Star Wars: This Is How You Defend The Ridiculous Crossguard Lightsaber

[Wolyo]

Haha! The Well Informed Knight

I like that

Oh, absolutely, I find it nearly impossible to keep track of the typologies without visual references to work from and Albion are the example par excellence for quality reproductions.

And some example are between to type since it was in constant evolution so the quick look on wikipedia is always usefull

I have to admit, I was one of the booing and hissing gallery but it was actually Matt Easton (Schola Gladiatora) that changed my mind about the crossguard appearing on the lightsaber.

I really liked it from the start really cool, the way the blade looked too, really aggressive, not looking like the hard light-construct of the previous lightsabres. And the way the Sith draw his blade en getting en garde, very low, really grounded. It feel like this force user is more agressive, more reliant on power rather than swiftness unlike a lot of jedi or sith we've seen until now. (aaah Matt always a pleasure to see his video)

Mind you, I have managed to bop myself once or twice with one, but that's because of my own ineptitude, not the sword's fault

That's how you learn. What were you trying to do, when that happen?

 

[Boba Frag]

Haha! The Well Informed Knight

I like that

Oh, absolutely, I find it nearly impossible to keep track of the typologies without visual references to work from and Albion are the example par excellence for quality reproductions.

And some example are between to type since it was in constant evolution so the quick look on wikipedia is always usefull

I have to admit, I was one of the booing and hissing gallery but it was actually Matt Easton (Schola Gladiatora) that changed my mind about the crossguard appearing on the lightsaber.

I really liked it from the start really cool, the way the blade looked too, really aggressive, not looking like the hard light-construct of the previous lightsabres. And the way the Sith draw his blade en getting en garde, very low, really grounded. It feel like this force user is more agressive, more reliant on power rather than swiftness unlike a lot of jedi or sith we've seen until now. (aaah Matt always a pleasure to see his video)

Mind you, I have managed to bop myself once or twice with one, but that's because of my own ineptitude, not the sword's fault

That's how you learn. What were you trying to do, when that happen?

Oh, it was so long ago, I think I was learning binds with longsword and owing to the fact that I was kind of unfit and probably exhausted from the early part of training. Basically, I just the side of my head with the cross out of sheer poor coordination
I'm happy to report that doesn't happen very often!

That's a great point about the lightsaber, it does look almost ragged and aggressively flickering, doesn't it?
I'm intrigued with how they'll explain that, and looking forward to it.
You're right, he looks very ready, very aggressively and confidently skilled by that particular body language.
It even looks like a version of the German Fool's Guard/Italian Iron Gate - seemingly open, but far from it.

 

[Wolyo]

Oh, it was so long ago, I think I was learning binds with longsword and owing to the fact that I was kind of unfit and probably exhausted from the early part of training. Basically, I just the side of my head with the cross out of sheer poor coordination
I'm happy to report that doesn't happen very often!

What are you learning, Italian tradition or german?

That's a great point about the lightsaber, it does look almost ragged and aggressively flickering, doesn't it?
I'm intrigued with how they'll explain that, and looking forward to it.

I don't know how the other will look, but I'm sure they won't look as violent as this one. I hope this one will talk.

You're right, he looks very ready, very aggressively and confidently skilled by that particular body language.
It even looks like a version of the German Fool's Guard/Italian Iron Gate - seemingly open, but far from it.

With the left hand in front of him to use the force if needed, yeah look like the Force-user version of that stance, really true.

I'm quite excited to see him fight now, dammit!

 

[K12]

I think the fact that it looks impractical and dangerous is a good enough criticism. Not to mention stupid.

I don't like the "you can't criticise it for practicall reasons because it's fantasy" (which this article only narrowly avoids making)

Basically if you need a big long explanation to explain and convince people that something in fiction is impractical then it's basically fine... but not the other way round.

The initial reaction is the important one. Scientific accuracy and plausibility is really not much of an issue for Star Wars as a franchise. Would you say it's OK to have a dragon have wings and fly despite never moving those wings? Obviously their weight would be too much for them to fly on the wings they have (in virtually all example I can think off) so we're relying on magic in each instance.

Personally I think that if we wanted to go for a big, heavy, two-handed lightsaber look they'd have been better off just giving it a much wider or flatter blade.

 

[MorganL4]

Of course, it still makes Obi-wan a rather careless or negligent instructor as you pointed out.

Considering that his last student turned into the Dark Lord of the Sith I think we already knew that.....

But to what CJ said, sure we accept that "The force" gives them the aptitude to use it. But it still doesn't justify intentionally making the thing MORE cumbersome.

A: Jedi can still make mistakes (see Qui Gon Jin)

B: As a crossguard it doesn't function because you have the metal parts which either act as emitters or (as Stephen Colbert argues)stabilizers as an emitter it fails because the saber blade makes contact with the point where the crossguard and blade are connected (in real combat) in this case it would lop off the emitter and likely damage the hilt. OR as a stabilizer it fails because the moment it gets lopped off you suddenly have an unwieldy beam coming out the side of your hilt, which will probably going to fry your own fingers before it accidentally hurts your opponent.

 

[Disthron]

...the emitters protrude out from the sides. This means that if the blade slides down it will cut through the emitters thus rendering the cross guard useless. Even if it some how deflects and hits the cross guard, the attacker could easily force it down the cross guard to slice the emitters. If it the emitters are made from some kind of light blade resistant material, why not have it made completely of that stuff?

 

[Tsun Tzu]

See, Colbert's response is great.

My response?

The hilt bits are made of Cortosis.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cortosis

Done.

 

[wulfy42]

Everyone is looking at this wrong.

The light saber is LONGER then other light sabers before it. How does this happen? Simple, the cross guard portion is very short, the extra length comes from the cystal/s that generate the cross guard portion. The cross guard portion actually continues inside the hilt and up through the main blade, making it longer. As far as it being chopped off, first of all with a longer actual blade you would have a massive advantage against traditional sabers (you can hit them before they can hit you), second the hilt could be made out of a material that is resistant to the light blade, so it would naturally stop another lightsaber (just like a normal cross guard would do for a blade). The reason the whole hilt is not made of it is because you need the extra crystals to extend the main blade, and if you capped off the sides it would unbalance the weapon (if the hilt was as long as the actual lasers). Also it does allow for some additional blocking techniques with the laser portions of the hilt, and possibly even more damage if you where to throw the weapon.

As far as not being able to actual USE a lightsaber, non jedi have done that in the books at least and it's totally not true that you could not train yourself to eventually use one in real life without cutting off limbs. Just like any other skill, it would take time and practice, but you could do it with non-leathal versions first (just a beam that is hot, but would not cut through your skin). Practice makes perfect and with enough practice you could learn to control a light saber in real life.

 

[Travis Fischer]

What exactly is the author trying to prove by saying that a force user COULD wield the weapon?

The issue isn't whether a Sith COULD use the sword, but that there's no reason that they ever WOULD use the sword.

The crossguard offers no protection, as any attacks will hit the hilt and not the blade itself.
It offers no offensive advantage, since it's only long enough to really hit its owner.

It's a liability.


It's like saying "A Sith could fight with one arm tied behind their back" and yeah that's probably true, but why would they do that?

 

[Travis Fischer]

See, Colbert's response is great.

My response?

The hilt bits are made of Cortosis.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cortosis

Done.

Did you read that link that you posted? Did you even read the first sentence?

"Cortosis ore was a very rare, brittle, fibrous material whose conductive properties caused lightsabers to temporarily short out upon contact."

Let's make a lightsaber out of a metal that turns off lightsabers. Brilliant!

 

[Tsun Tzu]

Did you read that link that you posted? Did you even read the first sentence?

"Cortosis ore was a very rare, brittle, fibrous material whose conductive properties caused lightsabers to temporarily short out upon contact."

Let's make a lightsaber out of a metal that turns off lightsabers. Brilliant!

Oi.

"...temporarily short out upon contact."

Contact with the material is required.

The emitters (the cross guards, not the primary hilt, though, Palpatine apparently had it IN the hilt proper) are either made from non-conductive material which is then encased by said Cortosis, OR there's simply a gap between the two materials. Ie. it's a Cortosis tube around an emitter, perhaps with an internal non-conductive coating. In either scenario, contact isn't made, though the former could muck with the properties...so the latter seems more likely.

Point being, you can BS this into existence.

 

[Travis Fischer]

Did you read that link that you posted? Did you even read the first sentence?

"Cortosis ore was a very rare, brittle, fibrous material whose conductive properties caused lightsabers to temporarily short out upon contact."

Let's make a lightsaber out of a metal that turns off lightsabers. Brilliant!

Oi.

"...temporarily short out upon contact."

Contact with the material is required.

The emitters (the cross guards, not the primary hilt, though, Palpatine apparently had it IN the hilt proper) are either made from non-conductive material which is then encased by said Cortosis, OR there's simply a gap between the two materials. Ie. it's a Cortosis tube around an emitter, perhaps with an internal non-conductive coating. In either scenario, contact isn't made, though the former could muck with the properties...so the latter seems more likely.

Point being, you can BS this into existence.

Even if that were the case, at the very best you've made a case for having a Cortosis crossguard. That makes the beams pointless as best and a liability at worst.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Even if that were the case, at the very best you've made a case for having a Cortosis crossguard. That makes the beams pointless as best and a liability at worst.

Pointless? What about the numerous practical and combat applications for the beams especially if they can be turned off and on independently of the main blade plus their existence means that the crossguard can be made of much less lightsaber resistant materials?

 

[Godhead]

Is the Crossguard saber silly? Of course it is, but so is pretty much any form of light-[noun]. I'm just disappointed that we're not having space musketeers with lightrapiers.

Spoiler: Thrawn could be Cardinal Richelieu

 

[Travis Fischer]

Even if that were the case, at the very best you've made a case for having a Cortosis crossguard. That makes the beams pointless as best and a liability at worst.

Pointless? What about the numerous practical and combat applications for the beams

They don't have any. That's kinda the point. The beams offer no offensive or defensive advantage.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

Even if that were the case, at the very best you've made a case for having a Cortosis crossguard. That makes the beams pointless as best and a liability at worst.

I disagree?

They're mini lightsabers. You've got an offensive/defensive capability on the hilt of your weapon, or, utilitarian depending on needs.

If they can be enabled independently, you have the element of surprise.

Hypothetical Scenario: you and an opponent lock sabers. His gets caught on your crossguard, you push into him, directing the guard bit toward his chest. Ignite. Woo.

And...liability? The entire concept of a lightsaber is a liability to the user.

A weightless weapon that'll slice off part of ya for the most minute mistake? Sounds super wieldly!

It's a fantastical weapon to begin with. Bolting on little side sabers, echoing the design of longswords rather than katanas, is no less pointless or ridiculous than the initial concept.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Even if that were the case, at the very best you've made a case for having a Cortosis crossguard. That makes the beams pointless as best and a liability at worst.

I disagree?

They're mini lightsabers. You've got an offensive/defensive capability on the hilt of your weapon, or, utilitarian depending on needs.

If they can be enabled independently, you have the element of surprise.

Hypothetical Scenario: you and an opponent lock sabers. His gets caught on your crossguard, you push into him, directing the guard bit toward his chest. Ignite. Woo.

Also don't forget, the smaller blades would have countless practical applications as a fine precision cutting tool that the main blade would be too large and unwieldy for. On top of that, all one would have to do in a fight even without the element of surprise is force the blades into the opponent, and if each of the 3 blades could be activated and deactivated independently of each other the weapon could be wielded without any risk to the wielder by activating and deactivating the blades as needed.

Now that I think about it, there's been those that have advocated a turn off lightsaber turn back on strategy, and these secondary blades would help facilitate that. If somebody were to wield this crossguard lightsaber and try to do this the crossguard blades would provide both something to potentially stab the opponent with immediately without having to wait the couple seconds it takes for the main blade to be turned back on and something to immediately block with in the event the opponent didn't fall for that move.

 

[Tumedus]

I am going to move past the content of your argument and point out the fallacy in its overarching premise. Your argument is basically one of those typical internet dismissals of "its fiction so deal with it". The problem with that is that it has never been an effective argument.

The concept of "willful suspension of disbelief" has always had limitations. One of the primary limitations is that the story must be internally consistent. If you say a character can control gravity because he comes from some alien race, sure why not? If that same character dies by falling down a set of stairs, people aren't going to accept that because it contradicts the "rules" you already asked them to believe.

The people saying that the crossguard saber is impractical or ineffective are doing so based on the lore set that has been established in that universe.

Also, because its sort of a subset of your argument and has been used often (e.g. light whips) just because something else in the story is stupid doesn't excuse something new from being stupid as well. They could give Rob Schneider a role and it would be terrible. Jar Jar would still be worse, but that wouldn't make Schneider's character okay.