We are familiar with Luke’s green lightsaber that burst on the scene in Return of the Jedi. Yet, we may not be as familiar with how Luke made it. Drawing on Legends, let’s explore how Luke borrowed a Sith technique to forge his second lightsaber.
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Dark Times for the Jedi
After Order 66, the remaining Jedi confronted dark times. Not only were they scattered and in hiding, but they also lacked a source for kyber crystals to make lightsabers.
As a refresher on kyber crystals, this article provides a quick history. These “rare gems” that are “attuned with the Force,” kaiburr or kyber crystals were traditionally procured from Ilum. Yet, “Ilum was defiled and mined to exhaustion” for the Death Star after the issuance of Order 66.
As Wookieepedia indicates, kyber crystals were also “looted from Jedi lightsabers,” taken from temples, and stripped from other planets containing them, like Jedha and Mustafar. The Empire effectively controlled this rare lightsaber-making gem.
According to Legends, the Empire also banned the use of lightsabers, except for Vader and dark Jedi. Only Imperials could possess them, and those that were acquired by bounty hunters were supposed to be turned over to the Empire.
Luke faced a predicament then–how could he get a new lightsaber?
How Luke Used a Sith Technique for his Green Lightsaber
This video reveals how Luke turned to Obi-Wan to create his green lightsaber. Kenobi provided knowledge about using “an ancient Sith technique that had long been banned by the Jedi order.” In effect, it was forbidden knowledge but, because of the short supply of crystals, Luke used the Sith technique anyway.
His rationale? He was among the few Jedi left, and the leading one at that, and had lost his lightsaber (or Anakin’s) in his fight with Vader in The Empire Strikes Back. Existing lightsabers were not easy to find and kyber crystals were rarer than usual.
For his green lightsaber, Luke relied on “a tome” that Kenobi left in his hut on Tatooine. This book contained the instructions for designing Luke’s second lightsaber. Luke “labored over the components,” meticulously reviewed the instructions, and worked for months. He ultimately forged an artificially created synthetic crystal for this lightsaber, as this Sith had done before him.
The Legends novel Shadows of the Empire explores Luke’s journey to Obi-Wan’s hut and the making of his green lightsaber. This video draws on this novel and conveys how Luke pulled together “power cells” and “a high-energy reflector cup” from Mos Eisley. Due to his constraints, Luke had to rely on one crystal, instead of three, cook it in a “small furnace,” cut and mold it, and worry about it exploding on him.
That Luke took this path is unusual especially because this fabricated synthetic method is typically consigned to the Sith.
The Sith Lightsaber Technique
In the past, the Sith relied on synthetic crystals because they forged their lightsabers in hiding. Over time, though, dark side users preferred synth-crystals over the natural forms that the Jedi used. The Sith could also more readily infuse their dark energy into them and derive their trademark red color.
As fans know, the Sith “bled” their lightsabers red by channeling their rage and hate into the kyber crystals. In essence, the Sith “corrupt the kyber by dominating its will” and remove its connection to the light side. The synthetic crystals could be more easily corrupted in this manner.
Yet, Luke diverted from this path and maintained his connection to the light side. In other words, he forged an artificial crystal, but retained a traditional Jedi color blue or green. Moreover, with the green color, Luke became attuned to a “consular” Jedi role, focusing on meditation and finding solutions through knowledge of the Force.
Luke Used and Discarded the Sith Technique
By forging a synth-crystal, Luke used a Sith technique for his green lightsaber. Yet, by discarding Sith bleeding and staying true to the Force, Luke departed from his dark side predecessors.