The weapon of choice for many warriors in the Star Wars universe is the lightsaber.
Whether they were on the light or dark side of the Force, almost all Force-users wielded lightsabers. But how are lightsabers crafted?
To begin with, lightsabers can only be created by Jedi. The Sith get lightsabers by taking them off a Jedi they defeated in battle or kill.
Then the Sith bleed the lightsaber of its former light-side energy and fill it with negative energy. This surge of negativity is what gives the Sith lightsabers their signature crimson hue.
In any event, the lightsaber begins its life as a Kyber crystal.
To complete their Jedi training, each individual needs to go on a mission to find their own crystal. From there, the Jedi fill the crystal with their energy, which causes it to change color.
The newly colored crystal is then taken to Professor Huyang, who teaches them how to forge their new weapon. And finally, the Jedi are the proud owners of a lightsaber that matches their energy.
Most lightsabers came in colors such as blue and green, and the Sith had their red lightsabers. Then there are the rarer colors, such as white and purple.
And the rarest of them all would be the black lightsaber, affectionately known as the Darksaber.
Given how rare the Darksaber is, many questions arise such as, how is it constructed? Does it undergo the same process as the lightsaber?
These questions and more will be answered during this article.
Table of Contents
How Was the Darksaber Constructed?
The Darksaber was built by the first and only known Mandalorian who was also a Jedi, Tarre Vizsla. Just like every other Jedi, Vizsla had to find his own Kyber crystal to create his lightsaber.
When he found his crystal, he poured his energy into it, just like every other Jedi. However, after doing so, Vizsla’s crystal turned black.
This has never happened before and didn’t happen again after that point. Therefore, Vizsla was the proud wielder of the only black lightsaber in the galaxy.
Then the Darksaber was forged from the Mandalorian alloy metal, Besakar, that was used to create their armor.
Beskar is one of the strongest materials in the Star Wars universe, so much so that it was impenetrable to lightsabers. This is because Beskar’s natural strength is intensified when the Mandalorian Iron is being forged.
What makes the Darksaber even more unique is that, unlike a regular cylindrically-shaped lightsaber, this one was shaped more like a conventional sword.
It sported a shorter blade than the lightsaber. This blade was flat in shape and had a white glow around it.
Does the Darksaber Have a Crystal?
Because the Darksaber is made with the Mandalorian material, Beskar, many believed that it was not created with a crystal. However, this is not true. As we mentioned above the Darksaber was made with the crystal that Vizsla found.
The purpose of the Kyber crystal is to conduct the Force energy from the Force-user to their lightsabers. Ergo, for the black lightsaber to be effective, it must have a crystal within it.
As mentioned above, when Vizsla poured his energy into his crystal it turned black. But why did it turn black?
Unfortunately, there isn’t a reason given within the franchise, but as we established before, the Kyber crystal changes color in response to the Force energy within the Jedi who found it.
Ergo, when Vizsla found his crystal it went through the same process and changed color. Still, as menacing as the black lightsaber was, the color was not an indication of strength. Rather the only important thing was the skill of the wielder.
Hence, despite how daunting the Darksaber looks, its true power comes from the Beskar that the Darksaber is built out of and the skill set of the person wielding it.
Is the Darksaber the Most Powerful Lightsaber?
Ever since its debut in Star Wars: The Mandalorian, the Darksaber has been at the center of many questions within the Star Wars community. Yet, there is one question that is repeated more than any other.
That is, whether or not the Darksaber is the most powerful lightsaber?
Well, the answer to this one is a bit more complicated than one might think.
Although there has been no definitive answer as to whether or not the Darksaber is more powerful than the lightsaber, there are indicators that it has the potential to be.
Apart from its intimidating look and the structural integrity of the Beskar, there are other points where the black lightsaber has a clear advantage over the traditional lightsaber.
One such advantage would be the shorter blade of the Darksaber.
The short blade of the Darksaber means that the energy within it could theoretically be far more concentrated than that of a lightsaber.
What’s more, the black lightsaber is the only one of its kind that can draw energy from its surroundings.
In fact, The Mandalorian showed that the Darksaber could pull its opponent’s lightsaber into its orbit. Which would allow the Darksaber’s wielder to have a stronger attack, due to their opponent being drawn closer to them.
Conclusion
The Darksaber is one of the most fascinating weapons to be introduced into Star Wars fandom. Given its unique look, it is a common misconception that the Darksaber does not have a Kyber crystal.
However, this is not correct. The Darksaber would not have been effective to a Force-user if it had not been for the crystal. And being a Jedi, Tarre Vizsla had to go through the same process as any other Jedi, finding his crystal and constructing his lightsaber.
When he found his crystal, it reacted to his force energy and turned black.
Even though the color of the crystal is pretty daunting, it isn’t as important as one might think. The color of the lightsaber plays no part in how powerful it is.
What does speak to the strength of the Darksaber is its ability to manipulate energy. Unlike any other lightsaber, the Darksaber has a highly concentrated energy level thanks to its shorter blade.
Additionally, the Darksaber is the first lightsaber that can draw the energy of its surroundings into itself. This gives it the potential to be the most powerful lightsaber that has ever existed.