The Inquisitors wielded red lightsabers but were not Sith. So, they would not automatically have had red lightsabers. This fact prompts the question: where did they get the crystals for their double-bladed lightsabers? While no definite answer has been provided, we can piece together two main ways and a third that may be more compelling.
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Taken From the Jedi
One prominent theory is that the Inquisitors acquired their kyber crystals from the Jedi that they killed. This video provides insights into Inquisitors collecting lightsabers from “fallen Jedi” in a similar way as Savage Opress showed off his double-bladed lightsaber after killing two Jedi in The Clone Wars series.
The above video also adds how it’s not required to be a Sith in order to bleed a crystal. As we may know, a kyber crystal can be bled by any “dark side user.” Inquisitors may have followed the lead of the Sith when they acquired Jedi lightsabers and converted them to that bold crimson color.
We also get confirmation of this process from the canon Ahsoka novel. In the book, Bail Organa asks Ahsoka why her lightsaber blades are white. She explains that she purified the crystals from the Sixth Brother’s lightsaber—an Inquisitor she defeated in battle. His saber exploded during their fight, and Ahsoka recovered and purified the remaining crystals. She says:
“I restored them, I freed them. The red crystals were corrupted by the dark side when those who wielded them bent them to their will. They call it making the crystal bleed. That’s why the blade is red.”
The Darth Vader comics reflect this pathway to a red lightsaber. After losing his lightsaber to Obi-Wan after their duel on Mustafar, Vader took Jedi Master Kirak Infil’a’s lightsaber after killing him. He then traveled back to Mustafar to engage in bleeding the crystal. This video picks up the later part of that story from the comic pages and how Vader “reclaims himself” in the process.
Since their original and primary purpose was to serve as “ruthless Jedi hunters,” Inquisitors would certainly confiscate the weapons of Jedi they killed. Many of these dark-side users may have preferred to quickly transition their weapons to support these primary duties.
Inquisitors Had Their Own Kyber Crystals
Fans have noted that since the Inquisitors were themselves former Jedi, “they would have their own kyber crystals” that could be bled. This Sci-Fi exchange builds on that notion by offering up the Grand Inquisitor as an example of someone who bled his own lightsaber. Although it is not confirmed that his double-bladed lightsaber was constructed this way, it seems probable since he knew how to repair it after his duel with Vader.
This video follows that line of logic and speculates that some Inquisitors probably built their own blades. The book Rise of the Red Blade provides the foundation and an example with the former Jedi Iskat Akaris completing it this way. Also known as the Thirteenth Sister, Akaris retained her lightsaber after her turn to the dark side and could very well have personally performed its construction.
One post from the Reddit discussion above further suggests how one crystal could be an Inquisitor’s, while the second one could have been taken from the Jedi. This blended method may have occurred with Barriss Offee as she took on her full Inquisitor form in Tales of the Empire.
The Emperor Had Kyber Crystals and Lightsabers
We can also recognize a third method by which the Inquisitors acquired their spinning dual red lightsabers. The Emperor may have provided them. Some of the above sources attest to the idea of Sidious holding a stockpile of kyber crystals for the purpose of forging them into red duel-bladed lightsabers.
Moreover, the Emperor took control of the supply of kyber crystals. After Order 66, the Empire seized Ilum to extract the kyber crystals from this planet to fuel the first and second Death Stars’ superlasers. Sidious over-mind the Ilum so much that a trench ran around its equator. With this amount of kyber crystals, the Inquisitors could acquire their spinning blades this way.
This situation could be especially true since the Inquisitors were initially “weak in the dark side of the Force”, at least according to Vader’s standards. So, they may not have had the dark will to create their own lightsabers, whether from their original kyber crystals or those taken from other Jedi.
The Inquisitors Got Their Crystals
Either by taking them from fallen Jedi or converting their own kyber crystals, the Inquisitors forged their double-bladed lightsabers. Some may have done a combination of the two. Others still may have had their blades provided to them by the Emperor, given their vast supply of kyber crystals.