Summary

• Lightsabers have different designs and features tailored to the wielder's combat style, showcasing their personality and skills.
• Some lightsabers have unique functions that make them particularly impressive or historically significant.
• The Skywalker saber, owned by Anakin, Luke, and Rey, is the most famous lightsaber in Star Wars and is considered a legendary artifact carrying the essence of its owners.

The lightsaber is the iconic weapon of Jedi and Sith in Star Wars, and here are the best in the franchise's 46-year history. Introduced by Obi-Wan Kenobi as an elegant weapon for a more civilized time, the lightsaber is the traditional weapon of the galaxy's most famous Force-users. There's actually some evidence the lightsaber predated the Jedi Order, but it nonetheless became associated with the Jedi and the breakaway faction known as the Sith.

Although all these blades follow the same basic principle, there are actually quite a few different types of lightsabers - each adjusted to suit the combat style of their wielder. Not all of these have been seen in the Star Wars movies and TV shows, and indeed others have only been mentioned in Legends and not in canon. Here are the 15 best lightsabers introduced since the first Star Wars movie released in 1977.

These lightsabers have been chosen carefully, based on very specific factors. Every lightsaber is unique, but certain blades demonstrate the personality and skills of their wielders better than most. Others have proved particularly important and historic, or have certain functions that make them deeply impressive.

15 Ezra Bridger's Lightsaber Blaster

Seen in Star Wars Rebels

Let's start with a lightsaber Obi-Wan Kenobi would condemn as being most uncivilized, even if Ezra Bridger did find it pretty effective. The Jedi of the Dark Times often struggled to find the necessary parts to make a lightsaber, and thus many of the designs of that period are unique and individualistic. Ezra's is a perfect case in point, because he blended his lightsaber with a blaster. It meant he could switch between the lightsaber and blaster shots at speed, giving him a remarkable degree of diverse options in combat.

14 Tenel Ka's Rancor Tooth Lightsaber

Seen in Star Wars Legends

Introduced in Star Wars Legends, where she became the lover of Han and Leia's son Jacen, Tenel Ka ruled over a race known as the Hapans. Her lightsaber is notable for its individualism, with the hilt constructed in part from a rancor's tooth, a mark of her heritage. Since then, Star Wars has established that curved hilts like this are also tremendously effective for duels, particularly with the lightsaber form known as Makashi.

13 Vernestra Rwoh's Lightwhip

Seen in Star Wars: The High Republic

Next on the list is a rather unique lightsaber, wielded by Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh in the High Republic Era. The Force prompted Vernestra to make some modifications to her lightsaber, which allow her to switch it into the form of a lightwhip. Although the lightwhip is less effective as a weapon than a traditional lightsaber - the energy is diffused a little - it nonetheless proved especially useful when Vernestra needed to clear a path through a jungle.

12 The Lightsaber Gauntlet

Seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars concept art

Sadly never seen in action, concept art for Star Wars: The Clone Wars shows a unique lightsaber gauntlet wielded by Plo Koon. The look is tremendous, reminiscent of Wolverine, and it would have no doubt given Plo Koon a unique fighting style. Hopefully Star Wars will one day use the lightsaber gauntlet.

11 The Inquisitor Lightsaber

Seen in Star Wars Rebels, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi: Fallen Order, Jedi: Survivor, & more

The Imperial Inquisitors are noted for distinctive double blades that can spin at disconcerting speed. These can actually be used as helicopters, enabling brief flight, but they're mostly used for intimidation. Unfortunately, as Ahsoka Tano has proved multiple times, people who aren't intimidated find the rhythmic spinning to be something of a weakness rather than a benefit - Ahsoka has a history of effortlessly beating Inquisitors who begin to spin their blades.

10 The Darksaber

Seen in Star Wars Rebels & The Mandalorian

The ancestral blade of Mandalorian leadership, the Darksaber was created just over a thousand years ago by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian Jedi. It's an unusual lightsaber, not just because of its distinctive black blade, but also because modifications mean the energy forms in a different shape. It also appears to be strangely heavy for some to use, which has never really been explained. The Darksaber was destroyed in The Mandalorian season 3's finale, so its story is probably over (barring flashbacks).

9 Darth Maul's Double-Bladed Lightsaber

Seen in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels

Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi were shocked when Darth Maul activated his double-bladed lightsaber in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. An ancient Sith design, the double-bladed lightsaber lends itself to aggressive forms that few Jedi of that age had been trained to counter. It's visually impressive, but it does have a weakness, as Obi-Wan Kenobi ultimately demonstrated in Star Wars Rebels when he simply swept his lightsaber through the extended hilt.

8 Asajj Ventress' Splitsaber

Seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars

As impressive as Darth Maul's lightsaber may have been, Asajj Ventress went one better with her splitsaber - an adapted version of the weapon. Ventress wields two individual lightsaber blades, but she can lock them together into a double-bladed weapon. As impressive as the splitsabers may be, it's worth noting they require a high level of skill; training to use two lightsabers is very difficult (a technique known as Jar'kai), and the double-bladed form requires precision too.

7 Star Wars Visions' Lightsaber Parasol

Seen in Star Wars: Visions - Ronin

Iintroduced in the Star Wars: Visions episode "Ronin," the lightsaber parasol is undoubtedly one of the coolest lightsaber designs ever seen - even if it isn't technically canon. Created by a Sith named Kouru, the lightsaber parasol is a terrifying weapon powered by a single kyber crystal - perhaps implying each of the blades has less power than a typical lightsaber blade. It's incredibly flamboyant, but in truth once an opponent has recovered from the shock factor, it's easy to beat.

6 Stellan Gios' High Republic Lighsaber

Seen in Star Wars: The High Republic

Star Wars: The High Republic has introduced some of the most beautiful lightsaber designs. This was a time when Jedi put real effort into demonstrating their personalities when they created their lightsabers, and Stellan Gios created what many have dubbed the "Excalibur" lightsaber. It's an improved version of Kylo Ren's crossguard lightsaber, with much more beautiful quillons.

5 Dark Rey's Switchsaber

Seen in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The treacherous Jedi Master Pong Krell used a switchblade lightsaber in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but it wasn't until Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that viewers got to see one in live-action. Rey's vision of a dark future saw her confront a Sith-like version of herself who used a switchblade lightsaber, able to snap the different blades up in a way that made it tremendously effective for parries. It's visually one of the most impressive lightsaber designs in Star Wars to date.

4 Count Dooku's Curved Lightsaber

Seen in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi

At first glance, Count Dooku's lightsaber has only had some basic modifications - notably an unusual curved hilt. This was a careful and deliberate choice on Dooku's part, however, because the curved hilt is perfect for dueling. Dooku's entire lightsaber form, Makashi, is focused on the art of dueling; this is therefore the ultimate expression of Dooku's own character, because he's able to use it to defeat enemies with skill.

3 Baylan Skoll's Great Lightsaber

Seen in Ahsoka

Baylan Skoll's orange lightsaber is unique and distinctive, not least because it appears to have slightly different attributes to a typical lightsaber. It seems to be an ancient type of blade known as a Great Lightsaber, designed for stronger beings with powerful frames, and Baylan has modified his form to suit its weight. The Great Lightsaber generates a phenomenal amount of kinetic energy on impact, meaning even Ahsoka Tano - a duelist who's defeated Darth Maul in the past - found herself overwhelmed by Baylan.

2 Darth Vader's Dual Phase Lightsaber

Seen throughout the Star Wars saga

Anakin Skywalker always loved to tinker, and Darth Vader retained that habit. He customized his lightsaber, installing a second kyber crystal; a flick of a switch allowed Vader to alternate between the two crystals. This was important because it meant Darth Vader could customize his lightsaber length, with one blade longer than the other. An unexpected switch of crystals in the middle of a duel would throw Vader's opponents off-balance, giving him an edge in combat. It's a ruthless trick, perfectly in character for a Sith Lord.

1 The Skywalker Saber

Seen throughout the Star Wars saga

But the best lightsaber in all Star Wars is undoubtedly the most famous; the Skywalker saber, owned by Anakin Skywalker and passed on to Luke (and then to Rey). This is only a basic lightsaber in design, but it's notable simply because of who has wielded it; every lightsaber's owner bonds with the crystal within it, leaving a trace of their essence in the blade. That means this particular lightsaber carries a hint of the personality and power of the Chosen One, Luke Skywalker, and even Rey. Little wonder Star Wars now treats the Skywalker saber as the subject of legends, with Rey burying it in the sand at the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.