One of the most recognizable elements of the Star Wars franchise is lightsabers, though the hilts of these iconic weapons are nearly always wholly unique. Taking inspiration from various fantasy and science-fiction stories, lightsabers bring the “magic sword” trope into a science-fantasy setting. Lightsabers are the signature weapons of the Jedi Knights and their ancient enemies, the Sith Lords, though, in rare cases, other Force-using traditions use comparable weapons or even construct (or steal) their own. The Nightsister of Dathomir Gethzerion used a red lightsaber, as did both Ren and Kylo Ren – the Masters of the Knights of Ren.
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The original Legends continuity, formerly known as the Star Wars Expanded Universe, established fascinating lore behind the Force-imbued crystals that power lightsabers. The modern canon rewrote lightsaber crystal lore, yet lightsabers themselves share many fundamental traits between the two timelines. Lightsabers are nearly always designed and built by their respective users. While a Jedi or Sith may base their weapon off that of their mentors or a previous lightsaber, no two lightsaber hilts are exactly alike in most cases. While ultimately a subjective matter, the following 10 lightsaber hilts are arguably the best designs in the Star Wars franchise.
10 Stellan Gios
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Crossguard lightsabers were introduced to the Star Wars franchise in its original Legends continuity, but they gained unprecedented popularity in the modern canon, thanks to the signature weapon of Kylo Ren – one of the sequel trilogy’s main villains. Kylo Ren’s weapon is intentionally unrefined and unstable-looking, reflecting both its wielder and its history as Ben Solo’s Jedi weapon – which underwent crude modifications to stabilize its blade. The Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project shows what a truly refined and carefully built crossguard lightsaber can look like, however.
The lightsaber of Jedi Master Stellan Gios is a visually wonderful reflection of a golden age for the Jedi and the Republic. The lightsaber merges the sequel era’s crossguard lightsaber with the visual flair of the prequels, but the design is as practical as it is aesthetically pleasing. The weapon’s crossguard projectors are collapsable, and they protect Gios’s hands far better than the more offense-ready quillons of Kylo Ren’s weapon.
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9 Ahsoka Tano (Rebels)
While Ahsoka Tano has the skill, Force power, and altruism of a true Jedi, she was sadly never knighted. Tano’s post-Jedi Purge weapons reflect this, with their distinctive white blades – which indicate that their formerly dark side-tainted red Kyber crystals were purified with the Force. The standard lightsaber and shoto (short-bladed lightsaber) were created a year after the Galactic Empire’s totalitarian coup, and their hilts are as distinctive and noteworthy as their rare white blades.
Related Star Wars: Why Ahsoka Tano Had WHITE Lightsabers (& What They Mean)
Ahsoka Tano stands unique among all Star Wars Force-users – Jedi and Sith alike – because she wields two white lightsabers. Here’s what they mean.
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Dave Filoni – a showrunner for Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels as well as Ahsoka Tano’s co-creator – often looks to samurai films (particularly those of Akira Kurosawa) as a source of inspiration for his Star Wars stories. Ahsoka Tano’s post-Clone Wars lightsabers convey this in their hilt designs, which are inspired by those of katanas. Sadly, Ahsoka’s shoto is destroyed on Peridea in the Ahsoka season 1 finale, leaving her with only her standard lightsaber.
8 Ahsoka Tano (Clone Wars)
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Ahsoka Tano’s Clone Wars-era lightsabers debuted in 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars, with Tano initially using only a single standard lightsaber. The green-bladed weapon was eventually joined by a shoto with a unique green-yellow blade. Right before the climactic Siege of Mandalore in The Clone Wars’s finale story arc, Ahsoka was reunited with the weapons, whose blades both became blue due to modifications by Anakin Skywalker.
The hilts of Ahsoka’s first weapons are a meaningful blend of previously seen design elements. The lightsabers, notably, have pommels that strongly resemble Obi-Wan Kenobi’s first lightsaber, while their emitters are vaguely reminiscent of Anakin Skywalker’s second weapon. This, of course, highlights Ahsoka’s similarities to both Jedi. Although Anakin was Ahsoka’s mentor, she was nevertheless influenced by Kenobi as well, sharing a close friendship with the older Jedi.
7 Princess Leia (Legends)
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Just like her modern canon counterpart, the original Legends version of Princess Leia Organa underwent formal Jedi training after Return of the Jedi. Unlike her newer iteration, however, Leia eventually remained committed to the New Jedi Order. Throughout her life, Leia used several lightsabers, some built for her by Luke Skywalker and another being an ancient lightsaber that Vima-Da-Boda gifted to her. Eventually, however, Leia finally built her own lightsaber during her training under Jedi Master Saba Sebatyne.
Princess Leia’s original lightsaber bears little resemblance to her weapon in the modern canon. The weapon’s hilt has a unique design that stands apart from the original trilogy and prequel-era weapons, with a sleek, refined, look that makes it the perfect match for a Princess-turned-Jedi Knight. Unfortunately, few Legends-era materials provide a detailed look at the lightsaber hilt.
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6 Revan (Jedi)
Revan, formerly Darth Revan, is the main protagonist and playable character of 2003’s critically acclaimed video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Although Revan’s appearance, gender, and characterization, including whether he ultimately aligns with the Force or its dark side, are determined by the player in-game, other Legends-era materials have confirmed the canonical forms of these and other elements, which include the design and blade color of Revan’s lightsaber. As definitively shown in 2011’s Star Wars: The Old Republic, the redeemed Revan used a purple-bladed lightsaber as a Jedi, with the weapon also having an excellent hilt design.
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The item models of all lightsaber hilts in
Knights of the Old Republic
resemble Darth Revan’s red-bladed Sith lightsaber.
Revan’s Jedi lightsaber hilt may draw some basic comparisons to that of Maw – a Boltrunian dark side-using agent of the Empire – but the weapon is far more refined. Although Revan’s lightsaber sports sharp spikes around its blade emitter – an aggressive choice that perhaps calls his Sith past to mind – the rest of the weapon’s sleekness reflects his noble status as a redeemed Jedi Knight. Revan’s lightsaber hilt design is an excellent representation of his duality as well as a glimpse at ancient Jedi weapons.
5 Qu Rahn
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Jedi Master Qu Rahn is a Clone Wars veteran, Jedi Purge survivor, and a major character in the 1997 video game Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. Rahn’s green-bladed lightsaber, which he likely used throughout the Clone Wars, was given by Rahn to the Force-sensitive Rebel Morgan Katarn, who would then pass the weapon down to his son, Kyle Katarn. For a large portion of Dark Forces II’s story, Kyle wields Rahn’s lightsaber as he follows a truncated path toward Jedi Knighthood, guided by the Force ghost of Rahn himself.
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Related Star Wars: Every Jedi Who Survived Order 66 (In Canon)
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Rahn’s lightsaber embodies the elegance of old guard Jedi lightsabers that Obi-Wan Kenobi described in A New Hope. The lightsaber’s simple design has a notably worn look to it, perhaps alluding to a long and battle-hardened history in the Clone Wars. The dark side menace Boc even comments on the weapon’s distinctiveness, admiring its design before destroying it.
Dark Forces II
includes the first lightsaber props and live-action lightsaber footage since
Return of the Jedi
.
4 Kyle Katarn
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In the years following his mission to Ruusan, Kyle Katarn wielded the lightsaber of the fallen dark side user Yun. During Operation Shadow Hand, Katarn briefly fell to the dark side upon visiting the nightmarish Dark Force Temple on Dromund Kaas and being overwhelmed by its dark side energy. This led Katarn to undergo formal Jedi training under Luke Skywalker’s tutelage on Yavin IV. As part of this training, Kyle constructed a blue-bladed lightsaber.
The design of Kyle Katarn’s blue lightsaber – fittingly – includes similar elements to Luke Skywalker’s weapon, though its grip and buttons are reminiscent of prequel-era lightsabers, like that of Qui-Gon Jinn. Katarn’s lightsaber has a notably longer hilt than most, and this may be due to Katarn’s preference for two-handed lightsaber combat forms, such as Djem So (Form V). Kyle Katarn’s lightsaber would be used most famously during the New Republic’s conflicts with Desann and the Empire Reborn faction of the Imperial Remnant.
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3 Darth Vader
Darth Vader’s lightsaber is the first Sith lightsaber shown onscreen, and it remains one of the Star Wars franchise’s most famous. After his cybernetic reconstruction, Darth Vader constructed a new lightsaber to replace his blue-bladed Jedi weapon. In the years between his defeat on Mustafar and his debut in A New Hope, Vader grew into his role as a Sith Lord, and each continuity gives a different explanation for his Sith weapon’s origin. In its original Legends-era incarnation, Darth Vader powered his weapon with a red synthetic lightsaber crystal, while the modern canon has him corrupt a Jedi Kyber crystal.
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Fascinatingly, Darth Vader’s lightsaber uses a nearly identical hilt to his first Jedi lightsaber. Anakin’s first weapon is used throughout Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, but its destruction on Geonosis sees it replaced by his more famous Clone Wars-era weapon. Darth Vader’s lightsaber hilt uses the same design as his first weapon, only its emitter shroud is black instead of chrome.
2 Anakin Skywalker (Clone Wars)
Anakin Skywalker’s Clone Wars-era lightsaber is arguably the most famous in the Star Wars franchise overall. The blue-bladed weapon is the first lightsaber to be ignited onscreen, and it has a storied history with multiple wielders throughout both the original Legends timeline and the modern canon. Anakin Skywalker built and used the weapon throughout the Clone Wars (and, for a brief time, as Darth Vader), and it would be passed down to Luke Skywalker, Luuke Skywalker, Mara Jade, Finn, Rey, and Ben Solo.
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Related Anakin Skywalker’s 6 Lightsabers Explained
Anakin Skywalker’s classic blue lightsaber may have become iconic in the franchise, but Anakin/Vader used many other lightsabers in Star Wars.
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Anakin’s Clone Wars-era weapon is the quintessential lightsaber. The iconic hilt – built from an old-fashioned camera flash unit – includes various settings, dials, a prominent shroud on its blade emitter, and an activation matrix in its midsection. This wartime lightsaber – fittingly – has a worn appearance by the original trilogy, having seen constant use throughout the Clone Wars and the three years between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
1 Luke Skywalker
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Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber is the first green-bladed weapon shown onscreen, debuting in Return of the Jedi. The weapon was originally meant to have a blue blade, but it was changed to green to make it easier to see during Return of the Jedi’s Pit of Carkoon action scene. This choice would retroactively be fitting, as the weapon’s blade color would match that of Yoda’s, while its hilt design is almost identical to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Clone Wars-era weapon.
Like many Jedi Knights, Luke Skywalker uses a lightsaber that honors his mentors, and the hilt – while not a complete recreation of Ben Kenobi’s weapon – is undeniably inspired by it. Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber – and Kenobi’s, for that matter – easily have among the best hilt designs in the Star Wars saga. The lightsaber is elegant and minimalist, with a shape vaguely reminiscent of an old-fashioned candlestick and two lights installed above its activation switch – located near the pommel.
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Upcoming Star Wars Movies |
Release Date |
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The Mandalorian & Grogu |
May 22, 2026 |
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.