Author’s comment: Ideally, when I am finally a knight some day in the future I will put this work into holocron form.
Preface:
Dedicated to my best friend Iradtoki: Consular, healer, and gentle soul. Without her help I never would have gotten interested in this fascinating craft.
Why put a work like this together?
Making a light saber is a complicated process and there isn’t much information out there about how. I will not spoil for you the entire pursuit but I feel like some pointers and tips would be helpful for those who are attempting to understand the craft better.
These things are completely shrouded in far too much obtuse mystery. This is my answer to that.
May the force be with you and also may you experience some of the joy in this craft which I know I do.
http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2015/05/Lightsaber-interior.jpg
I. Introduction:
The weapon of Jedi and Sith is more than just a weapon. It is also a symbol much as the scepter of a magistrate or a policeman’s badge. Remember, this is a respected art; Now you tread the threshold of saber crafting.
https://www.ubergizmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/lightsaber-with-crystal-chamber.jpeg
It is also highly individual. Your light saber is a reflection of who you are as a force user and a person.
The focusing crystals themselves are part of what sets a light saber apart from other weapons and tools.
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/5/5f/LightsaberCrystal-SWE.png/revision/latest?cb=20160911062335
A kaibur crystal is said to be attuned to particular thought wavelengths, to your very brainwaves such that when you are in a cave or pocket full of them… certain ones can “call out” to you more strongly than others. The one that resounds with you and appeals to you most is typically the one you go with in constructing your first saber.
Do not excessively concern yourself with all the legends, history and information surrounding the crystals themselves at this point.
Making your first saber will be challenging enough already. That will just draw the process out unnecessarily further.
For now, collect them. You will need several seed crystals of the same color in order to properly grow the clusters necessary for the rest of the process.
Congratulations, student. Now you have obtained the focusing crystals. It takes roughly two clusters to fashion this part of the structure properly. http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/VaderANH/000.jpg
Critical note: Your lightsaber’s power cell is a standardized part that should not be altered in any significant way at risk of it going volatile and exploding. This is why people say constructing a lightsaber is no trifling matter. You don’t want it exploding in your face or taking off your hand. A few people even die. So let’s make sure you get that part right.
There is a great deal more flexibility of choice in emitter and hilt design. I will go into that subsequently.
As is to perhaps to be expected there is much more to the art of saber design and use than there first appears to be on the surface.
II. Choices:
Curved hilts and contoured grips are favored by duelists as these designs make holding a lightsaber feel more natural and help you draw it from where it is clipped more readily.
Emitter lenses come in a few varieties but tend to fall under two classes: They can be single or dual phased. You can have an aperture with adjustable width, for instance, as a special feature within your saber emitter. This is typically used in such designs as the dual phased emitter to allow the wielder choice in whether to have their “blade” be shorter or longer. Why do they like it? Some situations require flexibility… being able to have that option can give the user of a dual phase lightsaber an advantage.
Additionally, the hilt is just an oftentimes metal tube to house the components, a frame if you will. The choice of whether to have it be one open on one end featuring one emitter, as is for the standard lightsaber… or, to have it a tube open on both ends, to house two emitters, as is the case in a saberstaff is an added layer but one of just minimal complexity.
III. Customizing:
The kaibur crystal is not the only special piece that makes a light saber be unique and individual.
You can introduce other crystals into the complex of lenses to produce more varied effects in the beam your lightsaber puts out.