Makeshift Unorthodox Costume (In Progress)

[SirLiftaLot]

Lmao, they do love to Exile those who break ranks too harshly... but you would likely be given choices. You know how to "tow the company line" enough and say "yes Master" enough to likely stay. I don't know if your ideas would ultimately be called outright heresy. It's more how far you're willing to take a train of thought, or if you simply stop after receiving "warnings" or "guidance" to steer you in a more proper/fitting direction. If you proved you weren't going to go kill crazy with your weapons projects or allow them to "fall into the wrong hands" I don't think they'd simply expel you for your studies so much as frown upon your desires if they feel they began to pull in too negative a direction. If it were me (within the Order) overseeing you I'd likely just have you placed under the direction of the Council of Reconciliation to put you out there using the honed skills to settle diplomatic situations that spiraled into full on conflict. Or (although it's potentially dangerous) place you under the care, direction, and at the disposal of the Council of First Knowledge. So you have archive access to weapons of all sorts to quench that thirst for knowledge under supervision. If you make something to dangerous/heretical they'll hopefully see it in advance and do that good ole Jedi BANNED and lock/store it away as tabboo! But with proper training or focus you could be "cleansing" ancient Sith weapons, cataloguing exotic weaponry collected, or coming up with new variants for use by the Order. Even possibly corrupted by an ancient relic or two... It would wholly depend on you and guidance you received. Will of the Force and all that. Your choice of blue blades falls in line with that training regimen and desire to progress in prowess while seeking new avenues of weaponry/technique. Your poor Jedi Master might indeed have their hands full, Qui-gon probably would have been an example of a great choice for mentorship or dealing with a potentially atypical Knight of the Order.

Good points as usual. I heard that Yoda didn't like Dooku's curved hilt lightsaber, not because it was "different," but because it as designed primarily to combat other lightsaber users. But seeing as Yoda seemed to believe, obviously incorrectly in retrospect, that the Sith were gone, he saw that the only purpose of Dooku's design was to fight other Jedi. However, Yoda didn't exile Dooku from the order for it, and actually still took him as his final Padawan. So if they were in an era where they either knew the Sith were present, or had a more proactive approach at preparing for potential Sith threats that seem to always inevitably arise at some time, a weapon designed to combat other lightsabers wouldn't be inherently frowned upon or viewed with suspicion, but only perhaps some general caution and guidance I'd say. It's not like exotic lightsabers have ALWAYS been entirely taboo, or at least not explicitly banned, as Exar Kun had a double-bladed lightsaber as a Jedi, and more recently, Pong Krell used two of them, and the notes in The Jedi Path mentioned one Jedi using a saberstaff, but I forget who it was offhand.

Something too "dangerous" or wild like the lightsaber rifle would likely be archived though, both due to it's potential to deal damage, especially at a distance and to unsuspecting opponents, as well as it being pretty much exclusively an offensive weapon with little to no "defensive" uses, which isn't exactly very Jedi-like most of the time. No idea if a three-section-saberstaff would fall in the category of hyper-offensive or not, as I really have no idea how a three-section-staff is used, with the exception of knowing that it being exotic and unorthodox can make short work of opponents with no experience against it, and that the segmented staff can help to strike around shields and things like that. I am totally unaware of how it would function defensively though.

[DarthProdigal]

No idea if a three-section-saberstaff would fall in the category of hyper-offensive or not, as I really have no idea how a three-section-staff is used, with the exception of knowing that it being exotic and unorthodox can make short work of opponents with no experience against it, and that the segmented staff can help to strike around shields and things like that. I am totally unaware of how it would function defensively though.

The applications of the one you have listed the pictures of could easily be very defensive. It isn't crazy far from Jar'Kai in standard applications but has more potential reach and ways to swing the "independent" ends since they are joined. Basically you can rotate them/spin them different ways holding the center, or hold the grip of one while constantly rotating the other to form a shield (similar to how you're familiar with spinning your num-chuks) Think almost of how you might use the pair if they were elongated and bonded at one end to each other. The traditional weapon is soooo cool to me but this lightsaber variant is so different in a fun way. I guess I'm partially in love with the danger of "losing fingers" with carelessness, having to re-train in a slightly varied way, and the new applications the extra offense could bring. Searing/cutting in half is vastly different that hitting with metal, wood, carbon fiber, so the Sith in me is overly fascinated. I doubt it'd be the same story in Jedi hands...

 But even to me it's a little horrifying to think of twin independently moving lightsabers spinning on both sides of the wielder. Even with excessive training, a slightly improper movement, angle, step, or unforeseen factor would spell serious disaster! It could easily in my opinion be even more dangerous to the user than a light whip used improperly. Since that's only one tendril and these would likely be more concentrated/thicker beams. No lie I feel genuine fear at the thought of using this in a lightsaber variant, almost too potentially dangerous for some of the moves I'd want to attempt/use. It'd be more of a novelty than combat weapon for me, so I'd not lose a leg or part of something. I'm thinking YEARS of use before combat application.

[SirLiftaLot]

The applications of the one you have listed the pictures of could easily be very defensive. It isn't crazy far from Jar'Kai in standard applications but has more potential reach and ways to swing the "independent" ends since they are joined. Basically you can rotate them/spin them different ways holding the center, or hold the grip of one while constantly rotating the other to form a shield (similar to how you're familiar with spinning your num-chuks) Think almost of how you might use the pair if they were elongated and bonded at one end to each other. The traditional weapon is soooo cool to me but this lightsaber variant is so different in a fun way. I guess I'm partially in love with the danger of "losing fingers" with carelessness, having to re-train in a slightly varied way, and the new applications the extra offense could bring. Searing/cutting in half is vastly different that hitting with metal, wood, carbon fiber, so the Sith in me is overly fascinated. I doubt it'd be the same story in Jedi hands...

 But even to me it's a little horrifying to think of twin independently moving lightsabers spinning on both sides of the wielder. Even with excessive training, a slightly improper movement, angle, step, or unforeseen factor would spell serious disaster! It could easily in my opinion be even more dangerous to the user than a light whip used improperly. Since that's only one tendril and these would likely be more concentrated/thicker beams. No lie I feel genuine fear at the thought of using this in a lightsaber variant, almost too potentially dangerous for some of the moves I'd want to attempt/use. It'd be more of a novelty than combat weapon for me, so I'd not lose a leg or part of something. I'm thinking YEARS of use before combat application.

You know, I totally had a brain fart on not realizing that it can be used in a Jar'Kai fashion, just with the middle part between them, which could help defensively. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I also saw a three-section-staff that can screw together so it can form either a three-section-staff, a bo staff (all three sections together) or some sort of flail type weapon, with two of the sections together, and the third section swinging forward, almost like a hybrid of a flail and nunchucks.

I'd imagine making one of these that also has LEDs in them would be a challenge in our world, but in the Star Wars universe, that versatility, if you could keep the chains and a quick-release option to join the sections into a staff, or separate them into their natural chained connection, that would be incredible versatility.



I suppose if you wanted one of these in-universe and didn't want to risk Mauling yourself (pun intended) with the slightest mistake, a Jedi could get incredible use out of a Beskar three-section convertible staff. You get all the benefits of a "weightier" staff against lightsaber resistant materials, the reach of a staff, the non-lethal options that Jedi often enjoy, and that's only with the traditional staff form. Unscrew one of the sections and you have a flail that, with the long handle/staff (the other two sections) you can probably get a lot of speed and power going behind the swinging section/flail, that can probably still pack a wallop to lightaber resistant material, and even potentially hit around shields and even other blades. Then you have the fully separated three-section staff for the Jar'Kai style combat, as you mentioned, and also for tying up opponents and potentially disarming them or something.

Interesting how our minds differ, with the Sith mentioning the fear it can induce, even in the wielder, and the Jedi, even if a greyer one, talking about potentially less-lethal but potentially more versatile options.

[SirLiftaLot]

Just got the actual Ultrasaber pike extension. Good timing too, because the coupler I sanded one end down on to hammer into the PVC coupler for my makeshift pike extension came apart. Nothing a little super glue can't fix, but it's nice to have an extension that matches the saber so well. Added some o-rings to it of course, and got a little practice in.

It's a bit shorter than the one I made. I want to say it's 15" vs 24" on the extension, but it's still enough length to make it function largely like a pike or staff. I want to say it's a bit over 4' in length now, with around 2.25' being hilt, which means enough hilt to spin it like a staff.




The Obi-Ani spin with it feels more natural to me with this than with a single normal saber:

https://i.imgur.com/2dsZN0Q.mp4

And it's still long enough with a good enough balance point to do staff spins. It is a tad short to be truly optimal right now for the spins, but I think that may just be me not being used to this length yet, so I am quite pleased still.

https://i.imgur.com/VAsV2i3.mp4

[SirLiftaLot]

Or if I'm really feeling crazy, I suppose I could attach the extension to the middle of the saberstaff to make an over 7' long saberstaff with over 3' of hilt. Probably a bit much, although if I put one blade plug in, I can now pick up length for a true saber pike, as I'd gain another foot of hilt, bringing the overall pike length to 5' from blade plug to blade tip.

Or if I don't want to do that, once the other extension is fixed, I can put the Ultrasaber extension one on blade, and then the makeshift extension on the other end, which would give me the 12" hilt, plus the 15" extension, plus another 24" extension, good for 4.25' of hilt/staff, and just over 6' of total length including the blade. This could be a cool option with a ton of reach. A true saberpike. It would be interesting to see where the balance point would be with that, seeing as I'd have quite a few different materials. The blade, then the hilt with the battery, then the metal extension with nothing in it, to the PVC extension with nothing in it. I guess the location of the balance point would determine if it can still be used largely like a staff, or if it would have to be used more like a spear.

[SirLiftaLot]

The true saberpike is born.

The end of the pike is on the ground, and I'm 5'10", so this is over 6' total length.





It can still function like a saberstaff as well for spins holding the center, which is nice:

https://i.imgur.com/umapEnJ.mp4

I'd imagine that the real utility of this configuration would be reach though, using it more like a spear/pike/polearm than a saberstaff with one blade. But there is definitely some speed lost when you hold it all the way at the back. The farthest back I think I'd hold it is shown in the outdoor photos, with the front hand on the rear portion of the middle extension. So I suppose there's a reach of 15" + 12" + (24-2)" minus maybe 6" for where my hand is, so 43" past my hand, which is a fair bit longer than a "standard" 36" blade, and still longer than an "extra long" 40" blade. Not to mention that when I'm holding it at arms-length fully extended, I have two hands on the hilt for more power and control, while anyone holding a traditional lightsaber out at arms-length has to do so holding the saber with only one hand, which I'd imagine could be rather difficult to maintain and control with a 40" blade.

All things said, this is a fun configuration.

[Master Venturous]

Glad to see the saberchucks and saber pike getting some love. My only recommendation for you though would be to shorten the pike a bit. It seems from your video of you spinning it that you're trying to keep it from hitting the ground and therefore aren't spinning it at its fullest speed potential. I had this issue when I first experimented with different pike lengths. I'm 5'9" and found that anything slightly shorter than myself was ideal for spinning fast without having to worry about hitting the ground or having to adjust my technique any.

The overall costume looks great too and I wish I had found those belt rings to attach a saber to years ago.

[SirLiftaLot]

Glad to see the saberchucks and saber pike getting some love. My only recommendation for you though would be to shorten the pike a bit. It seems from your video of you spinning it that you're trying to keep it from hitting the ground and therefore aren't spinning it at its fullest speed potential. I had this issue when I first experimented with different pike lengths. I'm 5'9" and found that anything slightly shorter than myself was ideal for spinning fast without having to worry about hitting the ground or having to adjust my technique any.

The overall costume looks great too and I wish I had found those belt rings to attach a saber to years ago.

Thanks! You are 100% correct, that pike is a bit longer than I'd like it to be. My actual saberstaff is between 5'8" and 5'10", and I am 5'10", which is perfect for me, as the general rule of thumb from my background in Taekwondo is that the staff should be the same height as the user, or a few inches shorter. Luckily for me the 2' makeshift pike extension should be easy enough to trim down a bit, as the endcap on it is not cemented on, so I can just remove it and cut the end of the pipe (which is just wrapped with gaffer tape) to the desired length.

EDIT/UPDATE: I cut the PVC pike extension down so that the overall length of the pike (one saber, the metal extension, and the PVC extension) is slightly shorter than I am. I just measured it to be 5'9.5", which is ever so slightly shorter than I am. I think that should be sufficient. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks for the compliments on the costume! It was a happy accident that the belt rings worked with the QR coupler vents. But as Qui-Gon said, nothing happens by accident.

[DarthProdigal]

Just got the actual Ultrasaber pike extension. Good timing too, because the coupler I sanded one end down on to hammer into the PVC coupler for my makeshift pike extension came apart. Nothing a little super glue can't fix, but it's nice to have an extension that matches the saber so well. Added some o-rings to it of course, and got a little practice in.

It's a bit shorter than the one I made. I want to say it's 15" vs 24" on the extension, but it's still enough length to make it function largely like a pike or staff. I want to say it's a bit over 4' in length now, with around 2.25' being hilt, which means enough hilt to spin it like a staff.

The Obi-Ani spin with it feels more natural to me with this than with a single normal saber:

And it's still long enough with a good enough balance point to do staff spins. It is a tad short to be truly optimal right now for the spins, but I think that may just be me not being used to this length yet, so I am quite pleased still.

I seriously did not know they made an actual pike extension you could buy outright! I'd only seen custom ones... that is exceptionally cool how you joined your custom mod onto their extension to reach the desired marriage of length and mobility. Your first version was even a bit longer than my saberstaff, but being able to hold it all the way ac one end you'd have me wrecked on pure reach advantage now. And that vicious ability to thrust the lightsaber blade in instantly past my defenses would pose a huge problem, especially if the hilt/shaft of the pike is lightsaber resistant. I'm loving that additional offensive potential born of the redesign, mixed with it being something you're super comfortable with already, retaining great spinning ability, and it still having an extremely customized feel. Nice work, pretty cool. You also look like you're having a lot of fun, which is one of the best aspects of making something cool.

[DarthProdigal]

Glad to see the saberchucks and saber pike getting some love. My only recommendation for you though would be to shorten the pike a bit. It seems from your video of you spinning it that you're trying to keep it from hitting the ground and therefore aren't spinning it at its fullest speed potential. I had this issue when I first experimented with different pike lengths. I'm 5'9" and found that anything slightly shorter than myself was ideal for spinning fast without having to worry about hitting the ground or having to adjust my technique any.

The overall costume looks great too and I wish I had found those belt rings to attach a saber to years ago.

Master Venturous, if I may ask a question since you stopped by... Are you aware who, or could you point me in the right direction toward the individual who adapted Jar' Kai to use a saberstaff in one hand and a more standard lightsaber in the other? I wish to seek out their guidance, or simply view some video of their exploits/training if such exists. I ask out of personal interest but also because someone else here (on the forum) had broached the question. This is the link for that topic if you wished to reply or post there directly: http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=46614.0 Thank you in advance for your consideration of this matter. And may I say I'm a big fan of the outfits you've put together as well, let alone your work with a lightsaber. Impressive on both counts.

[SirLiftaLot]

Practicing the Obi-Ani spin with the saberstaff, and some other spins with it too:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqtYoiZBSck&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqtYoiZBSck&amp;feature=youtu.be</a>

And with the short saberpike (just the Ultrasaber metal one). It is short, but long enough to be spun like a staff, which is perfect.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnHK1u39Tao&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnHK1u39Tao&amp;feature=youtu.be</a>

And with both extensions, so the 5'9.5" saberpike. Much easier to spin than at the well over 6' length. Not too fast here, but still fun

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ROHxj6F-OQ&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ROHxj6F-OQ&amp;feature=youtu.be</a>

All said, I am pretty happy with the extensions! And thank you Master Venturous for your reminder to trim down the long pike length!

[SirLiftaLot]

I seem to have a habit at times of not fully rotating the saber all the way as it goes behind my back before bringing it back forwards, which makes it looks like the saber is being more dragged across from back to front than being spun from back to front. I think I did a good job of avoiding that in the saberstaff video, but I can see it more in the pike videos.

Also, some of these spins really dig into the hands. The changing widths and metal angles/dips on the various parts of the saber don't help with that. I think a good pair of tight-fitting gloves is in order!

[SirLiftaLot]

I seriously did not know they made an actual pike extension you could buy outright! I'd only seen custom ones... that is exceptionally cool how you joined your custom mod onto their extension to reach the desired marriage of length and mobility. Your first version was even a bit longer than my saberstaff, but being able to hold it all the way ac one end you'd have me wrecked on pure reach advantage now. And that vicious ability to thrust the lightsaber blade in instantly past my defenses would pose a huge problem, especially if the hilt/shaft of the pike is lightsaber resistant. I'm loving that additional offensive potential born of the redesign, mixed with it being something you're super comfortable with already, retaining great spinning ability, and it still having an extremely customized feel. Nice work, pretty cool. You also look like you're having a lot of fun, which is one of the best aspects of making something cool.

It's been OOS for a while, and it was listed as OOS when I went to look at it a few to a handful of weeks ago. I messaged them on the on-site tool, and they said they had a few in-stock, but not enough to list them as in-stock, but they'd get it out to me if I ordered it. It still took a few to a handful of weeks, but considering the holiday rush and the pandemic, I cannot complain at all. I think they have a black one as well, but I think it was also OOS.

Thanks! I do enjoy it, both the process of making, adapting, and using them. I just measured, and I took 6" off the PVC extension, so if I calculated 43" past my hand before, it would be ~37" past the hand, or let's just say a clean 3' when held fully outright, which still retains the benefit of being able to hold what becomes a normal length blade fully outright while having the strength and power of two hands with a polearm-style grip.

I assume from an in-universe perspective, assuming cost and obtaining materials is no issue, all lightsaber hilts would be at least somewhat resistant to lightsaber blades. The Jedi really haven't historically had a good relationship with the Mandalorians, but if Mandalorians could make full suits of armor and 6' spears out of Beskar, then I don't see any reason why enough couldn't be used for the hilt of a lightsaber or saberstaff. So any metal piece could realistically be called beskar or beskar-infused, but if I had to explain how/why the black extension is lightsaber resistant, I could either kind of hand-wave it by saying it's beskar but wrapped with black tape for added grip, or maybe say it's Phrik? Isn't that a dark color? I have read that some lightsaber hilts have been made from or with Phrik.

That said, if I'm saying that any of us, Jedi or Sith, can say pretty much any part of anything we make or use can be lightsaber resistant, I am pretty much allowing people wearing armor/plates/gauntlets/bracers/etc. they make to also say they are lightsaber resistant, which means if I accept that my staff is lightsaber resistant in sparring, I have to accept that someone wearing bracers and a chestplate also has those made of lightsaber resistant materials. Which means carefully placed strikes are in order, and also that perhaps the Beskar spear I'm making would have great utility at combating those, as a Beskar spearhead should be able to pierce just about anything.

You know, I could make another pike extension with another Beskar spearhead on it, which would allow me to have a lightsaber on one end AND a beskar spear on the other. That would be quite the versatile weapon for all scenarios and opponents!

[DarthProdigal]

You know, I could make another pike extension with another Beskar spearhead on it, which would allow me to have a lightsaber on one end AND a beskar spear on the other. That would be quite the versatile weapon for all scenarios and opponents!

Now you're talking my language... "what's this design missing, oh something to stab people". Only question left is is it a spear with a lightsaber or a lightsaber with a spear? lol If you full on threw the spear right (and probably using the Force to accelerate it) it'd fly right through somebody and the lightsaber end trailing the spear could cauterize most of the wound closed. Idk if that's merciful or just adding insult to injury with pretty sadistic first-aid use on the fly. (yes horrible pun intended)

[SirLiftaLot]

Now you're talking my language... "what's this design missing, oh something to stab people". Only question left is is it a spear with a lightsaber or a lightsaber with a spear? lol If you full on threw the spear right (and probably using the Force to accelerate it) it'd fly right through somebody and the lightsaber end trailing the spear could cauterize most of the wound closed. Idk if that's merciful or just adding insult to injury with pretty sadistic first-aid use on the fly. (yes horrible pun intended)

Now that is a question for the ages. I'd say it's a lightsaber with a spear, since the lightsaber came first, then the extension, then the spear on the extension. As for merciful or taunting: