My Lightsaber Method
Start out with a picture of someone holding an object that will be a lightsaber.
Get out the line tool ( for the picture i am using, give the line a width of 6px
Set the foreground color to the color you want your saber to be.
Draw a line where the blade of the saber is going to be. Rasterize it
Duplicate (ctrl + j) the line layer(Shape 1) 3 times
on Shape 1 copy 3, make the line white with the bucket tool
Go to Shape 1 copy 2 and give it a Guassian Blur equivalant to the line width. (6 for the picture i am using)
Give Shape 1 copy a Gaussian Blur of twice the line width (12)
Give Shape 1 a Gaussian Blur 3 times the line width (18)
Give copy 3 a gaussian blur of 1.5 (for the picture i am using. This blur softens and slightly rounds the core)
Merge Shape 1 with all its copies and change the layer mode to screen.
Flatten the image and save
Create a free website at Webs.com