Gaderffii, also known as gaffi sticks, are the dangerous bladed weapons wielded by Tatooine's fearsome Sand People, also known as Tusken Raiders. Fashioned with metal scavenged from wrecked starships, these handcrafted weapons are crude, dangerous, and sturdy enough to last years.
The simple design consists of a hollow durasteel tube with a cutting blade affixed on one end and a weighted club or a second blade attached to the other end. The double-edged ax blades are sharpened to a razor's edge, able to cleave blasters - or livings beings - in two with a single blow. The primary blade often has a spike used for spearing attacks. Gaffi sticks equipped with a second blade allow a Raider to deliver multiple cutting swings or strikes in quick succession, while sticks armed with a weighted club head can be used to knock victims unconscious or batter and break apart objects such as droids, speeders, and vaporators.
Conflict and intimidation play significant roles in Tusken Raider culture, with individuals often brandishing their gaffi sticks during loud quarrels that determine social standing within the clan. The weapons double as eminently practical tools that can be used as walking sticks during arduous trips through the mountains, and the ax blades can be used to carve marks that indicate clan territories or leave warnings on rock faces. A gaffi stick is in many ways far more practical than a blaster, which may run out of power or break if not handled carefully, although the Raiders do maintain a small number of hunting blasters that have been stolen during raids on moisture farms.
The term "gaderffii" and "gaffi stick" have become popular slang everywhere, used to describe any particular mean-looking, large, non-powered personal weapon. Gaderffii have been adopted by many members of the Rebel Alliance as a useful multi-purpose tool and melee weapon.
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