Opinions?

[yoda]

I'm making a lightsaber as a present for my boyfriend. It'll be his first lightsaber. If you were in his place would you rather your girlfriend made you a design she came up with herself or copied your favorite lightsaber from the movie as closely as possible? Thanks in advance

[Tahm]

Custom for sure! Just base it on similar parts as his favorite movie hilt. Be sure to choose his favorite color for the LED though.

[Elhia]

This may sound completely dumb but,
Close your eyes and vision and think about your boy and what makes him Him
then visually think of a plain hilt and add on things that you feel that suits him then add aspects from his favorite lightsaber.
i hope that helped more then confused = D

[Weaver]

This is a tough call. I say that a gift which is custom made by the giver is more personal than one which is copied or reproduced from an existing design, but if you're unsure of what he would want in a lightsaber it may be more prudent to copy the design you know he likes. In the movie canon, as well as the fandom, a lightsaber represents the symbolic identity of a Jedi; it is an extension of who and what he is. Every lightsaber is unique, different, and built to suit the needs of the individual. In this way it could be said that custom is the only logical choice, but as it isn't him who makes it the idea is somewhat lost in translation.

If it were me -and my mate surprised me with a lightsaber- I believe I would want one which was custom made based on her knowledge of who I am and how the technology works. I don't want to say that just anyone can reproduce movie-accurate lightsaber replicas, but the sentiment is that it would be easier than trying to fit a custom job to another person's style and personality. I believe it shows considerable thought and effort, and goes further in trying to please the recipient. If I were the one making it, I would scour every available source for reference photos and other information, then try to select the components which give it the right look and feel.

Every detail of a lightsaber's construction will contribute to how it handles, the mood it gives its wielder, and its overall enjoyment. Will he use both hands, or wield single-handed? Is he right-hand dominant? Will an activation box get in the way of his grip? Do accent LEDs impress him, or distract him? Is sound necessary? What color best represents his personality? Will he enjoy Light Side sounds and colors, or Dark Side?

If you can't answer all of those questions with reasonably logical solutions, I would replicate his favorite. If you can, go for the custom. It's heartfelt, it's considerate, and it's (in my opinion) more valuable. If you replicate, he's holding a part of his favorite Jedi's past; if you custom-build, he is his favorite Jedi.

I hope I have helped. In the end, remember: He's still getting a lightsaber, and you're still an awesome person for even thinking of a gift like this. Females in the fandom are rare where I come from. He will be pleased.

[Crystal Chambers]

Great advice here...best of luck!

[Sunrider]

That depends on many things. With stuff from the store here and some imagination you definitely have the potential to make something more impressive and unique than a movie saber.

[yoda]

Thank you all very much for your opinions they've been really helpful. And for practicalities sake I hadn't thought of the activation getting in the way of his hand so thanks a lot for that! I actually do think I'm going to go custom. I do think I actually can answer a lot of those questions. I definitely know it would be light side sounds and a blue blade. Ill try and do some more research today I did spend a lot of time doing some last night but with these helpful comments in mind i think I may be able to find some more stuff. Thanks again everyone!