Luke Skywalker's lightsaber

"This one is mine. I no longer use yours."

- Luke Skywalker, to Darth Vader

Luke Skywalker's lightsaber was the lightsaber used by Luke Skywalker. It was made in 3 ABY after he lost his father's lightsaber to Vader himself, along with getting his hand cut off.

Construction


The design of the weapon was based off schematics Luke found in Obi-Wan Kenobi's hut on Tatooine. While the final product remained largely faithful to these designs, Luke simplified the weapon considerably, as this was his first attempt at constructing a lightsaber. For instance; he decided to use only one crystal for his lightsaber, as opposed to the ideal of three to allow for a fully adjustable blade. Luke was able to gather most of the parts he required to build his weapon from various vendors in the city of Mos Eisley, including a high-energy reflector cup, power cells and a focusing lens. However, Luke was unable to obtain the one vital component that would bring the whole project together: the lightsaber crystal itself.

In the years following the establishment of the Empire in 19 BBY, great efforts were taken by the Emperor to expunge the last remaining resources of the fallen Jedi Order from the galaxy. One of these measures was the banning of all crystals capable of being used in the construction of lightsabers. Due to this, Luke was forced to fabricate his own synthetic lightsaber crystal, utilizing a small blast furnace and a book of instructions found within the Tatooine home of his fallen Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

For many days, Luke labored over the components, checking and then re-checking the instructions many times, taking no shortcuts. Over a month after he first began, the weapon still was not complete. Luke had to interrupt his work on the project while he and his friends mounted an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to rescue Han Solo from the custody of the bounty hunter Boba Fett on the planet Gall. Returning to Tatooine, Luke resumed his work on the weapon, cutting and shaving the unrefined crystal he had created into a proper multi-faceted lightsaber jewel. He likewise based its design on Kenobi's own lightsaber, in memory of his mentor.

Functionality
When Luke first ignited the weapon, it functioned perfectly. The green blade emitted no heat, signifying that the internal superconductors were working properly, and it sheared through a wrist-thick rock spire with no difficulty. Luke also noted that the weapon possessed superior balance to his father's lightsaber. Possibly as a result of utilizing a synthetic crystal, the lightsaber made a distinctive snap-hiss sound when activated, which was a different sound to that emitted by Luke's first weapon.

History
"I see you have constructed a new lightsaber. Your skills are complete. Indeed you are powerful, as the Emperor has foreseen."

- Darth Vader to Luke Skywalker, as Vader examines the construction of Luke's confiscated lightsaber.



The construction of his Jedi weapon gave Luke the confidence he needed to progress in his studies as he advanced toward Knighthood. Luke used the weapon during the desperate rescue of his friends from the hands of Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine, and again during his final confrontation with his father aboard the second Death Star. During the latter event, Palpatine, when inspecting the lightsaber, claimed that the design was much like Anakin Skywalker's. At the climax of the duel, as he stood with the weapon leveled at his fallen father's throat, Luke refused to give in to the Emperor's goading to slay Vader and submit to the dark side of the Force, shutting the weapon off and hurling it aside. Luke would later retrieve the weapon after being rescued by his redeemed father from the Emperor's barrage of Force lightning, wearing it at the Rebel victory celebrations on Endor.

Luke would go on to wield his lightsaber in the years following the Battle of Endor, seeing repeated use. The weapon was at his side as Luke oversaw the rebirth of the Jedi Order and the repeated conflicts that followed, including the struggles against the Imperial Remnant, the Yuuzhan Vong and the Killiks. During his brief apprenticeship under the reborn Palpatine, Luke was forced to replace his green crystal with a red Sith gem. He ultimately wielded this red blade in rebellion against Palpatine, overcoming the Sith Lord. Luke afterwards changed back to his crystal.

A legend later claimed that the lightsaber could be found inside the remains of Outpost 17, an outpost in the Unknown Regions that had been destroyed during the Yuuzhan Vong War. This would turn out to be a myth, as Skywalker would continue to wield this lightsaber years after the Yuuzhan Vong war, including during the Swarm War and the Second Galactic Civil War. Later, he would take the weapon with him into his imposed exile in 43 ABY. The weapon was still with him as of 44 ABY, when he used it to kill Abeloth.

Luke would go on to craft several more lightsabers in his lifetime, including a short-bladed version (called a shoto), and a standard red-bladed lightsaber for his sister, Leia Organa Solo. At some point prior to 35 ABY, Luke constructed a backup lightsaber that was nearly identical to this lightsaber. The backup weapon was stored inside R2-D2, seeing use after his primary lightsaber was confiscated by UnuThul. Luke later retrieved his original weapon.

Behind the scenes
For decades, fans were intrigued by a rumored "lightsaber construction scene" in which Luke constructs this lightsaber in a cave on Tatooine. Though storyboards for the scene existed, Mark Hamill denied that he ever filmed the scene. However, at Celebration V, Hamill and George Lucas debuted the deleted clip, which included a brief sequence where Luke assembles the lightsaber, then activates it for the first time. The attendants at Celebration V went wild with excitement when the long deleted clip was shown. For many, it was a dream come true. The clip was later included in the Blu-ray edition of the original trilogy.

The original prop lightsaber hilt Mark Hamill used in Return of the Jedi was flown on Space Shuttle Discovery on October 20th, 2007, which coincidentally launched at 11:38 a.m EDT from Pad 39A.

The Hasbro toy company released a "Jedi Legacy" evolutions 3 pack, in which Luke Skywalker has a lightsaber with a handle similar to the one Anakin Skywalker uses in Episode III. The lightsaber however bears a green blade instead of a blue one like Anakin used. However, this can be considered a non-canon lightsaber.

Non Canon Appearances

 * The Lost Lightsaber