Like the title says, do non-Jedi, non-Sith Force-users make holocrons? I think wikipedia makes them out to be associated with the Jedi and Sith traditions (much as they do lightsabers), but is there any reason a self-taught Force-user with no Jedi/Sith association couldn't independently discover how to make a holocron (or lightsaber for that matter)?

I am vaguely aware of a Bendu one....

I can't recall any.

But I see it this way:

A Holocron is simply a Datastorage that is only accessible to individuals that harness the Force.
So I see no good reason why other Organizations shouldn't create Holocrons aswell. They might look and function differently but the Idea of a Holocron should be the same, since it helps keep information and data save from non-force users of even form force users of different alignment.

I wouldn't put it past non-sith/non-jedi to utilize something similar to a holocron, but it likely wouldn't be common.

Holocrons weren't thumb drives. They were specialized devices used to store important information about the jedi/sith, their training, etc. They didn't use them for communication purposes, or passing general information, or as a personal diary. They took time and effort to build them and utilize them and they were to be used for centuries. It's not like the jedi/sith avoided datapads or books.

A force sensitive person would have no reason to make them. A force sensitive group would likely have other traditions for passing their information from generation to generation. Now, I'm not saying it wouldn't exist. I could see some force sensitive person finding one, figuring out how to use it, and then making more if they were inclined to do so for some reason. But there would need to be a good, logical reason for it. The things are big, awkward, difficult to use, difficult to make, and based on lost knowledge.

I think it really comes down to: Is a Holocron just a really snazzy recording device, or a force embedded "magic" item?

Similar to lightsabers, if it's just a piece of tech then why don't we see them in broader use? Unlike lightsabers, however holocrons are of greater use to the galactic public at large. Universities would have libraries of such items storing imprints of the greatest minds they can get their hands on. And Holocrons do seem to only react to Force Sensitive people, and have other "magical effects" that can occur when using (or misusing) them.

This would imply that Holocrons are "Magic" items, at least in the places where it counts.

As such, being attached to the Jedi order (and pilfered/copied by the Sith, as these things do) this would suggest that while not necessarily "classified" information, the Jedi would see the construction techniques of a holocron to be of limited value outside of Jedi, and as such not really publish the information in the open. Futhermore the Jedi have been known to have egos, and would tend to not be supportive of other force traditions, or at least not prioritize their growth compared to the Jedi, and again, wouldn't see a huge need to share construction techniques with other force traditions. The Sith, many being former Jedi, would have sufficient numbers already aware of the technique to make their own, but being Sith, wouldn't really share with outsiders, or even each other.

As such, Holocron proliferation would be exceedingly limited. Any force user of sufficient skill could probably make one, but the number that know how and care to would be largely limited to Jedi and Sith, or former members thereof. There's probably a possibility of some collateral allied traditions having them, but to what extent. A allied master here and there? After all, the Sith wouldn't want anyone else, even other Sith, making them. And the Jedi wouldn't be inclined to push other traditions to perpetuate (and potentially go against the Jedi) when they could just be folded into the Jedi to the benefit of both (certain point of view may apply).

Soooo... Sure, other traditions holocrons can exist, but it's likely they've be few in number, as the Sith and Jedi have the monopoly on the technology.

5 hours ago, Ghostofman said:

Universities would have libraries of such items storing imprints of the greatest minds they can get their hands on.

I'm not sure how accurate that is. Keep in mind that the Jedi Temple had a gigantic library with tons and tons of books. This is in an age where datapads are common place. Luke's entire knowledge of the force is a couple books, not a stack of holocrons.

The Holocrons were used for very specific, very important material. Something that a book alone would have trouble conveying. Things like lightsaber forms and such. Most of the recorded material for the Jedi was in book form.

27 minutes ago, kmanweiss said:

The Holocrons were used for very specific, very important material. Something that a book alone would have trouble conveying. Things like lightsaber forms and such. Most of the recorded material for the Jedi was in book form.

You're proving my point though.

A Space University would still have books, but they'd also have these if they were mere tech. There's lots of things out there that a student would benefit learning from a teacher over merely reading about. Imagine learning about the politics of WWII from Winston Churchill. Not just through a couple of books, but from a virtual facsimile of the man himself. Or getting tutored in painting by Monet? Asking Karl Marx what he really meant when he wrote that specific line?

So the fact that holocrons aren't commonplace implies they are not a really good datapad and more of a magic item of sorts, something that not everyone can, or even knows how, to make.

2 hours ago, Ghostofman said:

You're proving my point though.

A Space University would still have books, but they'd also have these if they were mere tech. There's lots of things out there that a student would benefit learning from a teacher over merely reading about. Imagine learning about the politics of WWII from Winston Churchill. Not just through a couple of books, but from a virtual facsimile of the man himself. Or getting tutored in painting by Monet? Asking Karl Marx what he really meant when he wrote that specific line?

So the fact that holocrons aren't commonplace implies they are not a really good datapad and more of a magic item of sorts, something that not everyone can, or even knows how, to make.

They are made from Kyber Crystals from what I understand. And Khyber crystals interact in some way with the force. And I dont think we need to know more than that. SO somehow the creator is able to imprint themselves at a certain point into the crystal. Which is cool. How and what can be imprinted is unclear though....

I'm inclined to feel that holocrons as such are something that you mainly see among the Jedi/Sith because they're part of that tradition and both groups were reflexively traditionalist - holocrons might not have been the best option for storing a lot of that stuff anymore, but by golly, they were the way things had always been done!

Other groups probably did make their own equivalents but they'd have no reason to specifically copy the Jedi/Sith models, or to stick to using the same thing if they came across better options (depending on how traditionalist they were).

I've used Datacrons in campaigns before. I treat them as less polished holocrons. A Force sensitive's ability to tune with a kyber crystal makes holocron gatekeepers much more "alive" so to speak. A datacron's keeper is more like a droid brain mimicking the original with gaps in knowledge and behavioral inaccuracies.