Is a "lightsaber" really a saber?

I mean a saber is like a rapier only with a curved blade and sometimes a pistol grip...a lightsaber definitely is neither curved, nor does it have a pistol grip (maybe Dooku's could be considered the exception though).

I think it's resemblance comes from the fact that it's light and quick like a rapier, but is very effect for slashing as is a katana, etc. (which is pretty much what a saber is...light and quick like a rapier, but with the cutting/slashing abilities of a curved blade).

Kit, you're the swordsman of the group, what are your thoughts?

 

OK....Swords 101.....the following categorizes the blade family in BASICS:

Any sword with a true one-hand grip is known as a short sword and generally are no greater than 24" in length.

Any sword with a true one-and-a-half hand grip is known as a long/broad sword and generally are no greater than 42" in length.

Any sword with a true two-handed grip is known as(DUH!)a two-handed sword and are generally upwards of 65-70".

Any sword that has a curved blade falls into the bulk classification of Falchion, Saber, Cutlass, Katana, ect. and can comprise all the sizes and even include inverted curves such as the Gurhka(sp?). Generally, these swords are single-edged, very sharp, but somewhat brittle for it, and are considered to be pure cutting blades; some have double-edges and most are Asian and/or Mideastern.

Double-edged swords are almost always straight, diamond form blades with a slight taper to the tip, and as such are considered to be hacking blades due to their inherent strength and lack of cutting superiority. Most European blades are of this type and sizes cover the spectrum.

Any sword that is straight, with limited and/or no cutting ability and a sharp point is generally classed as a rapier or foil(fencing weapons...dodge, parry, thrust!!!)

Some examples of blades:

Roman Gladius(short, one-handed, double-edged hacking blade)

Crusader Long Sword(european one-handed, straight, double-edged hacking blade of medium length)

Falchion(mideastern one-handed, curved, medium length, single-edged cutting blade)

Katana(japanese one or two-handed, curved, single-edged, medium length cutting blade)

Tai Sword(chinese one-handed, straight, medium length, double-edged cutting blade)

Flamberge(european two-handed, straight(but somtimes wavy), very long and heavy, double-edged hacking blade)

*No Dachi(japanese two-handed, curved, single-edged, very long and elegant, awesome cutting blade; my favourite!)

NOW.....is the lightsaber a saber-type of sword....no, not really.....it's actually a longsword because of the straight form and because it has more than one cutting 'edge'! To wit....most sabers persay are curved, have only one cutting edge, and a curved grip. Most lightsaber designs have a straight blade, a straight one or one-and-a-half hand grip, and a blade length of about 36-40", making it a near prime candidate for a longsword.
BUT.....it must be noted that since it is widely held that a lightsaber is a blade of light that has been contained in some kind of field, and that we mundanes have actually used super electromagnetics to bend light, the supposition could easily be made that a proper light 'saber' could be constructed, thus having a curved grip and blade, such as my own design...theoretically, of course. It should be noted that a lightsaber's blade is, again, theoretically, only a scant few nanometres in diametre, and what is presented on the silver screen is the surrounding aura of light eminating from the intense core of light energy which comprises the actual 360deg cutting blade. The idea of a plasma blade does not fit the 'lightsaber' mold, although a properly designed blade could cut through almost anything.....plasma torches regularly make mince-meat of thick steel alloys in modern factory ops. Lasers, or cohesive light beams represent true quintessential cutting instruments, and have the theoretical ability to cut virtually anything, so long as the light beam is not too dramatically interfered with. The power to make such a blade is the problem, and the power needs to be, oddly enough, for the containment system for the light...either to bend the light back on itself for intensification purposes, or to simply hold the light beam in a set 'track'. Ironically, most containment grids capable of bending light would probably impede the light's reaching it's target in the first place, since usually it requires a phenomenal amount of electromagnetic energy to do so, and EM affects a lot of stuff!!!! NOW...if you really must have a 22nd century blade that is made of seemingly ins

 

*Blinks eyes*

I want to come to Alderaan with you and learn the ways of the Force!!

Seriously though, I have been trying to find some place to show me how to really use a sword. I mean, fencing, fighting, whatever. It's a beautiful art and I am very much wanting to learn...Whatcha say?

 

lol, a little more info than I was looking for tim, but thanks. I was just thinking comparitively of lightsabers to real swords.

btw, some rapiers tend to have longer than 24" blades depending on the style, etc...and most, although designed for skewering your opponent, have a cutting edge on them. They're not great for the slashing of a curved blade or the hacking of a longsword or broadsword, but they can cut you pretty good.

ps. and yes I know your views on the rapier being an inferior weapon, but I just really love the grace and especially the speed of it...some of my favorite sword scenes in movies are of rapiers.

 

a lightsaber isn't even a SWORD!!! It's a laser pistol that stays there. It's a beam of light. And it's hot. Otherwise it'd be more of a CLUB. A Lightclub lol

 

nah, a club is a blund object, a lightsaber is a precision cutting weapon...much like a sword.

 

no, it's more like a supersized soldering iron.

 

how do you figure?

A soldering iron is just an iron that heats up solder to solder stuff together...a light saber is supposed to be made of light (like a "laser" *dr. evil voice*), and cuts like a laser.

 

it's hot. That's what cuts. It's not sharp or anything, I should've said Cutting Torch. But anyway, it's a beam of light, doesn't that mean that someone can wear an armor with mirrors and reflect the lightsaber and/or blaster bolts? That person would be invincible in the SW Universe. Since everything is LASER. Everything would be reflected. Now they need someone with mirrorized armor

 

We already have lasers that are intense enuf to destroy mirrors....the intensity of the beam overwhelms the mirror's ability to redirect the energy, and is thus destroyed...our military has had these for years. And the bolts you see on the silver screen are more indicitive of some kind of plasma or energy bolt...a laser would be a continuous beam...blaster bolts are probably some kind of 'released energy' charge, hence the singular position in relative space as it travels to the target. We have simple plasma weapons that emit such a 'bolt' of energy....again, our tax dollars at work.....

 

ok, so if Lightsabers are just "lasers" and nothing more than hot beams of light. they would have no density. No density, no mass. How would they deflect another beam of light traveling their way, but cut through everything and anything it touches? How is it able to knock away a blaster bolt or lock with another saber? It's impossible...but then again, so are lightsabers lol

 

If you must kno, a laser is only a singular, focused beam of light....the theory of why two lightsaber blades cannot mix is that the intensity level that allows it to cut through most objects also allows it to withstand an equal force(ie, another light blade)...as to the blaster bolts, it's plausible that even though they are bolts of energy, they are intense enuf to momentarily be on the same power level as a laser, thus deflecting the bolt without dispersing it greatly...as to mass, all things have mass, but even a cohesive cutting beam has very little mass in relative terms to the object being cut...take a plasma torch for instance....the componentry may be massive, but the plasma stream itself has almost no mass relative to the monstrous plates of steel alloy it is called upon to cut, which it does so like a hot knife thru butter....see? Aother ironic point.....a plasma torch is hot, a laser is not...it only creates heat when the beam strikes the object, and the molecules are disturbed....violently! And remember, nothing is impossible, it just hasn't been done yet!

 

a soldering iron does not cut...it joins stuffs together.