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Star Wars lightsabers are, in the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi, “an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.” They were the primary weapons of the Jedi and Sith, and other Force-sensitive individuals. The lightsaber reflects the wielder’s character. That’s because in most cases, the wielder creates their lightsabers – from choosing the kyber crystal that powers it, the hilt that may represent their lineage, and the “blade” that through experience and use of the Force of the wielder is what makes the lightsaber.
A Brief History of Lightsabers
To quickly recap the history of lightsabers, according to Wookiepedia they were used for millennia, even before the birth of the Galactic Republic. In Star Wars: The Old Republic, it was said the first lightsaber was forged by the Weapons Master, a member of the Je’daii Order. It was called the First Blade.
Lightsabers draw power from crystals, also known as Focus crystals. However, not all used in lightsabers are crystals. Both Jedi and Sith have been known to use other materials such as shards of glass or special micro machinery.
The colors of the lightsabers also vary. In the first two movies, only two existed: blue for the Jedis and red for the Siths.
Along the way, the colors signified allegiances. Blue and green for the good guys and red for the bad.
That is, until Samuel L. Jackson entered the picture. As the actor tells the story on The Graham Norton Show, he asked George Lucas for his lightsaber be purple, his favorite color, to distinguish himself as, in his own words, “the second baddest Jedi in the universe” and so he could find himself in the chaos that was the Battle of Geonosis. Since then, lightsabers have come in all colors of the rainbow.
As elegant as they are, they are undoubtedly badass weapons as well. In the Star Wars universe, there have been many lightsabers and many wielders. While it will definitely cause an intergalactic war to say with any kind of authority or certainty what the best lightsaber is, I think it’s worth a try.
Just a heads up: this is definitely NOT a definitive list. What this is, is a few hours of scouring through the internet of already existing lists and collating them. It is a thoroughly non-scientific process. SPOILER ALERT: they abound.
Obviously, as this is my list, I’m throwing in my opinions as a life-long fan (don’t worry, I saw the originals first). And since we are talking about lightsabers, I’ll get this out of the way: I own a replica of a certain double-bladed lightsaber. But it’s not why it’s on the list.
What didn't make the cut (pun intended)
Before I give you the top 10 lightsabers, here are some honorable mentions:
13) Obi-Wan Kenobi’s blue lightsaber
This was the lightsaber that informed the creation of some of the ones on this list. Obi-Wan used this throughout the Clone Wars and in confronting his fallen apprentice, Darth Vader, twice.
So why is it so far down the list? Because as important as it is, because of the things this lightsaber has seen, it's still rather plain.
Which is how it’s supposed to be, I believe. As the baseline of the many iconic lightsabers to follow, it needed to be as barebones as it can be. Otherwise, how will the ones that follow stand out?
12) Ezra Bridger’s pistol-hilted lightsaber
I have to admit to some prejudice here. I’m all for innovation and putting things together so it could be carried as just one thing. BUT when it comes to lightsabers, I’m a bit of a traditionalist. I’m not as bad as Obi-Wan is, though. I don’t think it’s “so uncivilized.” It’s just not my idea of a lightsaber.
But hey, props to Ezra for creating it. He designed and constructed it without any formal training. He DIY-ed it and it works for him. Absolutely no shame in that.
11) Darth Vader’s lightsaber
As the lightsaber reflects the wielder, I think it’s just right that Darth Vader’s is down the list.
You might think that the arguably greatest villain in the Star Wars universe should wield a weapon as menacing as he is.
But here’s the thing: it’s not his lightsaber that’s menacing. It’s Darth Vader himself.
Sure, he doesn’t look complete without the lightsaber, but he doesn’t actually need it.
His armor alone makes him almost invincible and terrifying; the lightsaber is overkill… which is probably why he still carries it. Also, it looks better if he has one in a duel.
Onto the main event:
10) Asajj Ventress’ twin-curved lightsabers
Asajj Ventress was originally a Nightsister, a sect within the Witches of Dathomir who used “dark magic” to channel the Force. Asajj’s weapons were given to her by her master Count Dooku.
The paired lightsabers can be joined to turn into a staff. However, the curved hilts make them very difficult to wield.
Exactly the kind of weapon I would expect a Force-gifted witch to wield. It also looks wickedly badass.
It was stolen by Barriss Offee, but recovered by Anakin. It’s now thought to have been burned along with other lightsabers during the Order 66 purge.
9) Ahsoka Tano’s white lightsabers
This was her second pair of lightsabers. As with the first, they consist of a regular saber and a shoto lightsaber, shorter than the regular.
Sidebar: Shōtō is Japanese for “short sword.” Historically speaking, dual wielding usually combines a regular length blade and a shorter one. Samurais who use this technique call these two swords daisho, a portmanteau of the words daitō (long sword) and shōtō.
The white blades were powered by two kyber crystals that Ahsoka claimed from the Sixth Brother, an Imperial Inquisitor. The crystals were originally red until Ahsoka purified them and they turned white. Remember the part where I said colors usually signify allegiance? White is neutral, signifying Ahsoka’s break from the Jedi faith.
8) The Grand Inquisitor's double-bladed spinsaber
The Inquisitors were introduced in Star Wars: Rebels. They were Sith warriors tasked with hunting down any Jedi who survived the purge that resulted from Order 66.
Their leader, the Grand Inquisitor, who answered directly to Darth Vader, wielded a double-bladed spinsaber. The weapon, as its name suggests, has spinning sabers. When activated, the center remains stationary while the blades spin, making it a terrifyingly efficient weapon.
However, in the end, the Grand Inquisitor was defeated by Kanan Jarrus who split the spinsaber in two. He threw it into a Star Destroyer’s reactor, along with the Grand Inquisitor himself.
7) Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Knight lightsaber
This was Luke Skywalker’s first hand-crafted lightsaber. This was the first green lightsaber and one that closed out the original trilogy. Before this, all Jedi lightsabers were blue. Luke’s was green because of a practical need: for it to stand out against the blue of the Tatooine sky. Luke modeled his lightsaber to that of Obi-Wan’s, signaling the return of a “civilized” Jedi that had almost been wiped out by the Empire.
6) Kylo Ren’s unstable crossguard lightsaber
Remember when I said that the lightsaber reflects the character of the wielder? I think it’s proven to be most true in Kylo Ren’s weapon of choice. The revelation of this weapon caused public outrage. So many people questioned the existence of the guard, saying how useless it was and an affront to the classic design of a usually guardless lightsaber. Especially since that crossguard was protecting the blades emitting from the cracked crystal.
The blade crossguard existed because of the need for vents since the crystal overcharged and also unstable. Most lightsabers – in fact, I think all of them – do not need vents because the crystal chosen is supposed to be stable enough for the wielders not to worry that their weapons would explode in their hands.
I think that was the draw for Kylo and for the fans who actually liked his lightsaber. The draw was the seeming death wish. And to be fair, it looked menacing as hell.
Kylo said, “Safety? What safety?” which spoke to how unhinged he was. And in a universe where Darth Vader existed, that’s saying something.
Before he died, Kylo threw his lightsaber into the oceans of Kef Bir to reclaim his identity as Ben Solo.
5) Count Dooku’s curved handle lightsaber
A member of a Serennian noble family, Count Dooku’s lightsaber definitely reflects his heritage. The curved handle was also easier to wield in close quarter combat. It also favored Count Dooku’s fighting style: one handed like a fencer.
Like most Jedis, he designed his own lightsaber. However, he was given one by his Master Yoda, which he set aside, so he could fashion one that was solely his own.
In the end, Anakin used Dooku’s own lightsaber to behead him. The elegant weapon was then destroyed in General Grievous’ ship.
4) The Darksaber
The Darksaber was an ancient weapon from the days of the Old Republic, forged by a Force-sensitive Mandalorian. It became a culturally important icon among the Mandalorian houses. It was believed that whoever wielded it in battle can unite the houses and rule Mandalore. The Darksaber is unique among the lightsabers in the Star Wars universe as it is the only one with a black blade and halo-ed white, in the shape of an actual sword.
The first time we see The Darksaber live in action was in The Mandalorian, when it was in the hands of Imperial Warlord Moff Gideon.
It was last seen in the hands of Bo-Katan Kryze, now the ruler of Mandalore.
3) Mace Windu’s purple lightsaber
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the lightsaber’s color signified the wielder’s allegiance. It’ still true, except this one’s original back story is a little different.
I mentioned earlier about the Jedi’s lightsabers originally having only two colors: blue and red. That all changed when Samuel L. Jackson asked for purple, and George Lucas agreed.
However, in the canon Star Wars universe, Mace Windu’s lightsaber is purple because his crystal is amethyst-colored, a gift from the Hurrikaine natives when he healed one of them. The color was also meant to signify that he was not as rigid as the blue- and green-wielding Jedis.
Between you and me? I prefer Jackson’s story.
Unfortunately, Mace Windu was betrayed by Anakin and was ultimately defeated. His lightsaber was recovered by scavengers and sold to Senator Sano Sauro as a keepsake.
But I don’t want to think about that.
2) Darth Maul’s double-bladed lightsaber
I promise I’m not going to play favorites just because among all the lightsabers in the list, this is one I actually own myself.
We first saw Darth Maul’s epic double-bladed lightsaber in The Phantom Menace. He very quickly became a fan favorite even though he killed Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn, depriving Obi-Wan of his master. Obi-Wan got his own back by killing Darth Maul… temporarily. He returned in Clone Wars, with the lower half of his body consisting of mechanical spider legs.
His iconic lightsaber was cut in half by Obi-Wan during their duel in Naboo. It is currently classified as lost, after the Siege of Mandalore.
However, that scene where he is confronted by Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan has been burned into my brain. The first time I saw Darth Maul ignites his lightsaber, I thought that was it. But then the other end of it also ignites and he goes into a bojutsu stance. The fight scene, of course, was amazing, but that was the beginning of my mission to one day own my very own double-bladed lightsaber. And in 1999, when the movie came out, I didn’t even know if it was possible to own one short of breaking into Lucasfilm’s studio and stealing it.
It took me more than a decade, but I finally have one. I really only break it out in public during Halloween – complete with a Sith costume, of course – but I swear it’s one of my favorite purchases ever.
As much as I fangirl over Darth Maul’s lightsaber, it’s not number one.
That honor goes to:
1.) Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber or the Legacy Skywalker lightsaber
Again, like Obi-Wan’s and Darth Vader’s (which didn’t make the cut), the Legacy Skywalker lightsaber isn’t much to look at compared to the others on the list. But the history of this lightsaber is what makes it number one.
Anakin created it when he was still a Jedi and the Chosen One. It was his lightsaber when he became a Jedi Knight, then a General. There's already a lot of history there.
But it was also the lightsaber he wielded to carry out Order 66 and massacre the young Jedis in the temple at Coruscant. This was his weapon, still, when he turned to the Dark Side and when he dueled with Obi-Wan Kenobi at the Battle of Mustafar. Obi-Wan had the high ground and cut off Anakin’s limbs.
The Skywalker lightsaber isn’t inherently bad. Its beginning was like most other lightsabers, a weapon, sure, but that of a Jedi.
Yes, the first one to wield it was arguably the greatest villain of this universe, but the second one had a hand (pun intended) in saving it.
The succeeding wielders, Rey and Ben, used it to put a final end to Darth Sidious. After Ben’s death, Rey buried the lightsaber at the Lars homestead on Tatooine.
And there you have it.
So many more were not included in this list. I did tell you beforehand this wasn’t a definitive list, but it was made by someone who had grown up with the movies and the animated series that followed and made it one of her life’s mission to own the weapon of a Sith.
In the interest of full disclosure, I also bought replicas of Obi-Wan’s and Qui-Gon Jinn’s lightsabers – just to balance it out.
May the Force be with you.
