Luke Skywalker ' s lightsaber Luke Skywalker ' s lightsaber was the first lightsaber constructed by Luke Skywalker and the second one he owned . Specifications . Construction . This weapon ' s design was based on schematics Luke found in his mentor ' 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 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 Galactic Empire ' s establishment in 19 BBY , great efforts were taken 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 , and shutting down the sites that possessed these crystals . Possessing lightsabers was also outlawed with the exception of Palpatine himself , Darth Vader , the Emperor ' s Shadow Guards , and the Emperor ' s Hand . Others who possessed lightsabers collected them as a trophies from fallen Jedi . Due to this , Luke was forced to fabricate his own green synthetic lightsaber crystal , utilizing a small blast furnace and a book of instructions found within the home of his fallen Master on Tatooine . 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 rescue for Han Solo from bounty hunter Boba Fett ' s custody 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 Ben Kenobi ' s lightsaber in memory of his mentor . Functionality . When Luke Skywalker 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 Anakin Skywalker ' 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 his father ' s weapon . History . In 3 ABY , the construction of his Jedi weapon gave the confidence Luke Skywalker needed to progress in his studies as he advanced toward becoming a Jedi Knight . A year later , the young Jedi used the weapon during the desperate rescue of his friends from Jabba the Hutt ' s hands on Tatooine . On the moon ' s surface of Endor , he used it to deflect the blaster fire from Misik ' s speeder and sliced the speeder ' s steering vane , before Misik crashed into the tree . Aboard the second Death Star , Luke used his lightsaber during his final confrontation with Darth Vader . When Palpatine was inspecting the lightsaber , he claimed that the design was much like his father ' s . At the climax of his duel with Vader , as he stood with the weapon leveled at his fallen father ' s throat , Luke refused to give in to Palpatine ' s goading to slay his father and submit to the dark side of the Force , shutting his lightsaber off and hurling the weapon aside . Luke would later retrieve his lightsaber after being rescued by his redeemed father from the Galactic Emperor ' s barrage of Force lightning , wearing the weapon at the Rebel Alliance ' s 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 in 2010 , 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 clip was later included in the saga Blu - ray boxset . The original prop lightsaber hilt Mark Hamill used in 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 , which included Luke Skywalker ' s lightsaber with a handle similar to Anakin Skywalker ' s lightsaber used in . The former lightsaber had a green blade while the latter lightsaber ' s blade was blue . However , this can be considered a non - canon lightsaber .