Every Star Wars kid grew up wanting to wield a lightsaber. Unfortunately, we had to settle for the toy lightsabers which you’d have to physically whip to bring the blade to life, and without the cool sound effects. Well, one Star Wars fan has had an excalibur moment and created the closest thing to a lightsaber we’re likely to see in our lifetime. Check out the video of the ancient weapon in action below.
I mean, this is pretty damn cool. Of course, this isn’t quite as powerful as a lightsaber in George Lucas’ universe is, but considering that we’re not living in a space opera, it’s pretty impressive.
The man who created this bit of nerd gold is named Allen Pan. He has both an engineering degree, as well as an urge to make the props and weapons from sci-fi movies into reality. These two factors combined in a labor of love to create this modern lightsaber contraption. Once you see the video, it becomes pretty clear how Pan was able to use his engineering skills to create the saber.
Essentially, the lightsaber is just the most giant lighter ever. Allen Pan was able to create the “blade” by making a lighter that would ignite a flame the length of a lightsaber. The saber runs on alcohol, and apparently sprays a bit of excess liquor from it’s tip. After using his impressive engineering skills to create the flame itself, he then essentially put it in the hilt of a lightsaber model. Finally, he was able to make the trigger functional, so one activates the blade by pressing the same button the Jedi do. Plus, he kept the mechanism from the original model which made the satisfying lightsaber sounds; this makes for an added level of authenticity in the legendary weapon.
Of course, this version of the Jedi weapon is not quite as powerful as the ones we’ve seen in movies like The Force Awakens. As the blade is pure flame, it couldn’t be used as a sword the way the movies depict. Plus, the flame itself is of course thinner than what we’re used to seeing, but their way it’s an epic creation from a clearly brilliant mind.
This isn’t the first time that Allen Pan has created a fictional weapon in reality. He recently made his own version of Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. Taking note from a hilarious scene that was in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, he used a powerful magnet and a fingerprint scanner to create a hammer which could only be lifted by his touch. That video is on his youtube channel and it’s definitely worth a gander.
Take a look below at how Allen Pan was able to create his version of Luke’s blue lightsaber, and try not to get too jealous that he has that around his house.
