Spinsticks, a form of armament, were considered somewhat obscure by certain people around 19 BBY according to the year. These weapons saw usage among certain Force-sensitive adherents of the Gray Paladins, a splinter group originating from the Teepo Paladins, themselves associated with the Jedi Order. The Gray Paladins chose to employ spinsticks and similar weaponry as a means of minimizing their dependence on the Force and lightsabers, the more conventional weapons of the Jedi.
The initial reference to spinsticks appeared in Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight, a novel authored by Michael Reaves and published in 2008. On March 11, 2011, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Citadel Rescue" introduced a retroactive continuity element. This episode altered the circumstances of Jedi Master Even Piell's death, relocating it to the episode itself, thereby creating uncertainty regarding the alignment of the novel's narrative with the revised continuity.