon, for example, can be bought for $465.97 on Padawan Outpost, doubling what Disney World charges.

Another impressive lightsaber design comes from Starfall Sabers, and they offer hand-crafted lightsabers to make unique hilts. Starfall makes commissions for replicas, and they use synthetic materials to mimic and use the most noticeable detail like textured leather, distressed etching on the metal parts, and a browning tooth, all to create a distressed exterior that fits the overall dragon theme.

The average price for just a base hilt is $695 dollars, and that’s not including the actual weapon with a blade.

The premium lightsabers may be very attractive, but they will break the bank for the average Joe, although the hashtag is not that devoted to realistic replicas of the sabers out there in the world. There are plenty of options for getting tips on DIY lightsabers. They may not be perfect, but the best lightsabers are the ones that are made by hand.

Written By Carlos Rojas

Source(s): Polygon

Syndicated From Culture Slate

Join The Team