The lightsaber blade tang or stem is the section of the blade that attaches to the lightsaber hilt. The term ‘tang’ is commonly used with knives, swords, and tools with handles.
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When you install a standard cylindrical lightsaber blade into a hilt, typically 2 inches or so of the blade fits inside the hilt. That section is the tang. A blade retention screw secures the tang to the inside of the hilt.
It’s much easier to identify the tang on a non-standard blade like a light whip blade or flat arcylic lightsaber blade. Non-standard blades use a cylindrical section at the base that’s NOT meant to be visible. On a flat acrylic lightsaber blade, only the flat section of the blade is visible when the blade is attached to the hilt. On a light whip, only the light whip section is visible.
Selecting the proper tang length
If you’re shopping around for a non-standard blade, like a flat acrylic blade, you need to ensure the length of the tang matches the socket depth of your lightsaber hilt. If the tang is too long, then part of the tang may be visible when the blade is installed on the saber. If your lightsaber hilt features windows in the emitter, then you need to ensure that the tang is long enough to reach the bottom of the windows.
Lightsaber tang as a structural weakness
Lightsaber spinning and general use put stress on the area between the tang and the visible blade. Consider that longer flat acrylic blades put more stress on the the division between the tang and the blade than shorter flat acrylic blades.
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COVER IMAGE: Flat acrylic blade from eBay seller sdalton256 [AFFILIATE LINK]
