The 6 Most Fascinating Facts About Darth Vader lightsaber

From the moment he first appeared in Star Wars: A New Hope, it was clear that the Sith Dark Lord was a Force to be reckoned with, and his trusty red lightsaber was a huge part of his character.

As a Star Wars faithful looking to buy a Darth Vader neopixel lightsaber, here are some fascinating facts you should know about the iconic Sith weapon.

1. It Made Use of Two Lightsaber Crystals

One interesting fact about the Darth Vader lightsaber is that it utilised two power crystals – a synth crystal and a bled kyber crystal. The synth crystal was an artificial type of crystal that wasn’t typically used to power lightsabers because of its unpredictable nature. However, the synth crystal used by Vader was specially altered by Sith engineers to allow him to channel the Force effectively.

2. Its Design was Partially Modeled After the Saber Anakin Lost on Geonosis

Prior to becoming a Sith Dark Lord, Vader was Anakin Skywalker, a fearless Jedi Knight who was trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Anakin had a reputation for losing his lightsabers, and during the battle of Geonosis, he lost the second lightsaber he ever built while on a daring, albeit unwise, mission to rescue Obi-wan from capture.

It is the model of this second lightsaber that inspired the design of the first lightsaber he built after he became Darth Vader. His second Sith lightsaber also had a similar design but with a thicker hilt grip and black accents.

3. His Second Lightsaber Crystal was Stolen From A Jedi

As mentioned earlier, Darth Vader’s lightsaber used two crystals. The first one was a synth crystal, while the second was a kyber crystal. Vader got this second kyber crystal while on an assassination mission sanctioned by Palpatine. He was tasked with killing a Jedi known as Kirak Infil’a (a Jedi who had survived Order 66). After successfully defeating Kirak Infil’a, Vader took the green kyber crystal of the dead Jedi’s weapon, bled it, and used it for his own lightsaber.

4. The Blade’s Red Colour is as a Result of “Bleeding”

The Sith and most Dark Side users cannot connect with kyber crystals in the same manner as the Jedi and Light Side users, so they have to carry out a ritual known as “Bleeding” in order to get their kyber crystals to work. This bleeding ritual involves a Sith psychically pouring all of their negative emotions (hatred, anger, rage, fear) into a kyber crystal until it turns red.

Darth Vader poured his rage, anger, and hatred into the green kyber crystal he took from Kirak Infil’a and turned it red. It is this bled kyber crystal that gave his lightsaber blade its red colour.

5. Vader’s Lightsaber Was of the Dual-Phase Type

In addition to using two power crystals, Darth Vader’s lightsaber also came with a dual-phase function that allowed the dimensions of its blade to be manually altered during use. This meant that Vader could alter the length of his lightsaber in order to improve efficiency and gain the upper hand during battle.

6. The Saber’s Grip was Thicker to Accommodate Vader’s Robotic Hands

After Obi-Wan Kenobi severed Vader’s left arm and both legs on Mustafar, the Sith Dark Lord had to get fitted with many cybernetic parts that slowed him down. His lightsaber also had to be altered to accommodate his new mechanical body and fighting style. While maintaining a design similar to the Saber he used as Anakin, his Sith lightsaber had a much thicker hand grip to suit his robotic hands.

An additional important fact to note is that Darth Vader managed to hold on to his lightsaber for over 20 years before he lost it in the Return of the Jedi (after Luke cuts off his hand). During this time, he wielded the lightsaber against several Jedi and in many battles.

Conclusion

The Darth Vader lightsaber is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic lightsabers of the Star Wars franchise, and above are just some of the interesting facts you should know about the weapon.