“I took your lightsaber, so I could never forget what you did.”
“Took it? Stole it, you mean.”
—Atris and Meetra Surik, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
Pulling up another quote from a game I already sort of looked at a week ago bugs me, but oh well. I saw this and really wanted to comment. Oddly enough, it is not so much the art of taking/stealing a lightsaber that is currently making me cringe, but the fact that Atris goes ahead and uses Meetra’s old lightsaber.
In order to explain, I am going to use Harry Potter.
In Harry Potter, wands are created, then they have the responsibility in choosing their user. They may change allegiance, but if the user and the wand are not in sync, their full potential cannot be reached. Lightsabers are similar.
The user takes all of the parts they need, and uses the Force to fabricate it to their liking. The parts they choose are also vital, as choice of handgrip, whether there is a belt ring or not, blade intensity, and where the activation lever is can all factor in whether the lightsaber will work well for the user. It is meant for them to use, not someone else.
I suppose in much the same way, we may see something like this happen in Star Wars history. Though wielding a single blade and a double blade at the same time may give Kao Cen Darach a blade advantage over the other two Sith attacking him, with using Satele Shan’s lightsaber, coupled with an unbalanced weight, and new and unpopular form of fighting (double + single blade), the art of controlling it all may drop him back down to a disadvantage. We actually see that he will turn one blade off on Satele’s ‘saber, possibly because of the awkwardness of the style. Spoiler Alert: Master Kao will lose this battle.
Though we may hope that the stronger and more equipment we use can give us an advantage, if we are not completely confident in using said equipment, it will mean nothing. Sometimes it is best to just go back to the basics and what we are best at, and in Master Kao’s case, single bladed combat. And if someone else’s lightsaber seems to have stronger focus crystals, it would take a lot of practice to get used to that lightsaber for the crystals to make a difference. May as well just put the work into taking the crystals out and putting them into one’s own lightsaber instead.
I understand that Atris may have seen a sentimental value behind taking Meetra’s lightsaber, but her usage of it may have very well been a factor in why she didn’t stand a chance against the Jedi Exile in a fight. One would think that a historian would know better.
The Dusty Book of Overthinking 
I love Star Wars and used to play the “Knights of The Old Republic” on my Xbox- like the one before 360 lol. I remember hunting for crystals to build my light saber in that game and I would think of it every time I strung up a lacrosse stick back when I used to play. A lacrosse players crosse (or stick) is similar to what a lightsaber is to a Jedi. Not just because they look kinda similar, but because just as a lightsaber is designed for a specific fighting style, a lacrosse stick is designed for a certain throwing and playing style. A player who wants a quick release with string a high pocket. A player looking for more hold will string a lower pocket. Not only are there variations in pockets but there are also different mesh kits (what the pocket is made of) which offer a variety of effects on how the ball will sit and come out of the pocket.
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