Non-Jedi usage of lightsabers

First off, if this topic is off-base for this particular forum, then I apologize since this seems the best place to ask this question so here goes.

Han used Luke's lightsaber to cut a hole in his tauntaun. To my reckoning, this is only 'real' instance of a non-Jedi using a lightsaber. However, Han didn't use it as a weapon per se.

So how feasible is it for a non-Jedi to use a lightsaber as a weapon? I remember reading somewhere that a normal person could use one as a weapon except they couldn't do any of the Force tricks with it like blocking/redirecting blaster bolts and such.
But I also recall reading somewhere that given the nature of a lightsaber, only a person wielding the Force could use it effectively without slicing any of their own limbs off.

Thoughts?

 

It depends on how you use it; if you aren't trying to be fancy (blocking, redirecting, etc.), then you probably can control it without the Force.

 

The way I see it, Anyone can use a lightsaber. But to use it effectively, as in do all those fancy tricks and such, only someone with a good knowledge of the force can use it the right way.

 

I've always liked the idea that it takes a Jedi or Sith to wield a lightsabre effectively.

Han slicing open a tauntaun is fair enough, but Grievous brandishing them about the place like he did removes a lot of the weapon's mystique to me.

 

Well, if I had an actual lightsaber I don't think it would be too long before I had some type of accident.

It is only good for force sensitive folks with precognition and years of training in how to handle one.

Grievous (whom I deplore) is an exception with his super brain.

Notice that in the KOTOR games only force sensitive users can carry a saber.

 

Any one can use a lightsaber, but only force users can master it and use it to its full capability. Grevious can fight with saber, but I highly doubt that he can block blaster shots.

 

I reckon Grievous might be able to deflect blaster bolts, what with his super-speed and computer brain. No match for the Force, of course, but good enough.

 

Grievous can block shots; he does so in LoE.

To fight Jedi, you need Jedi reflexes.

 

I haven't read that in a while. Was the person/s shooting at him in front of him?

 

I think a non-Force user can use a lightsaber, but I think it would not have quite the advantages for them as it would a Jedi or Sith. It might even have distinct disadvantages. For one thing, it is dangerous to use, especially if you try to use it like a regular sword. Another would be if you were mistaken for a Jedi- and it happened to be the Jedis' enemies, the Sith.

 

A Sith can sense the force just as well as a Jedi and can tell if the person holding the saber is a force user or not.

 

Ah true, I did know that a Sith could sense Force users as well as any Jedi, I was thinking more along the lines of that particular Sith assuming that this "Jedi" might be hiding his Force aura a la Palpatine, and deciding he/she ought to have a looksie

 

A good force user can tell the difference between a non force user and someone hiding their force presence.

 

If so, I don't think we could really call it "hiding their Force presence".

 

Han only used it briefy to cut open the tauntaun, had it tried to twirl it around and pretend to be a Jedi I think we would have lost our beloved scoundrel.

I think that in order to use a lightsaber as a Jedi would you would need to be skilled in the ways of the Force. One thing that is wierd is how GL originally said that they were supposed to be heavy yet other sources describe them as being extremely light.

 

What I mean is that non force users stand out, whereas a good force user that is hiding his presence wouldn't put him or herself in a situation like that.

 

If the Jedi could tell the difference between a non-Force-user and someone "hiding their Force presence", the beginning of AOTC wouldn't have happened.

 

I think the 'Only Jedi can use lightsabres' stuff is just plain silly, honestly. I mean..what is hard about it? Ohh, the blade doesn't have mass? Big deal; trying whipping a flashlight around. I guarantee you can keep yourself from having the beam cross your body if you're even remotely coordinated.

I think it's more, "when blasters arrived on the scene, lightsabres became obsolete for anyone without superhuman reflexes." Doesn't mean you can't use one; just means it's not a terribly good idea.

 

You're not understanding what i'm trying to say, so don't worry about it..

And I said force user( which could be Jedi, Sith or other), not Jedi..

 

To me the weapon is like a sword, but lighter and more graceful, so it takes finesse to wield it effectively, but anyone with any sense can hold it and swing it about without taking their own feet off. Han uses it to make one simple cut, and his aim is pretty right-on; but in combat I doubt he would be able to use it very well. Grievous was trained by Dooku, so clearly Force usage is not required, just combat instruction.

 

It is a sword.. but a sword with an energy blade..



lol..

 

Lucas' direction has always been to wield the Lightsabre like it has huge mass and takes great control. So it's supposed to behave as if it DOES have mass - even though it's an energy beam...

 

Not anymore it isn't. It was for the OT days, and especially for the Obi-Wan vs. Vader fight, but in the prequels? They're whipping them around like hyperactive cheerleaders with pogo sticks.

 

A lightsaber is a trademark of the Jedi. Like a blaster is to a Stormtrooper. But, that doesn't mean someone eles can't use them.

 

Indeed. Sabers have no mass, but they are supposed to have some weired gyroscopic properties that make them difficult for most to handle, which is the reason why usually force users tend to use lightsabers.