Lightsaber Blade Length--What length handles best?

Okay, I know there's a sticky on making lightsabers, but what I wanted to know wasn't *exactly* covered in the post or replies. That is: what lengths of lightsaber blade seem to work best for different filmmakers?

I ask because my sabers are wooden dowels (broomsticks actually; say 15-17 mm diameters) within PVC handles, and extend 34 inches from focal plate to the point of the saber. Saber hilts are hollow, about 11-12 inches as described in the sticky; broomhandles extend down into the hilts. While the balance of most of my sabers seem okay, I'm not sure if it's because of my particular height and whether other folks are going to have problems handling the same saber.

So...what length of blade seems best to handle for individual filmmakers? Any consensus on that?

EDIT: Just to avoid any confusion, the 34 inches from focal plate to saber point does *not* include any part of the saber grounded inside the handle.

 

I really don't think you are going to get a "what works best exactly" answer.
What works best for one person may not work best for another.


As with ANY "what is best" question, the answer is undeniably ... whatever works best FOR YOU.

 

11 inches for sabercasing
33 inches blade from emitter

is standard

 

By standard you mean what was used in the films, right?

I have always just used a total length of 4 feet since I use 3/4 in. dowels and they come in 4ft standard.

 

I think that a lot of it should do with how tall you are. I'm 6'2", so I can use a blade that is 34" from the hilt. I would imagine that someone 4" shorter than me would constantly be hitting the floor with a blade that long.

It kind of reminds me of the guitar player for Anthrax who had to have guitars custom made, small-size, because he is such a small dude.

It really all comes down to what you're comfortable with.

 

I just got my dowel and trimmed it down until it was comftable.

 

The "standard" hilt length is 30 cm. However, make a handle that's comfortable for you. Personally I like to have enough room to fit 3-4 hand widths on my hilt.

As for blade length I'm not sure on but is best based on the person's height that's going to be using it. I usually pick up the prop blade (not yet cut) let my arm hang not quite straight down and then rotate my arm in a circle. I then find the point where it contacts the ground and cut it off there so I can perform those moves without getting it caught in the dirt.

 

I'm with WhisperingDeath on this one. A total of 4 ft. Works for me...

Sage H.

 

I have a 12" hilt with a 36" blade, which works well for me.

 

I hear that you should be able to hold the thing face down at arms legnth, and it should just barely touch the floor.

 

i use 90cm for the blade, and whatever is preferred for the hilt.

 

Sage you are with me? That is really scarry because I don't remember letter you into my house...

 

This question in many ways is also dependent on materials.

A 4-foot wooden dowel is going to handle a lot differently than a 4-foot aluminum tube, ESPECIALLY if you've got a saber handle adding weight to one end.

Also, it depends on location, believe it or not. Fighting or otherwise using a lightsaber in a confined space might make it desirable to use a shorter stunt blade and make it full-size in post.

M. Scott

 

I heard somewhere that the saber blade should be 1 meter long! Also make sure the the blade is strong enough to handle force from another blade!

Me and my friend were just doing some meaningless lightsaber fighting, just using the sticks, and I ended up smashing his in half because his stick was made of some really weak wood!

 

I have used 1" diameter blades for practice so breaking is less common and 3/4" blades for performance so speed can be done effectively.

What did you guys use for your duel with Ryan, mr. dorkman?

 

Thanks for the help, guys...guess I'm just gonna have to have a saw with me when my actors first pick out a saber

Anyone ever tried PVC pipes as the sabers? Not that I'm contemplating it, just wondering whether in anyone's experiences the speed vs. breakage vs. "bend" factor made them worth using...

And thanks again.

 

i use PVC blades on my double-bladed because thats what the tut said to use. The wobble a bit, but im hoping to reinfoce them with dowels to minimize that.

 

The community has pretty much abandoned straight up PVC. My reason for not using it is that 3/4 in. dowels break before my actors faces do... PVC will stay sturdy.

 

I've switched to using PVC with a dowel rod inside it to keep it from wobbling. And Whispering... Yeah, I'm in your house. I'm like the wind baby... Don't turn around or I'll hit you with my saber blade...

BAM!!!

*Sage hits WhisperingDeath anyway*

Sage H.

 

*Whispering Death wakes up*

Uhhhh... Oohhh... wait, right before I was hit I was in the FanFilms forum, now I am in some sort of wintery wonderland... I don't think we are in Kansas anymore Sage...

 

PVC pipes were the first thing I used for fight choreography, and back in the day what I used for the actual enactment of the fights. PVC is sturdy, lightweight, cheap, and takes a lot of abuse. And when it breaks it tends to do so pretty spectacularly, which makes it cool.

To this day I still use PVC for these reasons when brainstorming for a lightsaber fight. However, I use different things for the actual fights.

For my own fan film, I've had some resin castings made of the hero lightsabers, with cores of stainless steel, over which I can slip brightly-colored aluminum tubes. This is the same system in use for the prequels.

For my duel with Ryan, the stunt and hero props were one and the same; the hero props could have 3/4" blades screwed into them. While we practiced with wooden dowels, for the actual fight we put in aluminum tubes painted bright orange and protected by packing tape as an alternative to shrinkwrap to keep the orange paint from flying off in all directions.

As an interesting side note, the force of the blows the blades took re-liquified the paint in certain spots and we ended up with some ugly-looking pockets of it. Luckily it still showed up as a solid orange and since there were effects going over it anyways, we didn't worry about it.

M. Scott