Well A bit about the dark saber that might help. But to answer your first question all the lightsabers were based off of katana technically... Kylo rens was really the big outlier. I kinda feel like the dark saber was more hybrid katana/machete or Messer (the smaller Messer obviously 😅). But the style blade is partially utilitarian I think. Cause the magnetic properties of the white part of the blade make it attract to lightsabers. Vs the whole blade being attracted to other lightsabers. So the magnetic electricity properties are also due to the wielders "force" being sucked out. Apparently the dark saber has weight to it as well. It's not technically a "light saber" and is made by non force users to combat lightsabers. But still amazing video man! Love all your videos!
In legends continuity, the Darksaber is a "broad-blade" lightsaber. And if it operate the way they do, then the flats can still cut and do damage, but far less efficiently, the edges however are far more efficient at cutting than a standard lightsaber. They are less versatile, but more powerful cutters along their edges. As Jedi philosophy emphasizes restraint and control and with a broad-blade lightsaber being more about raw power and cutting force, it didn't really align with their ways, they also preferred the versatility and precision of the typical lightsaber.
To be fair the broad edge should make blocking blasters easier, right? And considering thats most of what jedi were doing you would think that would make broad blades MORE popular.
@@eslin2845 technically yes, but it doesn't look that much wider if at all. If it was like a Buster Sword, that would do it. I think if the Jedi wanted a weapon that was more focused on deflecting blaster fire, they would want that or more of a light-badminton-racket. I think an advantage of the broad-blade then would be that you have the option of non-destructively slapping physical objects. Like, you could cut a droid in half, and sweep the flat to push it to the side in the same motion, keeping the way in front of you clear, or to position the debris for advantage. Which actually counters the "blade has more power, so don't do it cuz aggressive," since it also gives a more "peaceful" action on the flat.
THANK YOU for saying lots of normal Saber hilts are uncomfortable to hold with all their random bits. Huge Star Wars fan and I dislike so many iconic hilts because they either look uncomfortable to hold, or I have held replicas and know they are uncomfortable to hold. When people start talking about their favorite hilt designs in the series I am always blown away by them picking ones that look uncomfortable to hold. Have been and always will be more of a fan of Qui-gon's Lightsaber and when I saw Kyle Katarn's lighsaber it was another that look both nice to hold and is actually made for two hands.
Another Saber you might like is Jaro Tapal's lightsaber. It's got a spot where you're supposed to hold the saber and no real bits and bobs to get in the way.
Yeah, I have a few toys of Anakin's lightsaber and every time I tried to do a few moves with it, the giant activator button always go in the way. Darth Vader's lightsaber is a bit better since that's typically replaced with a small circle activator, but the weird bars on the bottom made spinning the hilt very uncomfortable and almost impossible. Kylo Ren's lightsaber hilt is honestly my favorite for how long it is, meaning you can use both hands on it with ease if need be, and how it was very smooth all around, very little in the way of greeble.
Always been a fan of obi-wan's from before he got the new one. He has it on the desk in this video, no random bits and made for 2 hands. Good pommel, even. Obi-Wan's replacement saber is a nightmare, unfortunately it became more "iconic"
You apparently missed the scene in the beginning of one of the seasons of Mandalorian where Din burns his leg on the flat of the blade and limps for a couple episodes from it. It was clearly a wide ass burn, almost cutting a half inch into his leg.
Dooku's saber came closest to almost being used like a rapier in the movies. Would be awesome if they actually go rapier/ fencing style (with an elegant design that make sense)... but all we got from Mickey was an impractical handle and blade used in slow clunky fight scenes.
I may have a future Project with Dooku's saber to prove that its one of the best although I will admit a fencing/rapier fighting style I don't think is engaging to watch as its very thrust heavy . Thanks for the support man!
I think you would use a lightsaber mostly like a Rapier, but probably with a lot more cutting involved because lightsabers are excellent at cutting, even at the tip (whereas rapiers are sub par cutters for the most part)
There are some videos on Dookus saber design that shows the way it was used in the movie by Christopher Lee is perfect for it. Its not a flashy fighting style it more akin to Medieval Nobility dueling.
Christopher Lee was an amazing duelist long before star wars. I like Dookus sabre the best as it looks like an actual sabre my preferred fencing style is with sabre type weapons.
Yep, in A New Hope, the lightsabers used in the Vader vs Obi-Wan fight were glass rods, and they weren't meant to be swung around with abandon. For an in-lore reason why they were slow with fighting each other, the last time Vader fought Obi-Wan, he got his limbs cut off, and didn't want to take any chances this time, so instead of going all out with acrobatics and such, he takes a much more cautious and reserved approach. Hence, the slower swings and keeping the blade between him and his opponent. Also, with Vader's suit, Palpatine intentionally added in drawbacks to keep his apprentice under his thumb, i.e. not being able to lift his arms above his shoulders for very long, if at all. As for Obi-Wan, he's up there in age, and was planning on sacrificing himself so Luke and the gang could escape: he had no intention of beating Vader, just delaying him long enough. Aaaaanyways, back to the Darksaber: i agree with your assessment of it, and i think others have said this before, but the darksaber is a bit of an ancient relic, so it could be that’s why the blade is shaped the way it is. The hilt and weight problems though, i got no idea on
You cant come up with an 'in lore' excuse for something 30 years after the fact. At the time, with no further explanations, the in lore reason they fought like that was because that's how one fought with a lightsaber.
It is worth noting that Prowse was worried about hurting Sir Alec Guiness, so he wasn't exactly going as hard as he could. And the movies the fight is based on, the various samurai dueling ones, start out that way, slower paced, sizing up. They are not fast, martial art extravaganzas.
In terms of the weight issue, one thing that seems to be a bit of a theme with the dark saber is seems to have some kind of ability to feed off of and have some kind of effect on its user. In animated media, it’s been noted that whenever it’s user gets their emotions heightened, they _seem_ to get a power boost; non force users with little experience suddenly putting an experienced Jedi against the wall. Unless I’m mistaken, within the Madalorian, the blacksmith says something to the effect of the saber sensing Mandos conflicted feelings, and that was making it feel heavier for him, so there’s gotta something mystical about that blade in particular. Probably why there’s been a lot said in its clone wars appearances about just how special, mysterious, and unique it is. Of course now all kyber crystals are supposed to be some kind of semi-sentient thing, (neat idea in my mind, I like the implications this has for sith blades) so take that for what it’s worth.
Professional Welder/Fabricator here: after just a few minutes of using electric arc welding or plasma cutting processes, you will have a significant UV sunburn on any exposed flesh. A plasma arc the size of a lightsaber blade would blind you, light you on fire and cause anybody you managed to hit with it to *explode.* A real lightsaber martial art would either minimize the amount of time that the blade is ignited or rely on the ambient damage caused by simply being near the thing.
the thing about the darksaber being "heavy" is that it more has a "spirit" than other sabers. it'll resist people who it deems as unworthy, which usually just means conflicting emotions. about the melting through beskar thing: it happened faster than a normal lightsaber, so that is the assumption. the hilt and shape is just rule of cool at play. some things just need to be fun
On the lightsaber vs beskar thing and how the Darksaber appeared to be slowly heating it up, that is indeed the case with all lightsabers vs beskar. Beskar is not lightsaber PROOF, just lightsaber RESISTANT. A lightsaber can and will melt through beskar armor, it just takes so long that even a Mandalorian with zero combat skills or awareness in the middle of a daydream will snap back to reality, see what you're doing and stab you in the face long before your lightsaber gets through the beskar. Any lightsaber would perform the same way we see against beskar. Most of the time we just see a quick blow that bounces off and the saber user going for another strike. Take Luke's saber and press it to the beskar spear, it would melt through exactly the same way the Darksaber did.
My question is, was it actually even melting through? If you heat any metal to a certain temperature it'll start to incandesce. Many metals do this without melting or deforming, your oven and lights do it all the time. So it makes sense the beskar would be incandescent even if it's not cutting through. I can't remember if the darksaber left notches in the spear though
14:47 Fun fact: According to the ROTJ Director's Commentary, the lightsaber materials used for ESB and ROTJ were the exact same as ANH. They just got better at using it. However, ROTJ was the limit of how far they could take that specific technology. Simply being able to do a sweeping wide shot like at the end where Luke is hammering into Vader was apparently considered a huge deal
In addition to everything else you've said here and in the previous videos, my issue with the Darksaber (beyond just being a dumb design that was only added in because Lucas vetoed Pre Vizla using the much more logical and preexisting weapon of a Beskad, a Beskar sword) is that it reshaped the perception of a black blade must be the Darksaber. Call it edgelord stuff all you want, and you'd be right, but one of the coolest things I loved in the Force Unleashed games was getting the black crystal and having a black bladed lightsaber. It wasn't The Darksaber, it didn't have a flat blade. It was a lightsaber that had a black blade. It was a concept I loved so much that in a Star Wars RP group I was a member of for several years, my Sith master character made a black bladed lightsaber as a symbol of her mastery over the Dark Side, having used Sith Alchemy to mess with her saber's crystal and made a blade that was narrower, stronger, and hotter than a normal blade, with the color shifting to black as a result. Then TCW comes out and gave us the Elder Wand in laser sword form and mucked it all up. Now if anyone sees a black blade, "oh my god its the Darksaber!"
My thoughts exactly. The guard (tsuba) even shows some similarities to saber guards, with the back piece sweeping upwards. If the guard would extend downwards in the front to form a knuckleguard, the inspiration would be clear as day.
not a massive star wars nerd but i understand that there are certain things that a normal lightsaber cannot cut through, the obvious solution to this is to make the darksabre cut through things that a standard lightsabre can't due to the energy being concentrated on the edges
Well technically Darksaber blade is double-edged, so it doesn't matter which way you hold the handle, you can flip it how it fits you. You can even melt with the flat surface of the blade.
i think that the design of the darksaber is supposed to be based off of the mandalorian sword called a beskad. that’s why the general design looks more like an actual sword. also i believe it was also meant to be a one handed saber since the beskad also was, and it was meant to be used either with a blaster or a smaller dagger called a kal. this may not be exactly true but it would make more sense
The dark saber isn't single edged. It just looks like it is. It's still a light saber. It still cuts in any direction. They don't show that in the media because they think it looks cooler to have edge alignment. That's it. Also, it isn't lore breaking for the blade to curve. There is some sort of technology containing the blade of a light saber. They can be adjusted to any length. There is no reason to think they can't be shaped into curves by that same containment technology.
On the heaviness of lightsabers in episode four, another reason why they were fighting slowly (in universe) is because kenobi was something like sixty.
It was mainly that Lucas hadn’t really figured out what lightsabers were, and that the initial props in that movie were severely limited in what they could do. Extremely fragile so even the relatively soft sparring (though they weren’t that gentle. XD)they were doing was much too rough on them.
Okay so from what I know is in A New Hope, the Obi Wan Vs Vader duel was slow due to the material the blades were made of. If I remember this correctly, the blades they were using were fiberglass rods. In one of the documentaries for A New Hope, the fight choreographer had to tell Sir Alec Guinness and David Prowse to swing them but not actually make the hits because every time the blades would hit, they would shatter. One has to imagine how many stunt lightsaber blades they broke 😂
They were rotating rods covered in screen material. It was to get the lightsaber effect as a “in-camera” practical effect. Screen material(like a movie screen) to reflect the stage lights. And rotating rods as to create a pulsing effect for the camera. And certainly they had hoped to get some reflection onto the actors. This requires a motor and power supply(and a cable). Limiting the movements you could do. You can see the cable going up alec guinness‘s sleeve in a few shots. If you look at early clips, you can see that the effect sort of worked but was limited. Such as the angle the studio lights could be at to the camera… but mostly the blades were very VERY fragile. Remember, they had to be light enough to spin on a motor in a flash tube handle(Vader and Luke) or a bit of plumbing(kenobi). You can still see a bit of the white glow in ANH which is from the practical effect. It’s really why they look so weird sometimes too. Also notice how it’s the only fight where they keep their robes on. Ok Vader doesn’t have a robe but they’re trying to hide stuff regardless. It’s easier to hide black cables on a black costume. So they ended up rotoscoping (painting over the blades on a physical cel and compositing the effects together. ) the blades in post production. And for future films, they just used aluminum rods with the intent of rotoscoping them from the beginning. With the prequels going to cnc aluminum hilts as well. This is actually one reason for the original trilogy “thick sabers.” As the blades had to be physically painted over with a number of passes to get the glow. This is in contrast to the Special Edition “thin-blades” which were digitally painted and composited. This gets into the weeds even more depending on what version you talk about since the blades keep changing between the dvd releases, the 2004 box set, the Spike TV Hd version, the blue ray set, or the Disney+ version. Almost like Vaders “No” and Luke’s scream when falling. And yet Luke still calls Leia Carrie at the end of ANH. Aluminum rods were much stronger but still could break and bend. This allowed for the other films, and fan films, to have much more kinetic fights. Although, most fan films would just use wood dowels. They’re a lot cheaper and significantly easier to find. Also, with the more kinetic fights, you loose the cloaks so they don’t get caught up on the blades. The glowy blades now get the benefit of being a light source. Similar to the effect from Episode 2. A debate you haven’t heard in awhile is if the color and flare of a saber is visible to the human eye or just to the camera. Most screen sabers have white cores with colored glows afterall. Or if the color whites-out when blades cross instead of one color in front of the other. Such as in ROTJ when Luke strikes at the Emperor. Science vs cinema
Bingo. The actor was trained in fencing. He wanted his hilt to reflect that style. Also partly the reason Dooku uses form 2 which is specifically for dueling.
The Darksaber is the way it is in lore because it was made/forged by a Mandalorian, Tarre Vizsla, who likely based it on traditional Mandalorian bladed weapon designs rather than the typical Jedi designs. So in a way, the Darksaber is a Mandalorian Katana usually made entirely out of Beskar, but in this case, the blade is replaced with a lightsaber emitter made of Beskar hence the difference from typical Lightsabers, the Beskar interacts with the Kyber crystal within in ways untypical of a lightsaber.
Is it the dark saber considered more powerful than other lightsabers? Hasn't it been said that that added power comes from the energy being condensed to a thinner form? Aside from that it's still the same type of energy as any other lightsaber. All surfaces of the blade should be able to cut no problem.
You know, Star Wars world doesn't give much canonical explanation of how light sabers actually works. You only can speculate on the matter by looking on the shown effects and bits of information that actually get explained. I'm personally not an expert of Star Wars canon. Just seen some movies and series. So my take might be wrong. But I'd say, that light sabers in general works by cycling charged particles aka plasma in some kind of field that defines the blade. In case of the regular light sabers the stream of plasma is equally spread along the blade axis. That makes blade omnidirectional. But when the blade comes in to the contact with cutting media, most of the energy just goes around the target not actually dealing damage. In most cases that is not a problem because of absurd power light saber has. But the Dark saber is a different story. It was made by the ruler of mandalorians. It was meant as a symbol of power and the mean to defend it and the right to rule. Meaning it was made to fight other mandalorians that pretend to the throne. Mandalorians uses beskar armors and uses weapon made out of beskar. We know that regular lightsabers cant deal much damage to the beskar. So how a mandalorian could approach to making a weapon that can damage at least not a pure beskar armor? For example by focusing the flow of plasma by making it cycle in tight looped stream around edges of the blade. So when it hits something most of the energy goes into the media and cut at least not so pure beskar and heat up pure beskar. So this way not so great form of the blade and limited versatility is a tradeoff for better satisfying to the main purpose of the weapon.
so just a few things, have you watched "the clone wars" cartoon, and rebels? they go into a lot of the history and whatnot of the dark saber there. and i believe Gar Saxon when he fights Maul uses the flat of the blade, but the reason the dark saber is the shape it is has to do with its creator a Mandolorian Jedi. when he made his blade he wanted to reflect his lineage and homeworld, also he wanted to make an heirloom that would stand the test of time.
That "suba" drives me absolutely bats**t. It is 100% backward. If I had one of those, I would flip the blade connection and put the switch on the other side. As it is, it's DUMB.
As a kid who grew up with Star Wars, I learned very fast that some hilts just suck. Qui-gon's is the best. Even just play fighting, you'll find that the bits and nobs dig into your hand and make it very uncomfortable to weird.
@@ScreenTested It's only the DarkSaber with that quality. Because it was the kyber crystal of a Mandalore, only those who are fit to rule, AKA the strongest willed warriors, were accepted.
Expanding on this. We saw Sabeen Wren having issues learning how to use the Darksaber in her initial training with it in Rebels because she was trying to fight and force the blade to work for her instead of connecting with it as every Jedi/Sith is taught to do and Rebels was still heavily influenced by George Lucas as he was still brought on as a consultant and was the final say on everything was Dave Filoni who learned everything lore-wise from George Lucas.
@@ScreenTestedThat's not entirely accurate... It may not be a thing in any of the original mainline films, but there's some EU stuff (as in non-disney) that discusses a similar concept. There's at least some kind of connection going on between a kyber crystal and lightsaber wielder and this is not a new/strictly Disney concocted concept.
The 'blade' is still omnidirectional...you can't make something hot enough to melt through steel not be. They are science, not magic, though the kyber crystal sort of bridges the gap a bit between the science and force aspects a bit...but still. She shape of of the blade would just give it a slimmer profile on one axis, which would make it a far better 'cutter' on that axis and than any lightsaber that is thicker.
There is a lot of conflicting lore on the origins of the Darksaber. One idea I’ve seen is that it’s based on very very old lightsabers that had to be flat due to technological limitations, back in the days of a separate power pack. It’s the only one of its kind “now” because all the others were scrapped or reworked when the 360 degree version became practical. The thickness of lightsaber hilts is my evil hobbyhorse. Originally they were designed around photo flash units that are much thicker than any real world sword hilt ever, but they looked cool so they went with it. The Darksaber hilt and some of the others you showed are much closer in size to a real world sword hilt. To me that’s a very good thing regardless of any need for edge alignment in that a round sword hilt doesn’t matter when indexing isn’t an issue. Otherwise your assessment of the shortcomings of the Darksaber make good sense to me. The only in-universe excuse for it being used is that it’s an antique with a near-mythical history that automatically puts an adversary at a psychological disadvantage.
Heavy lightsabers is actually a throwback to the original movies... here and there... depending on George Lucas' mood. Mark Hamill has recounted a few times that Lucas instructed him that he needed to hold his lightsaber with both hands in Empire because it was so heavy that it required it, suggesting it effectively weighted 50+ lbs, essentially because it was projecting so much energy and there was more or less a push to it, like an actively firing jet engine. Of course that kinds flies in the face of Luke swinging it around in A New Hope when Kenobi first hands it to him, and everything seen in the prequels and whatnot, but... Lucas was always kinda changing things as he went.
If you're right and Both edges can cut then I believe the "proper way" to hold it is backwards. Therefore they are purposefully using the blade backward to show off how skilled they are using it wrong.
I do agree with the hilts design, it's weird and the guard thing is unnecessary and pretty useless. However, the indexing of the handla could be attributed to the creator of the saber. In the lore the saber was made by a Mandalorian who became a Jedi and as I understand it later returned to Mandalore to unite his people which he did and his Darksaber became a symbol of leadership. I would imagine that he would have created the darksaber after returning to Mandalore and as the Jedi and Mandalorians have a troubled history, creating a unique saber based on Mandalorian style and not traditional Jedi style of sabers would be a way of uniting the people, to separate himself from the Jedi but still showing power. I also agree that the design of the blade isn't as effective as a normal lightsaber but it's just goes back to culture, Mandalorian culture. Mandalorians are a war like people, they prove themselves in battle and they use pretty much everything. Vibroblades among those (if those are still cannon, I imagine so after the Mandalorian and the future KotOR remake) and as Mandalorians traditionally used such blades, making the saber into something that is unique and that reflects their culture and not the Jedi, that's a win for them and something they can look up to. Yeah... The Darksaber being heavy... I want to chop that up to what they sort of.. Kind of explained in the Mandalorian, something about purpose was it or want to use it? But yeah it's random and didn't need to be there at all.
A light saber should have some weight to the blade. Take any hilt and remove the blade then swing it around, it is super awkward. look at the SABNEO dark X. It’s a dark saber inspired hilt. It corrects everything you don’t like about the dark saber hilt.
The weight thing is only ever shown with the darksaber. And it's more like the crystal in the saber connects with the user, and if they are not clear on their purpose, or have a heavy heart so to speak, the crystal makes the saber seem heavier than it should be.
I wouldn't mind the whole blade shape thing if the excuse was that it concentrated the heat and cutting power in some way. Yeah, it still doesn't really make sense but at least it still gives it a reason Also, I always thought the saber fights in episode 4 being slow was because Alec Guinness was an old man, but the props being too fragile for proper hits makes a lot of sense
Wow. I know he wanted them to be superhuman but that's so strange. I totally understand who it never made it's way into canon. I know a lot of people (myself included) have tricky estimating weight. I also noticed that a few American authors seem to have trouble converting imperial to metric system given that Star wars measurements tend to go that route (when not using something unique to that universe). In the old EU they were about a single kilogram, baked by materials, for instance. One made from a rancor tusk world be lighter than one made from junk from crashed fighters or speeders. (The one made an I, Jedi was from crash scrap for instance. Speederbike Handle, iirc or fighter yoke)
I've seen in the Expanded Universe/Legends books that lightsabers produce a strong gyroscopic effect, making them difficult to use for non Force users. Maybe that's what's happening when Mando says the Darksaber gets heavier each time he swings it?
that would make the effect even stronger for people with traditional sword training, while untrained people would be inclined to go with the flow of the lightsaber.
When i was writing a fan fiction, I kind of assumed through a technicality that lightsabers had a slight gravitational pull that could be interpreted as weight when being wielded. I also wrote in that this pull is different for each lightsaber as their calibration is customized by their owners.
im pretty sure since its "lightsaber energy", the entire blade can cut.. its just that with the shape of the blade it just feels better to cut with the "edge". i'd say that to support this theory is other media that has black core white core lightsaber crystals seem to be the same crystal in the darksaber, just not shaped as the darksaber. the darksaber's blade shape seems to be cosmetic only
. Steak knives have indexing, for the very reason you say. We can also say forks and spoons, have indexing so you know where the object's "useful" sides are. As to why the Dark Saber has indexing, I can only guess it looked cooler, but as for function, probably because Tarre Vizsla as a Mandalorian was used to making indexing. The rest... No Idea.
Honestly, any lightsaber type weapon, other than maybe a spear, would be a pretty bad weapon for a non-Jedi. It's a weapon that has an above average chance of hurting its user and nearby friendlies, because of that 360 degree blade that cuts through anything. And that's why the spear is a maybe as well... definitely don't want to be using that in formation, for example.
I’m not sure if it’s in all films apparently but in the 4th Star Wars (at least the one I’ve seen) when Obi Wan first gives Luke his light saber you can see that when he is waving it around there is a primary edge and not a circle. I just remember watching it after watching i think you and Shad talking about it and thought it was interesting
Honestly i Always thought it resembled more of a falchion ( or falcione in Italian) than a katana but maybe it a little bit of both, also if i Remember correctly the dark saber is more ancient and the jedi who built it was a mandalorian so maybe that the reason for having that false edge alignement 🤔
I thought even in the Mando Show they didn't explain the "heaviness" as a problem of being a force user or not, but that the Darksaber picked up on conflicting emotions and motivation and would oppose a wielder who wasn't sure of what they were doing. So, Pre Vizla, Moff Gideon, etc... were committed to their course of action, and even Finn was committed to protecting Rey. However, Din and Paz were in turmoil over losing their clan's main hideaway and what their course of action would be going forward.
One of my nitpicks I've always had even when I was like 12 years old in the 90's, was how Force users corner the market on plasma swords. I am sure the elegant sabers need the Force to put together and assemble without tools etc. But any military / war like race would have taken lightsabers of fallen Jedi / Sith, and reverse engineered something. Even if it was something bulky like the original proto sabers that had large power packs and a power cord to run them etc. The Dark Saber was supposed to originally be a Vibro Blade, but Lucas didn't think a Vibro Blade could block a light saber.. (While electric sticks are just fine ...) Also- You are right about fencing. Dooku's saber is made for a fencing style. While it is not in the movies so much, EU and even Disney Fighting styles. Form 2 Makashi, is based off of fencing and is specifically made for defeating / killing other lightsaber users. Dooku's saber in lore was created to benefit that style. It was also a big of a hint in the EU that maybe he was not a good guy. Because why would a Jedi in ages of Peace where the only Lightsaber users are other Jedi, need a saber style made just for defeating them.
17:37-17:46 The problem with that (in-lore) is that a lightsabre's primary use in combat is to deflect blaster bolts. A fencing-type style would be practically useless for that.
Han Solo also used a light saber (not to fight) in The Empire Strikes back to cut open the tauntaun on Hoth. I mean, it's just a tool. I do see the narrowing adjustment that Han made to the light saber which made it a better (finer) cutter for that purpose. Perhaps the dark star saber works (or could work) similarly focusing more energy to the edge than the wider light saber edge profile. They could make that into something.
One thing I think you overlooked is time periods. The dark Saber was an ancient blade from thousands of years ago. It's power was symbolic and the weight is Magick. Sword chooses it's wielder sort of thing, based on confidence. But design wise it's like comparing a ford model t to a ford mustang.
It has a tsuba tho? , feloni gave Ahsoka “katana” style hilts his production are is Japanese based , his training scene in Ahsoka has bokkens and kendo style gear the dude seems to be into samurai and bases a lot of his stuff of that.
I completely agree with your stance on the dark saber Tyranth. Did you know there was a black bladed lightsaber in the game "The Force Unleashed 1 and 2" long before disney got their hands on the franchise. Also, my theory of baskar is that it has its' own magnetic field which repels the containment fields generated by lightsabers much like trying to push both positive poles of two neodymium magnets together.
Funny cuz a lot of people think the dark saber is like the greatest lightsaber but may I suggest a video idea could you do a video on halos energy sword
The Rebels episode Trials of the Darksaber (S3E15) does a decent job at explaining the weight discrepancy. Sabine points out that it's heavier than she thought it'd be, a common observation most non force users make when first holding a lightsaber, and Kanan explains that she has to attune to it to effectively use it. Sure enough, the more she uses it and the more accepting of it she becomes, the easier it is for her to use. Din never wanted the responsibility it came with, so he was never able to properly connect with it. The way Kanan talks about it, it's a safe assumption that all lightsabers work this way, the Darksaber is just harder because of the one's own mental blocks regarding that specific saber. That same episode also shows the "flat" of the blade cutting through Sabine's gauntlet when she gets careless.
The whole Darksaber thing was just supposed to be a vibroblade, but George Lucas decided that it didn't fit with the lore, so they changed it last minute and changed it to a "Darksaber" with basically no lore around it. Later they threw in some stuff about Darth Maul "claiming it" in combat, then it got retconned a 3rd time to being a Mandalorian thing. So the reason it doesn't really work as a lightsaber, is that it was never meant to be a lightsaber, but due to multiple Disney retconning, here we are. As usual, Disney ruins everything.
I don't know about redconned as the saber has just switched owner over time. The saber was made by a Mandalorian Jedi which they explain in the Clone Wars series episode where it's first introduced I believe. Later Maul claimed the saber in combat when he defeated and killed the Mandalorian leader who was wielding it. I can't remember how Selene got her hands on it in the Rebels series but I remember that Bo-Katan received it from her and she handed it off to Moff Gideon so that he would spare her people (which he didn't). So the Darksabers path through the different Star Wars series isn't complicated and the lore, if a bit sparse, is there and at least it's enough to warrant the sabers existence. Weird however that Lucas wouldn't think that vibroblades fit with the lore. Though I guess those are canon now too thanks to the Mandalorian.
@@zwippie92 Virbroblades have been a part of the lore for a long time. I could be wrong, but I think that they've been around since at least the old West End RPG.
@@zwippie92 where things get fussy is that the dark saber seemed to have cult revolved around it. a mando jedi made it, then clan visla stole it and said I'm the real mando now (the previous 'fake' mandos didn't use it), then maul won it and said I'm mando now the surviving maul mandos then seem to spread the tale of how the blade determines the next mando Bo was given the blade and things when to shit, so the "legend" evolved, you have to 'win' the blade or else youre cursed this went on until Padro used a loophole to get rid of it, then it broke as for the blade being 'heavy', i chalk that to Padro fearing the blade and what it meant (according to the legend). the force seems to be a reflection and an amplifier, put good in get 20x good bak, put bad in get x20 bad back, Padro say it as a burden so he got x20 burded back (padme, bane and others have used sabers just fine, it was just a weapon to them)
I do want to point out the OG lightsabers from Episode 4, 5 and 6, where all based off Kendo Sticks. Which are often used to train new recruits in the fuedal Japanese armies. It wasn't until Legends that other variations where brought in after George Lucas said that other variations existed. Which means all Lightsabers are based off the idea of a Katana, just they figured out the 360 cutting was better, and sadly we only see a Kedo style of Lightsaber, until the conception of the Darksaber, the Lightwhip, and the Lightclaymore(the type that Kylo Ren has in episode 7 on). This also can be confirmed by looking at the time before Lightsabers, when the Jedai(the precursors to both the Jedi and Sith) used Force Alchemy, later known as Sith Alchemy, to create physical swords, of all sorts, but when the Sith first created the Protosaber, there where shorter round sabers and single edged blade sabers. At the time of this part I'm barely into the video, but I wanted to make that very clear, that way no one can use the excuse of "but that's not what a lightsaber was originally." I will add more after I finish watching the video. Edit: like to say halfway in now. But I need to blast the lore reason behind the single edge design. It fits the Mandalorian life. Precision, strength, and skill is their three main objectives in combat. To be the strongest, most skilled fighter and show it, the Mandalorian Jedi who built the Darksaber purposefully used a single edge design that is only seen in some Protosabers as well. It was one of the Jedi Council of the time, biggest complaint about the Mandalorian Jedi as they felt he was being Prideful and according to them was a path to the darkside. Last edit: mostly fixing auto correct and my tired brain(it's 12:53am here and I've been awake since 8am yesterday) miss numbering episodes. P.S. outside of the lore reasons, many concepts and cannon ideas from Episode 1, 2 and 3, Clone Wars, ect. Became cannon as Fan Service. Many of the rule of two Sith that are cannon where originally Legends Characters, many of the planets where once only Legends cannon, heck even the Sidious cloning plot point of the horrible Episode 7, 8 and 9 where Legends Cannon.
Yep, Emperor Reborn, Luke's dark side brush and so on were in the Dark Horse Comic series I think. I never had the chance to read them, but those elements were mentioned in one of my favorite books, Vision of the Future, when Mara and Luke are discussing nature of the force and light/dark side stuff . (I LOVED The illustration of the or crushing facility and unable to hear the songbirds due to the noise. And how the more a person drew on the force for raw power the less able they were to hear inspiration and guidance from the force.) I liked the I, Jedi version of how lightsabers were made most.
The Dark X design from Sabneo fixes all the issues of the Darksaber. It even has the option to orientate the activation button either on top or bottom.
Counterpoint for indexing (lightsabers in general): You may not need to know where your edge it, But knowing where your on and off button is seems kinda important. Excuse for edged saber (silly but eh we could make up some BS): If I am not mistaken, the same amount of the same plasma with the same thermal energy condensed into a smaller space should seem hotter on contact. A very small amount of thermal energy condensed to a small point can create high temperatures. The punch of a mantis shrimp creates light brighter than and heat hotter than the surface of the sun in a very tiny space. Taking a large amount of thermal energy and condensing it into a very small space should have such a result. If we assume the dark saber is very very thin or that the apparent flat of the blade is just a visual side effect and the edge is the only cutting plasma, with the same energy as a normal lightsaber that should be even hotter. Someone check me if I'm wrong, i have too much of a migraine to look into the actual math.
Well, Idk if I'm right or not, but I think the jedi's can activate or deactivate their light saber with the force, and they can protect their light saber with their force to avoid others to deactivate their light saber.
I agree 100% that the primary inspiration is a katana but I think the tsuna very loosely has the start of an inspiration from a Cavalry Saber cup, but without the full cup protection
I could develop my own 'Head Canon' about the blade: It was made by the only known Mandalorian Jedi, and they are most used to fighting with physical weapons, like swords with actual sharp edged blades. I could see the Dark Saber intentionally being made like a physical blade, focusing its cutting power into the edge, making it much stronger than an 'average' Saber when cutting along that edge, but in exchange for making its 'sides' almost useless to cut with (but still good enough to block another saber and blaster shots). Also, something I just remembered: The Mandalorian managed to damage his leg on the flat of the 'blade' in one of those episodes of "Boba Fett" he hijacked, so there is damaging power going through the 'flat' sides.
I agree with what you are saying. However to be fair the reason in universe for the overall design and blade style is because it is mandalorian. It fits the culture and combat style. Is it ideal? No but it fits how their people would be trained with basic metal weapons.
I tend to agree with the fact that the dark saber is really uncomfortable and awkward. I hate the handle . Also I have to say that I agree with the fact that lightsabers have low weight and that's why I believe that Vader's saber was meant to be handled by the bottom of the hilt where the rubber is. Reason being that u get the most range out of the sword while the ignition button, or slide, is within thumb range. The rubber prevents slipping. Thanks for the video Tyranth! Btw I love your saber choice. I woulda picked mace windu's as well 👍
11:48 i think the flat would have to have some cutting ability because he twists it at the corners it may be extremely inefficient but it would have some that way
The darksaber predates any other sabers that we've seen, and Mandalorians are not typically force sensitive, so the idea of it being a less refined weapon makes lore sense. My head-cannon was that for a lightsaber to work, essentially requires an "arc". Over time, technologically and training, allows that arc to concentric, creating the standard lightsaber, but without that, it creates more of a loop. I also read someone's theory that it was created using some sort of "light magnetism", drawing the energy away from the flats and into the edge, making it hotter than a traditional saber blade along the edges and cooler on the flats Ironically, this "flaw" would make it more comfortable for someone raised on bladed weapons to use safely, as there is less opportunity for self harm when edge alignment is an issue.
One weapon I would request for you to test out given the franchise’s 30th anniversary is Fulgore from Killer Instinct and his Quad Blades. I’ve seen you guys test out Wolverine’s blades, but never something like Fulgore’s duel wielding gauntlet blades. It would even be neat to see if you guys can create a similar style helmet from an actual medieval knight helmet.
The darksaber is fine as a fantasy weapon, and I agree turn the guard around and extend it. For the hilt shape, I prefer its hand feel to the others as it is oblong. So I would say level out the guard, keep the oblong handle and go with a standard lightsaber blade and you have one of the most comfortable lightsabers you can hold.
You see Din Djarin accidentally "cut" himself with the "flat" portion of the blade, so technically yes, it's like the standard lightsaber in that regard. Lore-wise, the reason it's got a visual edge it's supposed to be stronger than the standard lightsaber, potentially even being able to cut through Mandalorian Beskar, or at least cause more damage to it than a regular saber. (Ashoka clashing with the beskar spear vs Din clashing with the same weapon is a good example of it as with Din, you can see it heating the singular point much faster while Ashokas blades barely sparks against the spear. Also, keep in mind that the lore regarding beskar states that it will stop a lightsaber with little to no damage and will even reflect blaster fire.
Your indexing part of the video made me wonder if it would also be good for a "claymore" type lightsaber like kylo ren's, one that has "crossguard" vents/ports to help with their positioning, even tho the blade is a 360 cutting edge
I think, lore-wise, that the darksaber was made by a Mandalorian jedi, and its implied that he wasn't just taken as an infant. so, I'd think he has experience using metal bladed weapons, so he built a saber to match the already ingrained tendency to use edge alignment, and as another comment mentioned, the narrower profile on the edge may allow a better cut than a standard saber, as they always seem to have an amount of resistance when cutting, implying a "sharper" edge would cut more easily, while losing that 360 degree cutting edge. most jedi use a standard saber from youngling age, and I remember a legends book showing a young Kenobi having trouble when he's forced to use a metal bladed sword at one point.
the saber was originally suppose to be a "Vibrosaber" but since a vibrosaber isn't suppose to be able to go up against a lightsaber they turned into a Lightsaber.
I get it. I agree. I think it's suppose to be hard to use though. Like its creator made it different to stand out. Also, I think it gets heavy for people who are force sensitive. They feel the weight of its history, I think.
My best guess is that since the darksaber in lore is a status symbol blade, maybe the single-edge-edness is more of a flex? Yes, *YOU* can use any weapon angle to fight, but *I* can and will beat you using only one.
The lightsaber fight in A New Hope was slow because Obi-Wan's actor was old and Vader's armour was bulky so they had to slow the fight down due to these restrictions.
So broadsabers were a thing in the older expanded universe lore, they were essentially double edged lightsaber blades, and they were even space sharper than regular lightsabers but only on those two edges... They were only ever somewhat common during periods where either the Jedi or the Sith were fighting a lot of people in magic space armor used at various points by both orders.
Is it possible that the indexing aids in fitting the thinner blade between the cracks of beskar armor (for fighting other mandolorians) as opposed to the thicker round blades of more traditional lightsabers?
Lightsabers were created first as a visual effect and explained through science fiction later. The real science behind a plasma blade the size of a sword - that can effortlessly cut through metal the way a lightsaber does - would make such a weapon so devastatingly powerful that it would kill the user before they could hit anybody with it. I have gotten THE WORST sunburn from TIG welding in short sleeves and that plasma arc is TINY! Plasma/laser cutters also require a jet of compressed gas to blow molten material out of the channel of the cut in order to _actually cut_ things. Otherwise they'd just burn/melt the material without creating a cut.
my nitpick is why does the blade of the darksaber protrude out from the beginning of the hilt emitter 7:06 i know its sci-fi but how advance would the tech be if its shaping itself as if its forged. but because of the protrusion from the hilt it looks like an oversized kitchen knife.
It’s my first time seeing this, and yes: space katana. I thought Dooku’s saber looks like it makes you forcibly “index” even though his “blade” isn’t shown having an edge.
Check out Damien Sabers here :
shrsl.com/4n4rq
another lazy vid dont go soft boyo
@@mastiffmythslegendsandlore just stfu and watch the fkn video(or dont and also stfu)
Well A bit about the dark saber that might help. But to answer your first question all the lightsabers were based off of katana technically... Kylo rens was really the big outlier.
I kinda feel like the dark saber was more hybrid katana/machete or Messer (the smaller Messer obviously 😅).
But the style blade is partially utilitarian I think. Cause the magnetic properties of the white part of the blade make it attract to lightsabers. Vs the whole blade being attracted to other lightsabers. So the magnetic electricity properties are also due to the wielders "force" being sucked out. Apparently the dark saber has weight to it as well. It's not technically a "light saber" and is made by non force users to combat lightsabers.
But still amazing video man! Love all your videos!
The reason the darksaber is curved is obvious. Its because it was made in Hammerfell.
😂
Lol
“They’ve got cURved swORds… CURved swORds!”
Did you see them mercernaries from hammerfell struttin about? They have curved swords. CURVED. SWORDS.
Classic Disney logic.
"More excited about the box than the lightsaber"
For a little while, you were a housecat.
In legends continuity, the Darksaber is a "broad-blade" lightsaber. And if it operate the way they do, then the flats can still cut and do damage, but far less efficiently, the edges however are far more efficient at cutting than a standard lightsaber. They are less versatile, but more powerful cutters along their edges.
As Jedi philosophy emphasizes restraint and control and with a broad-blade lightsaber being more about raw power and cutting force, it didn't really align with their ways, they also preferred the versatility and precision of the typical lightsaber.
To be fair the broad edge should make blocking blasters easier, right? And considering thats most of what jedi were doing you would think that would make broad blades MORE popular.
@@eslin2845 Don't use logic and reason for Star Wars XD
@@eslin2845 technically yes, but it doesn't look that much wider if at all. If it was like a Buster Sword, that would do it. I think if the Jedi wanted a weapon that was more focused on deflecting blaster fire, they would want that or more of a light-badminton-racket.
I think an advantage of the broad-blade then would be that you have the option of non-destructively slapping physical objects. Like, you could cut a droid in half, and sweep the flat to push it to the side in the same motion, keeping the way in front of you clear, or to position the debris for advantage. Which actually counters the "blade has more power, so don't do it cuz aggressive," since it also gives a more "peaceful" action on the flat.
Broadsaber is Disney Canon to justify the shape of the Darksaber, it's not Legends.
THANK YOU for saying lots of normal Saber hilts are uncomfortable to hold with all their random bits. Huge Star Wars fan and I dislike so many iconic hilts because they either look uncomfortable to hold, or I have held replicas and know they are uncomfortable to hold.
When people start talking about their favorite hilt designs in the series I am always blown away by them picking ones that look uncomfortable to hold.
Have been and always will be more of a fan of Qui-gon's Lightsaber and when I saw Kyle Katarn's lighsaber it was another that look both nice to hold and is actually made for two hands.
Another Saber you might like is Jaro Tapal's lightsaber. It's got a spot where you're supposed to hold the saber and no real bits and bobs to get in the way.
Yeah, I have a few toys of Anakin's lightsaber and every time I tried to do a few moves with it, the giant activator button always go in the way. Darth Vader's lightsaber is a bit better since that's typically replaced with a small circle activator, but the weird bars on the bottom made spinning the hilt very uncomfortable and almost impossible.
Kylo Ren's lightsaber hilt is honestly my favorite for how long it is, meaning you can use both hands on it with ease if need be, and how it was very smooth all around, very little in the way of greeble.
Rahm Kota's lightsaber would be another good example, I think.
My favorite saber hilts are Dooku’s and Malgus’ sabers
Always been a fan of obi-wan's from before he got the new one. He has it on the desk in this video, no random bits and made for 2 hands. Good pommel, even. Obi-Wan's replacement saber is a nightmare, unfortunately it became more "iconic"
You apparently missed the scene in the beginning of one of the seasons of Mandalorian where Din burns his leg on the flat of the blade and limps for a couple episodes from it.
It was clearly a wide ass burn, almost cutting a half inch into his leg.
That was in The Book of Boba Fett, S1E5.
Sorry, couldn’t help myself. 🤓
If it didn't slip straight through his leg, only leaving a burn, then it doesn't sound as dangerous as the edge
Dooku's saber came closest to almost being used like a rapier in the movies. Would be awesome if they actually go rapier/ fencing style (with an elegant design that make sense)... but all we got from Mickey was an impractical handle and blade used in slow clunky fight scenes.
I may have a future Project with Dooku's saber to prove that its one of the best although I will admit a fencing/rapier fighting style I don't think is engaging to watch as its very thrust heavy .
Thanks for the support man!
@@ScreenTested That's likely true. A fencing battle could be over very fast just like in the Olympics.
I think you would use a lightsaber mostly like a Rapier, but probably with a lot more cutting involved because lightsabers are excellent at cutting, even at the tip (whereas rapiers are sub par cutters for the most part)
Rahm Kota's lightsaber does a better job at being a space katana than the actual space katana.
Much much better , could say it’s a little simple in design but that help it with comfort
I love Kota's lightsaber hilt. The simple, rugged leather wrap looks so cool on a lightsaber.
I agree about the Darksaber. Dooku's saber design is my favorite,curved hilt all day.
There are some videos on Dookus saber design that shows the way it was used in the movie by Christopher Lee is perfect for it. Its not a flashy fighting style it more akin to Medieval Nobility dueling.
Dooku's is my favorite too
Christopher Lee was an amazing duelist long before star wars. I like Dookus sabre the best as it looks like an actual sabre my preferred fencing style is with sabre type weapons.
That's my favorite lightsabre design.
Tyranth should review it.
Yep, in A New Hope, the lightsabers used in the Vader vs Obi-Wan fight were glass rods, and they weren't meant to be swung around with abandon.
For an in-lore reason why they were slow with fighting each other, the last time Vader fought Obi-Wan, he got his limbs cut off, and didn't want to take any chances this time, so instead of going all out with acrobatics and such, he takes a much more cautious and reserved approach. Hence, the slower swings and keeping the blade between him and his opponent. Also, with Vader's suit, Palpatine intentionally added in drawbacks to keep his apprentice under his thumb, i.e. not being able to lift his arms above his shoulders for very long, if at all. As for Obi-Wan, he's up there in age, and was planning on sacrificing himself so Luke and the gang could escape: he had no intention of beating Vader, just delaying him long enough.
Aaaaanyways, back to the Darksaber: i agree with your assessment of it, and i think others have said this before, but the darksaber is a bit of an ancient relic, so it could be that’s why the blade is shaped the way it is. The hilt and weight problems though, i got no idea on
You cant come up with an 'in lore' excuse for something 30 years after the fact. At the time, with no further explanations, the in lore reason they fought like that was because that's how one fought with a lightsaber.
It is worth noting that Prowse was worried about hurting Sir Alec Guiness, so he wasn't exactly going as hard as he could. And the movies the fight is based on, the various samurai dueling ones, start out that way, slower paced, sizing up. They are not fast, martial art extravaganzas.
I think they just accidentally flipped the hilt during the first design and kept it that way since.
In terms of the weight issue, one thing that seems to be a bit of a theme with the dark saber is seems to have some kind of ability to feed off of and have some kind of effect on its user. In animated media, it’s been noted that whenever it’s user gets their emotions heightened, they _seem_ to get a power boost; non force users with little experience suddenly putting an experienced Jedi against the wall. Unless I’m mistaken, within the Madalorian, the blacksmith says something to the effect of the saber sensing Mandos conflicted feelings, and that was making it feel heavier for him, so there’s gotta something mystical about that blade in particular. Probably why there’s been a lot said in its clone wars appearances about just how special, mysterious, and unique it is.
Of course now all kyber crystals are supposed to be some kind of semi-sentient thing, (neat idea in my mind, I like the implications this has for sith blades) so take that for what it’s worth.
Professional Welder/Fabricator here: after just a few minutes of using electric arc welding or plasma cutting processes, you will have a significant UV sunburn on any exposed flesh.
A plasma arc the size of a lightsaber blade would blind you, light you on fire and cause anybody you managed to hit with it to *explode.*
A real lightsaber martial art would either minimize the amount of time that the blade is ignited or rely on the ambient damage caused by simply being near the thing.
the thing about the darksaber being "heavy" is that it more has a "spirit" than other sabers. it'll resist people who it deems as unworthy, which usually just means conflicting emotions. about the melting through beskar thing: it happened faster than a normal lightsaber, so that is the assumption. the hilt and shape is just rule of cool at play. some things just need to be fun
On the lightsaber vs beskar thing and how the Darksaber appeared to be slowly heating it up, that is indeed the case with all lightsabers vs beskar. Beskar is not lightsaber PROOF, just lightsaber RESISTANT. A lightsaber can and will melt through beskar armor, it just takes so long that even a Mandalorian with zero combat skills or awareness in the middle of a daydream will snap back to reality, see what you're doing and stab you in the face long before your lightsaber gets through the beskar. Any lightsaber would perform the same way we see against beskar. Most of the time we just see a quick blow that bounces off and the saber user going for another strike. Take Luke's saber and press it to the beskar spear, it would melt through exactly the same way the Darksaber did.
My question is, was it actually even melting through? If you heat any metal to a certain temperature it'll start to incandesce. Many metals do this without melting or deforming, your oven and lights do it all the time. So it makes sense the beskar would be incandescent even if it's not cutting through. I can't remember if the darksaber left notches in the spear though
14:47 Fun fact: According to the ROTJ Director's Commentary, the lightsaber materials used for ESB and ROTJ were the exact same as ANH. They just got better at using it. However, ROTJ was the limit of how far they could take that specific technology. Simply being able to do a sweeping wide shot like at the end where Luke is hammering into Vader was apparently considered a huge deal
In addition to everything else you've said here and in the previous videos, my issue with the Darksaber (beyond just being a dumb design that was only added in because Lucas vetoed Pre Vizla using the much more logical and preexisting weapon of a Beskad, a Beskar sword) is that it reshaped the perception of a black blade must be the Darksaber. Call it edgelord stuff all you want, and you'd be right, but one of the coolest things I loved in the Force Unleashed games was getting the black crystal and having a black bladed lightsaber. It wasn't The Darksaber, it didn't have a flat blade. It was a lightsaber that had a black blade. It was a concept I loved so much that in a Star Wars RP group I was a member of for several years, my Sith master character made a black bladed lightsaber as a symbol of her mastery over the Dark Side, having used Sith Alchemy to mess with her saber's crystal and made a blade that was narrower, stronger, and hotter than a normal blade, with the color shifting to black as a result. Then TCW comes out and gave us the Elder Wand in laser sword form and mucked it all up. Now if anyone sees a black blade, "oh my god its the Darksaber!"
If I remember correctly, Palpatine often used thrusts when using his lightsaber.
Strange, I never took the Darksabre to be directly inspired by a katana, it always looked more like a genuine sabre to me.
My thoughts exactly. The guard (tsuba) even shows some similarities to saber guards, with the back piece sweeping upwards. If the guard would extend downwards in the front to form a knuckleguard, the inspiration would be clear as day.
not a massive star wars nerd but i understand that there are certain things that a normal lightsaber cannot cut through, the obvious solution to this is to make the darksabre cut through things that a standard lightsabre can't due to the energy being concentrated on the edges
Well technically Darksaber blade is double-edged, so it doesn't matter which way you hold the handle, you can flip it how it fits you. You can even melt with the flat surface of the blade.
Yeah but the point still holds, it doesn't make sense for a lightsaber to have edges at all.
I always liked Dooku's hilt since it looks like a duelling/gentleman's sword, which fits his lore very much
i think that the design of the darksaber is supposed to be based off of the mandalorian sword called a beskad. that’s why the general design looks more like an actual sword. also i believe it was also meant to be a one handed saber since the beskad also was, and it was meant to be used either with a blaster or a smaller dagger called a kal. this may not be exactly true but it would make more sense
The dark saber isn't single edged. It just looks like it is. It's still a light saber. It still cuts in any direction. They don't show that in the media because they think it looks cooler to have edge alignment. That's it.
Also, it isn't lore breaking for the blade to curve. There is some sort of technology containing the blade of a light saber. They can be adjusted to any length. There is no reason to think they can't be shaped into curves by that same containment technology.
Din actually does cut himself with the back of the saber
On the heaviness of lightsabers in episode four, another reason why they were fighting slowly (in universe) is because kenobi was something like sixty.
It was mainly that Lucas hadn’t really figured out what lightsabers were, and that the initial props in that movie were severely limited in what they could do. Extremely fragile so even the relatively soft sparring (though they weren’t that gentle. XD)they were doing was much too rough on them.
Here is the usual full support for channel growth. Also, great hair today Tyranth.
it's definitely a space katana
I thought it was very very obvious, seems some people didn’t make that connection tho.
Okay so from what I know is in A New Hope, the Obi Wan Vs Vader duel was slow due to the material the blades were made of.
If I remember this correctly, the blades they were using were fiberglass rods. In one of the documentaries for A New Hope, the fight choreographer had to tell Sir Alec Guinness and David Prowse to swing them but not actually make the hits because every time the blades would hit, they would shatter.
One has to imagine how many stunt lightsaber blades they broke 😂
Gotta say, depending on how they shattered, that could have been an amazing outtake depending on how they broke and how they cut it.
They were rotating rods covered in screen material. It was to get the lightsaber effect as a “in-camera” practical effect. Screen material(like a movie screen) to reflect the stage lights. And rotating rods as to create a pulsing effect for the camera. And certainly they had hoped to get some reflection onto the actors.
This requires a motor and power supply(and a cable). Limiting the movements you could do. You can see the cable going up alec guinness‘s sleeve in a few shots.
If you look at early clips, you can see that the effect sort of worked but was limited. Such as the angle the studio lights could be at to the camera… but mostly the blades were very VERY fragile. Remember, they had to be light enough to spin on a motor in a flash tube handle(Vader and Luke) or a bit of plumbing(kenobi). You can still see a bit of the white glow in ANH which is from the practical effect. It’s really why they look so weird sometimes too. Also notice how it’s the only fight where they keep their robes on. Ok Vader doesn’t have a robe but they’re trying to hide stuff regardless. It’s easier to hide black cables on a black costume.
So they ended up rotoscoping (painting over the blades on a physical cel and compositing the effects together. ) the blades in post production. And for future films, they just used aluminum rods with the intent of rotoscoping them from the beginning. With the prequels going to cnc aluminum hilts as well.
This is actually one reason for the original trilogy “thick sabers.” As the blades had to be physically painted over with a number of passes to get the glow. This is in contrast to the Special Edition “thin-blades” which were digitally painted and composited. This gets into the weeds even more depending on what version you talk about since the blades keep changing between the dvd releases, the 2004 box set, the Spike TV Hd version, the blue ray set, or the Disney+ version. Almost like Vaders “No” and Luke’s scream when falling. And yet Luke still calls Leia Carrie at the end of ANH.
Aluminum rods were much stronger but still could break and bend. This allowed for the other films, and fan films, to have much more kinetic fights. Although, most fan films would just use wood dowels. They’re a lot cheaper and significantly easier to find. Also, with the more kinetic fights, you loose the cloaks so they don’t get caught up on the blades.
The glowy blades now get the benefit of being a light source. Similar to the effect from Episode 2. A debate you haven’t heard in awhile is if the color and flare of a saber is visible to the human eye or just to the camera. Most screen sabers have white cores with colored glows afterall. Or if the color whites-out when blades cross instead of one color in front of the other. Such as in ROTJ when Luke strikes at the Emperor. Science vs cinema
Count Dukus lightsaber had a forward curved hilt. That should indicate a more rapier like fighting style doesn‘t it?
Bingo. The actor was trained in fencing. He wanted his hilt to reflect that style. Also partly the reason Dooku uses form 2 which is specifically for dueling.
Yes, I think it is lore that it was specifically made for dueling.
The Darksaber is the way it is in lore because it was made/forged by a Mandalorian, Tarre Vizsla, who likely based it on traditional Mandalorian bladed weapon designs rather than the typical Jedi designs. So in a way, the Darksaber is a Mandalorian Katana usually made entirely out of Beskar, but in this case, the blade is replaced with a lightsaber emitter made of Beskar hence the difference from typical Lightsabers, the Beskar interacts with the Kyber crystal within in ways untypical of a lightsaber.
tl;dr: it was made by the star wars equivalent of a mall ninja with a forge
Is it the dark saber considered more powerful than other lightsabers? Hasn't it been said that that added power comes from the energy being condensed to a thinner form? Aside from that it's still the same type of energy as any other lightsaber. All surfaces of the blade should be able to cut no problem.
You know, Star Wars world doesn't give much canonical explanation of how light sabers actually works. You only can speculate on the matter by looking on the shown effects and bits of information that actually get explained. I'm personally not an expert of Star Wars canon. Just seen some movies and series. So my take might be wrong. But I'd say, that light sabers in general works by cycling charged particles aka plasma in some kind of field that defines the blade. In case of the regular light sabers the stream of plasma is equally spread along the blade axis. That makes blade omnidirectional. But when the blade comes in to the contact with cutting media, most of the energy just goes around the target not actually dealing damage. In most cases that is not a problem because of absurd power light saber has. But the Dark saber is a different story. It was made by the ruler of mandalorians. It was meant as a symbol of power and the mean to defend it and the right to rule. Meaning it was made to fight other mandalorians that pretend to the throne. Mandalorians uses beskar armors and uses weapon made out of beskar. We know that regular lightsabers cant deal much damage to the beskar. So how a mandalorian could approach to making a weapon that can damage at least not a pure beskar armor? For example by focusing the flow of plasma by making it cycle in tight looped stream around edges of the blade. So when it hits something most of the energy goes into the media and cut at least not so pure beskar and heat up pure beskar. So this way not so great form of the blade and limited versatility is a tradeoff for better satisfying to the main purpose of the weapon.
Awesome video once again! Are there IRL swords like dooku’s the curved grip looks classy af!
Keep killing it bro
so just a few things, have you watched "the clone wars" cartoon, and rebels? they go into a lot of the history and whatnot of the dark saber there. and i believe Gar Saxon when he fights Maul uses the flat of the blade, but the reason the dark saber is the shape it is has to do with its creator a Mandolorian Jedi. when he made his blade he wanted to reflect his lineage and homeworld, also he wanted to make an heirloom that would stand the test of time.
That "suba" drives me absolutely bats**t. It is 100% backward. If I had one of those, I would flip the blade connection and put the switch on the other side. As it is, it's DUMB.
As a kid who grew up with Star Wars, I learned very fast that some hilts just suck. Qui-gon's is the best. Even just play fighting, you'll find that the bits and nobs dig into your hand and make it very uncomfortable to weird.
The ease of use, or weight that was in the show was explained as the Kyber crystal accepting or rejecting a wielder.
Yeah straight Disney BS , never in any of George’s movies
pretty much, makes no sense but thats what they went with
@@ScreenTested It's only the DarkSaber with that quality. Because it was the kyber crystal of a Mandalore, only those who are fit to rule, AKA the strongest willed warriors, were accepted.
Expanding on this. We saw Sabeen Wren having issues learning how to use the Darksaber in her initial training with it in Rebels because she was trying to fight and force the blade to work for her instead of connecting with it as every Jedi/Sith is taught to do and Rebels was still heavily influenced by George Lucas as he was still brought on as a consultant and was the final say on everything was Dave Filoni who learned everything lore-wise from George Lucas.
@@ScreenTestedThat's not entirely accurate... It may not be a thing in any of the original mainline films, but there's some EU stuff (as in non-disney) that discusses a similar concept. There's at least some kind of connection going on between a kyber crystal and lightsaber wielder and this is not a new/strictly Disney concocted concept.
The 'blade' is still omnidirectional...you can't make something hot enough to melt through steel not be. They are science, not magic, though the kyber crystal sort of bridges the gap a bit between the science and force aspects a bit...but still. She shape of of the blade would just give it a slimmer profile on one axis, which would make it a far better 'cutter' on that axis and than any lightsaber that is thicker.
There is a lot of conflicting lore on the origins of the Darksaber. One idea I’ve seen is that it’s based on very very old lightsabers that had to be flat due to technological limitations, back in the days of a separate power pack. It’s the only one of its kind “now” because all the others were scrapped or reworked when the 360 degree version became practical.
The thickness of lightsaber hilts is my evil hobbyhorse. Originally they were designed around photo flash units that are much thicker than any real world sword hilt ever, but they looked cool so they went with it. The Darksaber hilt and some of the others you showed are much closer in size to a real world sword hilt. To me that’s a very good thing regardless of any need for edge alignment in that a round sword hilt doesn’t matter when indexing isn’t an issue.
Otherwise your assessment of the shortcomings of the Darksaber make good sense to me. The only in-universe excuse for it being used is that it’s an antique with a near-mythical history that automatically puts an adversary at a psychological disadvantage.
Heavy lightsabers is actually a throwback to the original movies... here and there... depending on George Lucas' mood. Mark Hamill has recounted a few times that Lucas instructed him that he needed to hold his lightsaber with both hands in Empire because it was so heavy that it required it, suggesting it effectively weighted 50+ lbs, essentially because it was projecting so much energy and there was more or less a push to it, like an actively firing jet engine. Of course that kinds flies in the face of Luke swinging it around in A New Hope when Kenobi first hands it to him, and everything seen in the prequels and whatnot, but... Lucas was always kinda changing things as he went.
If you're right and Both edges can cut then I believe the "proper way" to hold it is backwards. Therefore they are purposefully using the blade backward to show off how skilled they are using it wrong.
I do agree with the hilts design, it's weird and the guard thing is unnecessary and pretty useless. However, the indexing of the handla could be attributed to the creator of the saber. In the lore the saber was made by a Mandalorian who became a Jedi and as I understand it later returned to Mandalore to unite his people which he did and his Darksaber became a symbol of leadership.
I would imagine that he would have created the darksaber after returning to Mandalore and as the Jedi and Mandalorians have a troubled history, creating a unique saber based on Mandalorian style and not traditional Jedi style of sabers would be a way of uniting the people, to separate himself from the Jedi but still showing power.
I also agree that the design of the blade isn't as effective as a normal lightsaber but it's just goes back to culture, Mandalorian culture. Mandalorians are a war like people, they prove themselves in battle and they use pretty much everything. Vibroblades among those (if those are still cannon, I imagine so after the Mandalorian and the future KotOR remake) and as Mandalorians traditionally used such blades, making the saber into something that is unique and that reflects their culture and not the Jedi, that's a win for them and something they can look up to.
Yeah... The Darksaber being heavy... I want to chop that up to what they sort of.. Kind of explained in the Mandalorian, something about purpose was it or want to use it? But yeah it's random and didn't need to be there at all.
A light saber should have some weight to the blade. Take any hilt and remove the blade then swing it around, it is super awkward. look at the SABNEO dark X. It’s a dark saber inspired hilt. It corrects everything you don’t like about the dark saber hilt.
The weight thing is only ever shown with the darksaber. And it's more like the crystal in the saber connects with the user, and if they are not clear on their purpose, or have a heavy heart so to speak, the crystal makes the saber seem heavier than it should be.
I wouldn't mind the whole blade shape thing if the excuse was that it concentrated the heat and cutting power in some way. Yeah, it still doesn't really make sense but at least it still gives it a reason
Also, I always thought the saber fights in episode 4 being slow was because Alec Guinness was an old man, but the props being too fragile for proper hits makes a lot of sense
According to Hamill, Lucas told them when filming ANH that lightsabers weigh 40-50 lbs. Certainly makes Alec Guinness’ fight more remarkable!
Wow. I know he wanted them to be superhuman but that's so strange. I totally understand who it never made it's way into canon.
I know a lot of people (myself included) have tricky estimating weight. I also noticed that a few American authors seem to have trouble converting imperial to metric system given that Star wars measurements tend to go that route (when not using something unique to that universe).
In the old EU they were about a single kilogram, baked by materials, for instance. One made from a rancor tusk world be lighter than one made from junk from crashed fighters or speeders.
(The one made an I, Jedi was from crash scrap for instance. Speederbike Handle, iirc or fighter yoke)
Very logical points there, Tyranth. Musical greetings from Belgium, Gunther (singer and lyrics writer of Gabriel Scar)
I've seen in the Expanded Universe/Legends books that lightsabers produce a strong gyroscopic effect, making them difficult to use for non Force users. Maybe that's what's happening when Mando says the Darksaber gets heavier each time he swings it?
that would make the effect even stronger for people with traditional sword training, while untrained people would be inclined to go with the flow of the lightsaber.
Flipping it over makes sense because the "button" to turn it on is set for the trigger finger that way.
When i was writing a fan fiction, I kind of assumed through a technicality that lightsabers had a slight gravitational pull that could be interpreted as weight when being wielded. I also wrote in that this pull is different for each lightsaber as their calibration is customized by their owners.
im pretty sure since its "lightsaber energy", the entire blade can cut.. its just that with the shape of the blade it just feels better to cut with the "edge".
i'd say that to support this theory is other media that has black core white core lightsaber crystals seem to be the same crystal in the darksaber, just not shaped as the darksaber. the darksaber's blade shape seems to be cosmetic only
Problem is there is the clip with Mando fighting Paz and the flat is on his arm not cutting or doing damage 👍🏼
@@ScreenTestedthe scene on the catwalk? Beskar is lightsaber resistant and you also see it temporary leaves the area red hot
. Steak knives have indexing, for the very reason you say. We can also say forks and spoons, have indexing so you know where the object's "useful" sides are. As to why the Dark Saber has indexing, I can only guess it looked cooler, but as for function, probably because Tarre Vizsla as a Mandalorian was used to making indexing. The rest... No Idea.
Honestly, any lightsaber type weapon, other than maybe a spear, would be a pretty bad weapon for a non-Jedi. It's a weapon that has an above average chance of hurting its user and nearby friendlies, because of that 360 degree blade that cuts through anything. And that's why the spear is a maybe as well... definitely don't want to be using that in formation, for example.
Cool talk ! And I also get excited about cool packaging
Tyranth is the man!
I’m not sure if it’s in all films apparently but in the 4th Star Wars (at least the one I’ve seen) when Obi Wan first gives Luke his light saber you can see that when he is waving it around there is a primary edge and not a circle. I just remember watching it after watching i think you and Shad talking about it and thought it was interesting
Honestly i Always thought it resembled more of a falchion ( or falcione in Italian) than a katana but maybe it a little bit of both, also if i Remember correctly the dark saber is more ancient and the jedi who built it was a mandalorian so maybe that the reason for having that false edge alignement 🤔
4:45 that Mace Windu saber is badasssssss 🤩💜
I thought even in the Mando Show they didn't explain the "heaviness" as a problem of being a force user or not, but that the Darksaber picked up on conflicting emotions and motivation and would oppose a wielder who wasn't sure of what they were doing. So, Pre Vizla, Moff Gideon, etc... were committed to their course of action, and even Finn was committed to protecting Rey. However, Din and Paz were in turmoil over losing their clan's main hideaway and what their course of action would be going forward.
The blade of the Dark Saber should have an omni directional blade because its made of plasma.
It doesn't matter what side you use, its all plasma.
There is the scene when Mando and Paz are fighting and the flat is on his arm not cutting or doing damage. 👍🏼
One of my nitpicks I've always had even when I was like 12 years old in the 90's, was how Force users corner the market on plasma swords. I am sure the elegant sabers need the Force to put together and assemble without tools etc. But any military / war like race would have taken lightsabers of fallen Jedi / Sith, and reverse engineered something. Even if it was something bulky like the original proto sabers that had large power packs and a power cord to run them etc.
The Dark Saber was supposed to originally be a Vibro Blade, but Lucas didn't think a Vibro Blade could block a light saber.. (While electric sticks are just fine ...)
Also- You are right about fencing. Dooku's saber is made for a fencing style. While it is not in the movies so much, EU and even Disney Fighting styles. Form 2 Makashi, is based off of fencing and is specifically made for defeating / killing other lightsaber users. Dooku's saber in lore was created to benefit that style. It was also a big of a hint in the EU that maybe he was not a good guy. Because why would a Jedi in ages of Peace where the only Lightsaber users are other Jedi, need a saber style made just for defeating them.
The only thing having a specific edge would theoretically make sense for, is if it concentrated the plasma and made it cut with more intensity
17:37-17:46 The problem with that (in-lore) is that a lightsabre's primary use in combat is to deflect blaster bolts. A fencing-type style would be practically useless for that.
Han Solo also used a light saber (not to fight) in The Empire Strikes back to cut open the tauntaun on Hoth. I mean, it's just a tool.
I do see the narrowing adjustment that Han made to the light saber which made it a better (finer) cutter for that purpose. Perhaps the dark star saber works (or could work) similarly focusing more energy to the edge than the wider light saber edge profile. They could make that into something.
Because it's not a Lightsaber. It's this cursed object that has a hybridized physical/energy blade instead of a pure energy blade.
One thing I think you overlooked is time periods. The dark Saber was an ancient blade from thousands of years ago. It's power was symbolic and the weight is Magick. Sword chooses it's wielder sort of thing, based on confidence. But design wise it's like comparing a ford model t to a ford mustang.
Indexing.... a flat sided object would be more comfortable dangling from your belt.
i always thought it was baised off a cutlass type design or maybe a messer design myself.
It has a tsuba tho? , feloni gave Ahsoka “katana” style hilts his production are is Japanese based , his training scene in Ahsoka has bokkens and kendo style gear the dude seems to be into samurai and bases a lot of his stuff of that.
I completely agree with your stance on the dark saber Tyranth. Did you know there was a black bladed lightsaber in the game "The Force Unleashed 1 and 2" long before disney got their hands on the franchise. Also, my theory of baskar is that it has its' own magnetic field which repels the containment fields generated by lightsabers much like trying to push both positive poles of two neodymium magnets together.
I think looking at mandalorian weapon design may help inform us about its design choices and bring shad along
Funny cuz a lot of people think the dark saber is like the greatest lightsaber but may I suggest a video idea could you do a video on halos energy sword
Did you also look at carrtoons were darksaber debut?
The Rebels episode Trials of the Darksaber (S3E15) does a decent job at explaining the weight discrepancy. Sabine points out that it's heavier than she thought it'd be, a common observation most non force users make when first holding a lightsaber, and Kanan explains that she has to attune to it to effectively use it. Sure enough, the more she uses it and the more accepting of it she becomes, the easier it is for her to use. Din never wanted the responsibility it came with, so he was never able to properly connect with it. The way Kanan talks about it, it's a safe assumption that all lightsabers work this way, the Darksaber is just harder because of the one's own mental blocks regarding that specific saber. That same episode also shows the "flat" of the blade cutting through Sabine's gauntlet when she gets careless.
The whole Darksaber thing was just supposed to be a vibroblade, but George Lucas decided that it didn't fit with the lore, so they changed it last minute and changed it to a "Darksaber" with basically no lore around it. Later they threw in some stuff about Darth Maul "claiming it" in combat, then it got retconned a 3rd time to being a Mandalorian thing.
So the reason it doesn't really work as a lightsaber, is that it was never meant to be a lightsaber, but due to multiple Disney retconning, here we are.
As usual, Disney ruins everything.
Wasn't there a rodian vibroblade user in the force unleashed?
The Darksaber was introduced in Clone Wars back when Lucas alone owned it
There hasn't been a single Disney Retcon about the Darksaber
I don't know about redconned as the saber has just switched owner over time. The saber was made by a Mandalorian Jedi which they explain in the Clone Wars series episode where it's first introduced I believe. Later Maul claimed the saber in combat when he defeated and killed the Mandalorian leader who was wielding it. I can't remember how Selene got her hands on it in the Rebels series but I remember that Bo-Katan received it from her and she handed it off to Moff Gideon so that he would spare her people (which he didn't).
So the Darksabers path through the different Star Wars series isn't complicated and the lore, if a bit sparse, is there and at least it's enough to warrant the sabers existence.
Weird however that Lucas wouldn't think that vibroblades fit with the lore. Though I guess those are canon now too thanks to the Mandalorian.
@@zwippie92 Virbroblades have been a part of the lore for a long time. I could be wrong, but I think that they've been around since at least the old West End RPG.
@@zwippie92 where things get fussy is that the dark saber seemed to have cult revolved around it.
a mando jedi made it, then clan visla stole it and said I'm the real mando now (the previous 'fake' mandos didn't use it), then maul won it and said I'm mando now
the surviving maul mandos then seem to spread the tale of how the blade determines the next mando
Bo was given the blade and things when to shit, so the "legend" evolved, you have to 'win' the blade or else youre cursed
this went on until Padro used a loophole to get rid of it, then it broke
as for the blade being 'heavy', i chalk that to Padro fearing the blade and what it meant (according to the legend).
the force seems to be a reflection and an amplifier, put good in get 20x good bak, put bad in get x20 bad back, Padro say it as a burden so he got x20 burded back (padme, bane and others have used sabers just fine, it was just a weapon to them)
I do want to point out the OG lightsabers from Episode 4, 5 and 6, where all based off Kendo Sticks. Which are often used to train new recruits in the fuedal Japanese armies. It wasn't until Legends that other variations where brought in after George Lucas said that other variations existed. Which means all Lightsabers are based off the idea of a Katana, just they figured out the 360 cutting was better, and sadly we only see a Kedo style of Lightsaber, until the conception of the Darksaber, the Lightwhip, and the Lightclaymore(the type that Kylo Ren has in episode 7 on). This also can be confirmed by looking at the time before Lightsabers, when the Jedai(the precursors to both the Jedi and Sith) used Force Alchemy, later known as Sith Alchemy, to create physical swords, of all sorts, but when the Sith first created the Protosaber, there where shorter round sabers and single edged blade sabers.
At the time of this part I'm barely into the video, but I wanted to make that very clear, that way no one can use the excuse of "but that's not what a lightsaber was originally." I will add more after I finish watching the video.
Edit: like to say halfway in now. But I need to blast the lore reason behind the single edge design. It fits the Mandalorian life. Precision, strength, and skill is their three main objectives in combat. To be the strongest, most skilled fighter and show it, the Mandalorian Jedi who built the Darksaber purposefully used a single edge design that is only seen in some Protosabers as well. It was one of the Jedi Council of the time, biggest complaint about the Mandalorian Jedi as they felt he was being Prideful and according to them was a path to the darkside.
Last edit: mostly fixing auto correct and my tired brain(it's 12:53am here and I've been awake since 8am yesterday) miss numbering episodes.
P.S. outside of the lore reasons, many concepts and cannon ideas from Episode 1, 2 and 3, Clone Wars, ect. Became cannon as Fan Service. Many of the rule of two Sith that are cannon where originally Legends Characters, many of the planets where once only Legends cannon, heck even the Sidious cloning plot point of the horrible Episode 7, 8 and 9 where Legends Cannon.
Yep, Emperor Reborn, Luke's dark side brush and so on were in the Dark Horse Comic series I think.
I never had the chance to read them, but those elements were mentioned in one of my favorite books, Vision of the Future, when Mara and Luke are discussing nature of the force and light/dark side stuff .
(I LOVED The illustration of the or crushing facility and unable to hear the songbirds due to the noise. And how the more a person drew on the force for raw power the less able they were to hear inspiration and guidance from the force.)
I liked the I, Jedi version of how lightsabers were made most.
The Dark X design from Sabneo fixes all the issues of the Darksaber. It even has the option to orientate the activation button either on top or bottom.
Counterpoint for indexing (lightsabers in general):
You may not need to know where your edge it,
But knowing where your on and off button is seems kinda important.
Excuse for edged saber (silly but eh we could make up some BS):
If I am not mistaken,
the same amount of the same plasma with the same thermal energy condensed into a smaller space should seem hotter on contact.
A very small amount of thermal energy condensed to a small point can create high temperatures. The punch of a mantis shrimp creates light brighter than and heat hotter than the surface of the sun in a very tiny space.
Taking a large amount of thermal energy and condensing it into a very small space should have such a result.
If we assume the dark saber is very very thin or that the apparent flat of the blade is just a visual side effect and the edge is the only cutting plasma, with the same energy as a normal lightsaber that should be even hotter.
Someone check me if I'm wrong, i have too much of a migraine to look into the actual math.
Well, Idk if I'm right or not, but I think the jedi's can activate or deactivate their light saber with the force, and they can protect their light saber with their force to avoid others to deactivate their light saber.
hey tyranth, love your content. i'm really curious where you got your plate armor pauldrons that you wear on some of the shadiversity videos?
I think the weight of the blad is nothing to do with the forse abilty of the user but the mind set of the user. How attune and conetend it is
I agree 100% that the primary inspiration is a katana but I think the tsuna very loosely has the start of an inspiration from a Cavalry Saber cup, but without the full cup protection
I could develop my own 'Head Canon' about the blade:
It was made by the only known Mandalorian Jedi, and they are most used to fighting with physical weapons, like swords with actual sharp edged blades.
I could see the Dark Saber intentionally being made like a physical blade, focusing its cutting power into the edge, making it much stronger than an 'average' Saber when cutting along that edge, but in exchange for making its 'sides' almost useless to cut with (but still good enough to block another saber and blaster shots).
Also, something I just remembered: The Mandalorian managed to damage his leg on the flat of the 'blade' in one of those episodes of "Boba Fett" he hijacked, so there is damaging power going through the 'flat' sides.
I agree with what you are saying. However to be fair the reason in universe for the overall design and blade style is because it is mandalorian. It fits the culture and combat style. Is it ideal? No but it fits how their people would be trained with basic metal weapons.
I tend to agree with the fact that the dark saber is really uncomfortable and awkward. I hate the handle . Also I have to say that I agree with the fact that lightsabers have low weight and that's why I believe that Vader's saber was meant to be handled by the bottom of the hilt where the rubber is. Reason being that u get the most range out of the sword while the ignition button, or slide, is within thumb range. The rubber prevents slipping. Thanks for the video Tyranth! Btw I love your saber choice. I woulda picked mace windu's as well 👍
11:48 i think the flat would have to have some cutting ability because he twists it at the corners it may be extremely inefficient but it would have some that way
Look at Star Wars wiki on the darksaber and Beskad
Looking at it has comparison to Greek kopis or movie 300 spartan sword
Huh I've never seen it as a katana, I like i can see it but also i just can't either.
The darksaber predates any other sabers that we've seen, and Mandalorians are not typically force sensitive, so the idea of it being a less refined weapon makes lore sense. My head-cannon was that for a lightsaber to work, essentially requires an "arc". Over time, technologically and training, allows that arc to concentric, creating the standard lightsaber, but without that, it creates more of a loop. I also read someone's theory that it was created using some sort of "light magnetism", drawing the energy away from the flats and into the edge, making it hotter than a traditional saber blade along the edges and cooler on the flats
Ironically, this "flaw" would make it more comfortable for someone raised on bladed weapons to use safely, as there is less opportunity for self harm when edge alignment is an issue.
One weapon I would request for you to test out given the franchise’s 30th anniversary is Fulgore from Killer Instinct and his Quad Blades. I’ve seen you guys test out Wolverine’s blades, but never something like Fulgore’s duel wielding gauntlet blades. It would even be neat to see if you guys can create a similar style helmet from an actual medieval knight helmet.
The darksaber is fine as a fantasy weapon, and I agree turn the guard around and extend it. For the hilt shape, I prefer its hand feel to the others as it is oblong. So I would say level out the guard, keep the oblong handle and go with a standard lightsaber blade and you have one of the most comfortable lightsabers you can hold.
Spongebob-ass meme there, buying something for the box.
You see Din Djarin accidentally "cut" himself with the "flat" portion of the blade, so technically yes, it's like the standard lightsaber in that regard. Lore-wise, the reason it's got a visual edge it's supposed to be stronger than the standard lightsaber, potentially even being able to cut through Mandalorian Beskar, or at least cause more damage to it than a regular saber. (Ashoka clashing with the beskar spear vs Din clashing with the same weapon is a good example of it as with Din, you can see it heating the singular point much faster while Ashokas blades barely sparks against the spear. Also, keep in mind that the lore regarding beskar states that it will stop a lightsaber with little to no damage and will even reflect blaster fire.
Your indexing part of the video made me wonder if it would also be good for a "claymore" type lightsaber like kylo ren's, one that has "crossguard" vents/ports to help with their positioning, even tho the blade is a 360 cutting edge
I think, lore-wise, that the darksaber was made by a Mandalorian jedi, and its implied that he wasn't just taken as an infant. so, I'd think he has experience using metal bladed weapons, so he built a saber to match the already ingrained tendency to use edge alignment, and as another comment mentioned, the narrower profile on the edge may allow a better cut than a standard saber, as they always seem to have an amount of resistance when cutting, implying a "sharper" edge would cut more easily, while losing that 360 degree cutting edge. most jedi use a standard saber from youngling age, and I remember a legends book showing a young Kenobi having trouble when he's forced to use a metal bladed sword at one point.
the saber was originally suppose to be a "Vibrosaber" but since a vibrosaber isn't suppose to be able to go up against a lightsaber they turned into a Lightsaber.
I get it. I agree. I think it's suppose to be hard to use though. Like its creator made it different to stand out. Also, I think it gets heavy for people who are force sensitive. They feel the weight of its history, I think.
My best guess is that since the darksaber in lore is a status symbol blade, maybe the single-edge-edness is more of a flex? Yes, *YOU* can use any weapon angle to fight, but *I* can and will beat you using only one.
The flat is a perception of the viewer, the edge is an illusion, like the force.
The lightsaber fight in A New Hope was slow because Obi-Wan's actor was old and Vader's armour was bulky so they had to slow the fight down due to these restrictions.
So broadsabers were a thing in the older expanded universe lore, they were essentially double edged lightsaber blades, and they were even space sharper than regular lightsabers but only on those two edges... They were only ever somewhat common during periods where either the Jedi or the Sith were fighting a lot of people in magic space armor used at various points by both orders.
Is it possible that the indexing aids in fitting the thinner blade between the cracks of beskar armor (for fighting other mandolorians) as opposed to the thicker round blades of more traditional lightsabers?
Also consider the fact that the flat side would struggle greatly getting through cracks too for all that’s worth
Lightsabers were created first as a visual effect and explained through science fiction later.
The real science behind a plasma blade the size of a sword - that can effortlessly cut through metal the way a lightsaber does - would make such a weapon so devastatingly powerful that it would kill the user before they could hit anybody with it.
I have gotten THE WORST sunburn from TIG welding in short sleeves and that plasma arc is TINY!
Plasma/laser cutters also require a jet of compressed gas to blow molten material out of the channel of the cut in order to _actually cut_ things.
Otherwise they'd just burn/melt the material without creating a cut.
my nitpick is why does the blade of the darksaber protrude out from the beginning of the hilt emitter 7:06 i know its sci-fi but how advance would the tech be if its shaping itself as if its forged. but because of the protrusion from the hilt it looks like an oversized kitchen knife.
It’s my first time seeing this, and yes: space katana. I thought Dooku’s saber looks like it makes you forcibly “index” even though his “blade” isn’t shown having an edge.