In Star Wars, the lightsaber is the most elegant weapon imaginable - a blade of weightless energy that requires its wielder to be as adept with their mind as they are with their body. With just a single mistake or slip-up, you may be left staring down at a missing limb.
While our own duelling sabers aren't quite as punishing as the fictional version, they do come with robust polycarbonate blades that offer full VFX and SFX, so you'll certainly feel the connection if you accidentally catch yourself with a swing.
Why aren't there more cool custom lightsabers in Star Wars?
In what may be a bit of a wasted opportunity, the majority of sabers that we see in the main Star Wars films stick to a similar style. In the lore, that makes sense: the lightsaber has been refined over centuries and designs have become as efficient as possible.
For viewers, however, there's always a tantalising question hovering at the edge of our enjoyment: "what if?" What if a lightsaber could be mounted to a staff? What if a saber hilt could also function as a blaster? What if designs were far more varied?
Most of this is all down to one moment. If you're old enough, you'll remember the exact feeling you had when watching The Phantom Menace and seeing Darth Maul's double-bladed saber ignite for the first time. It was a feeling of true awe and excitement, of seeing something new from our most beloved Star Wars armament.
And while Maul would be the only real exception to the rule for the main film franchise, there have still been some exciting unique lightsaber designs in the expanded universe. Here are our pick of the best...
The most unique lightsabers in Star Wars
Darth Maul’s Saberstaff
Well, who else were we going to start with? Darth Maul’s double-bladed saber stamped a new idea into the heart of Star Wars canon and permanently changed the way we consider sabers.
Maul’s saberstaff is a double-bladed saber that comes in classic Sith red. The Zabrak duellist designed it himself - utilising two separate sabers that could be coupled at the hilt, so he could either wield it in a double-bladed style or as two single sabers. Maul’s athletic ability and aggressive style paired perfectly with the double-bladed saber and he was able to overcome multiple attackers at once – as witnessed during the infamous Qui Gon and Obi-Wan duel.
Fancy a double-bladed saber of your own? At Saberzone, we don’t believe in locking everyone into one design – instead we offer a coupler that allows you to link two sabers together to enjoy dual-bladed duelling.
The Darksaber
Anyone lucky enough to have watched The Mandalorian or even The Book of Boba Fett will recognise this one. The Darksaber is a proto-saber that was made by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian Jedi. As such, the saber has become a treasure for the warrior race of Mandalore and is wielded only by its rulers or most distinguished warriors.
But the reason it’s so unique isn’t its history. It’s the pure visceral flair that the blade colour provides. The darksaber, as its name implies, emits a black blade and is the only example in the Star Wars universe to do so. Like other sabers, it's virtually weightless and the blade can cut through almost anything.
Unlike a regular lightsaber, the Darksaber has a more unusual hilt that is rectangular and more ‘casette’ shaped. This, along with the lore that states how ancient it is, certainly makes it look retro in comparison to the sleek curves of standard lightsabers.
If you’d like to wield something similar, why not try and test your own right to rule with our Royal Right saber.
The Lightwhip
Whips of pure energy may seem less elegant than a single saber, but they’re certainly effective enough to see use throughout Star Wars’ expanded universe. Due to the unpredictable movement of a whip-style saber, these were only wielded by highly skilled fighters such as the Nightsisters who lived on the planet Dathomir.
The lightwhip was unconventional, but some Jedi favoured the variant for its flexibility. Notable, newcomer Vernestra Rwoh was depicted with one in The High Republic series. A sith warrior also fights with multiple lightwhips in the animated Star Wars Visions.
Ezra Bridger’s blaster saber
Perhaps the most unique of all the styles on this list, Ezra Bridger’s prototype saber combines a blaster and saber in a single device. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last quite as long as other sabers in this list and is promptly destroyed by Darth Vader.
However, while it’s in action it’s a cool idea that is testament to the scrappy personality of Ezra and the other survivors of the Empire’s witchhunt. Having built it himself, Bridger’s saber is a fusion of his two worlds and combines his skill with a blaster with his stolen destiny as a Jedi.
Kylo Ren’s Crossguard Saber
Kylo Ren’s lightsaber was one of the highlights of The Force Awakens, an exciting new twist on the classic saber style with touches of medieval combat influence. The crossguard traditionally protects a wielder’s hands, but in this case it was also used to vent the energy from the cracked kyber crystal inside the hilt.
Ren’s saber was originally blue but he changed it to red after destroying the Jedi temple. It seems fitting that Kylo Ren, who was also Ben Solo, could freely switch from blue (good) to red (bad) when he needed to. That’s why we design our sabers with colour changing blades that allow you to select the shade to suit your own mood.
Kylo’s saber was also unique in its sound effects. Where most lightsabers had a high-tech, smooth hum, Ren’s blade has a fierce crackling that reflects the unstable nature of the crystal.
If you’d like to join the rank of knights, wield our own take on this signature style with our durable Crusader duelling saber.