A modern weapon – The lightsaber is one of the most recognisable weapons in the entirety of Star Wars. Described by Obi-Wan Kenobi as “an elegant weapon for a more civilised age,” the lightsaber has aided Lightsiders, Darksiders, and those in-between. So with the release of Obi-Wan Kenobi coming soon to Disney+, we thought we’d venture into something we don’t usually discuss.
Weaponry in Star Wars is usually just as crucial to the story, characters, lessons, and the vehicles, so that’s what we will deal with in this post. Bare in mind before we start that this is just a partial list and not a full one.
This post will also contain links to the associated Wookieepedia pages so you can find additional information.
Crossguard Lightsaber
So, our first lightsaber is the Crossguard. The Crossguard is an ancient variant of lightsaber dating back to the High Republic. It contains two vents called quillions to vent out excess energy. What’s more, it became a rare sight to see one of these weapons going into the era of the Galactic Republic. But then, lightsaber designs focused more on a single blade. Darth Atrius wielded twin Crossguards.
What’s more, Ezra Bridger, the Jedi Padawan of Kanan Jarrus, finds a green Crossguard lightsaber on Malachor. Years later, the grandson of Darth Vader, Ben Solo, known as Kylo Ren, would wield a red Crossguard weapon with a cracked kyber crystal.
The Crossguard lightsaber is effective in Form II (Makashi) lightsaber combat.
Single Blade
One of the most famous lightsaber types is the single blade. Most modern Jedi and the Sith are known to have this type.
The weapon is said to weigh a bit, as mentioned by Senator Padmé Amidala when she held her husband, Anakin Skywalker’s weapon in The Clone Wars episode, ‘Hostage Crisis.’
A lightsaber’s kyber crystal is often found by the user on the planet Ilum during Jedi training. However, there are no red crystals. For a Dark Side user to have a red blade, one must take the crystal and feed as much Dark Side energy into it as possible. In layman’s terms, this means anger, fear, hate and every negative emotion under the twin Suns of Tatooine! This process is called ‘bleeding.’
Naturally, bleeding can be done to any kyber crystal. The bleeding process can be reversed, but it will not restore the crystal to its original form. A Light side user can leech the dark side energy from the crystal to make the blade white.
Blaster Combo/Hybrid
One of the unique lightsaber types is the blaster combo, created by Ezra Bridger during the first season of Star Wars Rebels. He wanted his first lightsaber to be special and unique as he was. But unfortunately, he was being taught by a Jedi who had never completed his training, and he was a member of a potential rebel cell.
It was destroyed on Malachor a year after its construction. Ezra later constructed a new weapon with a green crystal and a proper lightsaber hilt.
Spinning Lightsaber
One of the strangest lightsaber types is the spinning lightsabers of the Inquisitorius. A sub-type of the double-edged weapon made famous by former Sith Lord Darth Maul, the spinning lightsaber had so many flaws as the weapon was often vulnerable to explosions.
Ahsoka Tano made the weapon of the Sixth Brother explode after she felt the crystals within the weapon call to her via the Force. She then purified the crystals prompting them to turn white.
Shoto
Ahsoka and Master Yoda both used Shoto lightsaber.
Tano was advised by her master, Anakin Skywalker, to take on the lightsaber form of Jar’Kai.
Master Yoda, meanwhile, used a shoto lightsaber due to his small size. After his death, Luke Skywalker, Anakin’s son, offered the weapon to Grogu, his first youngling to be taught at his Jedi Academy. However, Grogu refused the weapon and decided to return to the life of a Mandalorian, alongside his adoptive father, Din Djarin.
Darksaber
Unknown to most Jedi, the Darksaber was a lightsaber made by the first Mandalorian Jedi, Tarre Vizsla. Unique because of its black blade, the weapon symbolised leadership amongst the Mandalorians. The blade must be won in combat and should not be given away willingly. While Sabine Wren gave the weapon to Bo-Katan Kryze, Kryze was unwilling to take the weapon from Din Djarin.
Double-Bladed
Finally, we reach the end of this post with the double-bladed lightsaber. Darth Maul is well-known for having this type of weapon. He has used the weapon on multiple occasions and killed Qui-Gon Jinn with the weapon he used on Naboo.
Jedi did not commonly use this type of weapon during the last years of the Jedi Order. However, one known Jedi to have used double-bladed weapons was Pong Krell, given he was a Besalisk (like Dexter Jettster) who could wield his weapons in a deadly fashion.
