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After mis-reading this question: Are there any other weapons designed using lightsaber technology? I found myself wondering if there are other non-weapon items such as tools that utilize lightsaber technology.

Example: the lightsaber bread knife

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    The "Lightsaber bread knife!" : This toast bread while you're slicing it.
    – DavRob60
    Commented Feb 5, 2013 at 17:25
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    Ah yes, the best thing since sliced bread. As featured in the 2005 film The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
    – Mr Lister
    Commented Feb 5, 2013 at 18:53
  • By 'technology', if you mean 'uses the same crystals', there are a number of lightsaber-used crystals that get used in other gear and for other uses.
    – Solemnity
    Commented Feb 7, 2013 at 2:17
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    @emachine I didn't mean to come across as as smart-alec. My point was simply that nobody other than jedis and siths could make them, and so logically, you couldn't expect that they would have applied that technology to other things since that hardly seems important to them. It'd be like asking if the Amish ever used their quilt-making ability to make a rockin' car seat cover.
    – Neil
    Commented Feb 8, 2013 at 8:26
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    @ThePopMachine I'm sure you could also use a lightsaber to chop wood, but I'm pretty sure it would end up in immediate body dismemberment. See chart for details.
    – Neil
    Commented Aug 23, 2014 at 21:34

3 Answers 3

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Interesting question. The first lightsabers (then known as forcesabers) could only be made with an intense meditation ritual in which several "Je'daiis" created a strong permanent field around the beam of plasma used as the blade. Without this field, the plasma blade would be infinitely long or would expand out in all directions. It seems in the Star Wars universe that the only way to tame a beam of plasma is with the Force. I'm going to say no. Only the Jedi/Sith have this type of technology because no force master is going to sit around making plasma knives and plasma toasters.

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    This seems to sum up a couple of the comments. I'll mark it as the right answer.
    – emachine
    Commented Feb 12, 2013 at 1:09
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    Infinite lightsaber - xkcd.com/1433
    – pleinolijf
    Commented Oct 13, 2014 at 7:58
  • In the Expanded Universe, it seems there are other plasma-based cutting devices. I'm rereading Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire; the mole miners which feature prominently in the Imperial raid on Sluis Van are described as having plasma jets, which turn out to be pretty effective at cutting through... things. The mole miners seem to be ordinary (if obscure) industrial machines, and there's no mention of Jedi being involved in their production. Commented Nov 7, 2014 at 4:38
  • This seems to no longer be true with the new Star Wars movie as a non-force user is able to wield a lightsaber without catastrophe ensuing Commented Dec 29, 2015 at 14:57
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    @DavidGrinberg No need to invoke Episode VII. Even Episode IV and V contain instances of untrained people wielding lightsabers. (Plus, in the EU there were mass-produced lightsabers at some point. Young Jedi Knights series, iirc.)
    – Raphael
    Commented Jan 11, 2016 at 18:43
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Well, there are laser scalpels in the Star Wars universe:

A laser scalpel

Don’t be fooled by the name. It’s probably not an actual laser being shot out of the hilt, but rather similar plasma technology to that of a lightsaber (“laser swords”). Laser scalpels were used for medical purposes and weren’t used as weapons.

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first of all this is merely speculative, in Episode 1, during the battle between Darth Maul and Qui-Gon, there are a series of red barriers, they switch on and off in a similar way and make a similar noise when a light saber hits them. they could use a similar technology

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    That's Ray Shield... Commented Feb 6, 2013 at 17:28
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    damn! they should take my geek card from me Commented Feb 6, 2013 at 17:38
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    Who is Ray Shield? He seems to pop up all over the place. Commented Apr 17, 2015 at 12:26

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