Anakin Skywalker ' s first lightsaber / Legends Anakin Skywalker ' s first lightsaber — the hilt of which the thirteen - year - old Jedi Padawan assembled in an entranced state ( from pieces he ' d built earlier ) during his Initiate ' s Gathering trial in the Crystal Caves of Ilum in 29 BBY — was the first weapon created and wielded by Anakin Skywalker . It was used by Skywalker for seven years before its destruction just prior to the Clone Wars . Specifications . Rather than imitate his master ' s lightsaber design , as was customary , Anakin Skywalker instead created a solid , heavy - duty hilt that favored maximum strength . The dual - phase weapon featured a solid casing , ridged handgrip , forward mounted adjustment knobs and a beveled emitter shroud as well as a " throttle - style " activator . Choosing the path of a Jedi Guardian , Skywalker added a blue crystal to his design to identify himself as a warrior of the Jedi Order . Along with the color crystal , it also utilized a high output diatium power cell and a dual - phase focusing crystal . The basic design of this weapon was also incorporated into his second lightsaber albeit with a modified shroud and mid - section . History . Construction . In 29 BBY , Anakin Skywalker constructed the pieces of his lightsaber prior to arriving on Ilum , where he chose three crystals that " seemed to speak to him " from the Crystal Caves . After banishing from his mind the horrifying specter of an eerily familiar yet indeterminate slaver pursuing his mother Shmi , but also after being startled by a second specter in the almost equally terrifying image of the emergent Sith Lord Darth Maul , whom he immediately attacked , he dropped the crystals . Ultimately defeating the ghosts , Skywalker awoke from his trance to find his lightsaber fully constructed . The weapon , he immediately found , was " a perfect fit " and " perfectly balanced to his hand . " First blood . One of the earliest uses of this lightsaber was when Skywalker and Obi - Wan Kenobi were intercepted by the slaver Krayn , whom Skywalker remembered from his childhood on Tatooine . The weapon ' s first " kill " was actually of a non - living entity — a droid in the pirate ship ' s weapons - control tech center that Skywalker decapitated and impaled ; the young Jedi " felt a surge of satisfaction from the power of his new lightsaber . He wasn ' t in training mode anymore . " Kenobi managed to escape the slaver ' s ship , while Skywalker and the undercover Jedi Siri Tachi went on to start a rebellion among Krayn ' s slaves . In the end , Skywalker faced the slaver in combat , besting him . Ignoring his master ' s command to spare Krayn , in favor of what Skywalker felt were promptings delivered by the Force itself , Skywalker impaled the crime lord . Early missions . The young Jedi ' s new weapon saw use on Radnor , where , in 28 BBY , Skywalker accompanied Kenobi and various other Jedi Knights and apprentices to aid in the evacuation of the planet following a dangerous toxic leak . While traveling to the world ' s Isolation Sector from its Clear Sector , they encountered a Radnoran family being terrorized by a number of Avoni raiders . Skywalker disobeyed orders and aided the Knights in fighting off the raiders rather than protecting the family , as he and his fellow students had been directed to do . Skywalker also came into conflict with Ferus Olin , Siri Tachi ' s Padawan . Though the mission was technically a success , with the leaked toxins neutralized and the raiders stopped , Skywalker felt that the planet was now even worse off than when they found it . Separatist Crisis . Mission to Ansion . Ansion was to a casual observer an insignificant world , but upon closer inspection , it was connected to over forty other neighboring systems by a complex web of treaties and alliances . If Ansion seceded from the Republic , it would drag along every world that it maintained an alliance with . Kenobi and Skywalker were dispatched to the world to prevent that from happening . Arriving on Ansion two days early , Kenobi and Skywalker met with Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee just in time to save them from a veritable army of contract killers . Leaping over a retaining wall into the dead - end alley the women were cornered in , Skywalker and Kenobi made short work of the assassins . Later , the four met with the political leaders of Ansion . While the meeting with the politicians itself went well , they still had the nomadic Alwari to placate . While the Jedi spent their spare time perusing the shops and vendors of the Ansion capital , Offee was kidnapped by two insane Alwari exiles hired by the local Hutt crime lord , Soergg the Hutt , who was on the Separatist payroll . However , Offee managed to convince the two exiles to aid them after healing the neurological deformities that had caused their insanity . Rejoining the other Jedi , the exiles , Bulgan and Kyakhta , took on the role of guides , leading them through the Ansion wilderness as they left the city to meet with the Alwari . Their travel through the plains almost ended in disaster , however , when they were beset by a school of Gairk s while crossing the Torosogt River . Offee was yanked off her Suubatar steed by the creatures and dragged downriver to be eaten later . Skywalker swam after her , but only succeeded in getting himself caught by a quartet of Gairks . His attempts at resisting their suction unsuccessful , Skywalker instead went with the flow , allowing them to pull him within lightsaber range . After this , they continued their journey across the plains , making contact with the Yiwa clan . Ingratiating themselves with the nomads , they were provided with directions to find the overclan , Borokii . However , along the way , they were captured by the merchant clan Qulun , which was being paid by Soergg the Hutt , after being drugged while dining with the clan leader . However , they were rescued by Tooqui , a Gwurran . While reclaiming their mounts from the Qulun guards , Skywalker began toying with one of them . However , when Kenobi began noticing , Skywalker quickly killed the guard with a cut to the neck , claiming that the fighter was faster than he thought . Later , as they rode north again , they were attacked by a pack of Shanh s . Ambushed by one of the creatures while serving as camp lookout , Skywalker was quickly disarmed . Forced to rely on the Force , he managed to telekinetically deflect the creatures killing leap , but was caught unawares by the Shanh ' s mate . Managing to blast it aside with a Force push , Skywalker reclaimed his lightsaber and killed the creature as it leapt at him again . He turned to find that the first Shanh had been killed by Unduli . The following day , they finally made contact with the Borokii . While quickly welcomed by the secure clan , they were forced to present an offering of white wool sheared from an albino Surepp . The tuft of fur was retrieved by Unduli . While the meeting itself went well , the Jedi were left with the condition that allegiance would only be granted if the Jedi helped settle the clan warfare between the Borokii and the rival Januul . Negotiations turned sour , and the Jedi ' s attempts to intervene left them ostracized from both groups . A massive three - way battle began . As per Kenobi ' s command , the Jedi simply disarmed attacking warriors rather than killing them . Skywalker advanced on his attackers , casually disarming them and noting the ease with which he could have finished them . In the end , both clans recognized the futility of attempting to continue the battle , backing down and reluctantly agreeing to make peace . The Jedi returned to the Ansion capital . On their way to meet with the political leaders , they were attacked by snipers sent by Soergg the Hutt , who also cut off their communications . Deflecting the initial volley of sniper shots , they took refuge in one of the larger buildings . However , they were accosted within the building and were forced to retreat back to the streets to avoid collateral damage to bystanders . They were ultimately saved only by the intervention of Borokii and Januul warriors . Meeting with the delegation , they managed to convince the politicians against voting for secession . Trailing the assassin . In 22 BBY , assassination attempts were made on the life of Senator Padmé Amidala , the former Queen of Naboo . As he and Kenobi quietly awaited the killer , they both suddenly sensed danger . Rushing into her bedroom , Skywalker used his lightsaber to bisect two poisonous kouhuns about to bite the sleeping Senator , while Kenobi leapt out the window , grabbing hold of the ASN courier droid that had delivered the insects . Skywalker rushed down to the speeder garage and commandeered a XJ - 6 airspeeder , racing after his master . Rescuing Kenobi , Skywalker piloted the speeder after the fleeing assassin . After a lengthy speeder chase through the Coruscant cityscape , Skywalker managed to board the assassin ' s vehicle . Clinging to the exterior , he stabbed his lightsaber into the cockpit , prompting the assassin to fire wildly with her blaster pistol . She accidentally destroyed the controls , and the vehicle ' s bucking caused Skywalker to drop his lightsaber . While the assassin ' s speeder crashed and Skywalker pursued the killer unarmed , his lightsaber spun through the air before being caught by Kenobi . Kenobi intercepted Skywalker at the entrance to the Outlander Club , returning his lightsaber and scolding him for losing it . The two managed to catch the killer , Kenobi slicing off her arm when she attempted to catch him unawares . However , when interrogating her in the alley behind the club , she was killed by an unknown assailant , learning only that she had been hired by a bounty hunter . Bodyguard and killer . While Kenobi was dispatched to track down the bounty hunter in question , Skywalker was assigned to act as the Senator ' s bodyguard , accompanying her back to Naboo where they holed up in her remote family estate . While there , Skywalker was tormented with prophetic visions regarding his mother ' s death . Leaving for Tatooine with Amidala in tow , he briefly met with his former slave master , Watto , learning that he had sold her to a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars , who had since married her . Meeting with Lars at his family home , they learned that Shmi had been abducted during a Tusken Raider attack . Charging out into the desert on a swoop bike , Skywalker eventually found the Tusken camp . Quietly approaching , he sliced his way into one of the tents with his lightsaber and found his mother . After Shmi died in his arms , the enraged and distraught Padawan slaughtered the hapless Tuskens . Wielding his lightsaber against the warriors , Skywalker surrendered utterly to his rage , massacring the entire Tusken clan , not even sparing the women and children . His actions caused a massive disturbance in the Force , felt by Yoda on Coruscant , and left a dark side Force nexus in the area . After returning to the Lars homestead , Skywalker spent much time consumed by grief and anger , confiding his actions to Senator Amidala . After his mother ' s funeral , they were contacted by Kenobi , who had discovered the identity of the bounty hunter and trailed him to Geonosis . While there , he discovered that the Neimoidian Viceroy , Nute Gunray , had hired the bounty hunter , looking to settle a score with Amidala after his defeat and capture by her during the Battle of Naboo . Gunray was also involved in the Separatist movement , helping contribute to their massive military buildup . Just as he completed his message , he was attacked and captured by a squad of droidekas . Forwarding Kenobi ' s message to Coruscant , Amidala and Skywalker resolved to go to Geonosis and rescue Kenobi . Destruction . Infiltrating one of the Geonosis droid foundries by way of the worker sleeper cells , they were attacked by the Geonosian workers managing the facility . Carving up numerous workers with his lightsaber , Skywalker retreated with Amidala to the assembly lines , where they were split up . Continuing to slice his way through the workers , Skywalker was eventually bested by the machines of the line itself . Initially cutting up most of the mechanical implements , Skywalker was soon knocked over and pinned beneath the machinery . While he managed to free himself , his lightsaber was cut in half by a descending mechanical blade . Skywalker remained oblivious about his ruined weapon until he attempted to activate it , causing it to emit only sparks . Ruefully remarking that Kenobi was going to kill him for allowing this to happen again , Skywalker was captured by droidekas and Jango Fett . Legacy . Skywalker created a lightsaber of similar design to replace it , his second lightsaber . After becoming Darth Vader , he built a third lightsaber based off of this one .