When i'm making my lightsaber...

I don't really want to make just a flashlight with a polycarbonate tube, i was actually kind of hoping i could forge a steel blade with an amethyst hand-guard/hilt "emitter" (because lightsaber crystals are STILL analogous to quartz disney and no amount of retconning can change that) but at the same time I just don't know. I mean lightsabers aren't necessary for being a Jedi on this forum or IRL for that matter, but just for my own weird purposes, self defense maybe? I *do* know Kendo after all...
What thoughts do you guys have? Just stick with the old design, or go with something that has some practical use?

Well, if its for self defence, a polycarb tube itself could pretty much do the trick.

Or, if you really dont want a polycarb tube flashlight (or as I lovingly call them "glorified glowsticks"), perhaps a bokken?

Eh, maybe on the bokken. I just kinda like making things, plus I have some new forging techniques I wanted to try
It would be MUCH quicker to make a glowstick, but it would be hard to be taken seriously against someone with a knife or such, not to mention it would be kinda awkward to carry that in public...
Regarding the sword, I was considering electrifying the blade with 9volts or plating it with depleted uranium to combat those with armor, but my friend keeps reminding me that I'm not off to save imperial china or whatever.
It's still up in the air, I won't be making anything for a year or two.

BlazeFrag wrote: I don't really want to make just a flashlight with a polycarbonate tube, i was actually kind of hoping i could forge a steel blade with an amethyst hand-guard/hilt "emitter" (because lightsaber crystals are STILL analogous to quartz disney and no amount of retconning can change that) but at the same time I just don't know. I mean lightsabers aren't necessary for being a Jedi on this forum or IRL for that matter, but just for my own weird purposes, self defense maybe? I *do* know Kendo after all...
What thoughts do you guys have? Just stick with the old design, or go with something that has some practical use?

The practice of a Jedi initiate or Padawan building a lightsaber is in the craftsmanship of the hilt. Since you would be thinking of crafting a sword here, I'd suggest it's about your total craftsmanship of the weapon.

If you want to carry on the conceptual ideas and designs of a lightsaber, why not make a fully functional sword, with a blade that is colored in the idea of a crystal generated color, illuminated on both sides of the blade with a colored bulb to accentuate the coloring further. Additionally the hilt can be designed in a classic lightsaber concept and might even include sounds to go with it. Initially someone might get a chuckle from you wilding something like this but once they see you actually do know how to operate a sword, and this is not just a flashlight beating stick, it could cause an overall approval.

Just some thoughts.

I agree....I love the idea of a highly polished blade reflecting light coming from the hilt...would look even better at night!

yeah that does sound neat, my hilt is already designed though...once i get a camera of some quality, the forging and casting process can begin! The coloring of the steel isn't something i know how to do yet, but it shouldn't be too hard. the lights sound genius, and can be wired from the 9v used to electrify the blade..my only concern is how do i shield the amethyst handguard from use? Coat it in resin or superglue cast perhaps?

The entire hand guard is 1 crystal?

alright so if you look at a katana, the thing above the grip, i just call it the hand guard. And no, its going to be several crystals held together by jewelers glue, but like carved into something that looks nice

In my very limited experience with amythist is it can be very brittle. I don't know that it would stand up to the kind of impact a functional weapon would most likely have to endure. I could be wrong though...defenatly a weapon I wanna see though

Amethyst just wouldn't hold up well. It can't handle being compression well and hitting something would shatter or crack it. If it didn't give out right away, the reverberations through the metal would wear it down over time. I would recommend crushing the amethyst, sealing it (resin would be good) and polishing it as an outer layer. The end appearance will depend on how fine you crush it, but should resemble a marbled or pebbled. I've included a stock photo to give an idea.