Hacksmith Lightsaber: What The Hacksmith Really Built
The Hacksmith, the YouTube channel of James Hobson, built several working lightsaber props, from heated tungsten rods to a retractable propane plasma blade recorded by Guinness in 2020. This explainer covers what each build is, what was real, whether you can buy one, the safety limits, and how it differs from a hobby saber.
Short answer
The Hacksmith, the YouTube channel of James Hobson, built several working lightsaber props, from heated tungsten rods to a retractable propane plasma blade recorded by Guinness in 2020. This explainer covers what each build is, what was real, whether you can buy one, the safety limits, and how it differs from a hobby saber.
On this page10 sections
The Hacksmith lightsaber is not one object. The Hacksmith is the YouTube channel and company of James Hobson, now called Hacksmith Industries [1]. It has built a series of working lightsaber props. The best known is a retractable plasma saber from October 2020, fed with propane and oxygen through a hose from a backpack [2][3][4]. It is a stunt build, not a product. This page covers what each build is, what was real, whether you can buy one, and how it differs from a hobby saber. We are independent and do not sell their products.
Hacksmith lightsaber at a glance
| Build | Date | How it works | Source note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early rod sabers | 2017 to 2019 | Heated tungsten, powered by battery packs | [5][6][7] |
| Kylo Ren style build | May 2020 | Electric, three tungsten rods in series | [9] |
| Retractable plasma saber | October 2020 | Propane and oxygen flame, hose to a backpack | [2][3][4] |
| Lightsaber pike | May 2023 | Butane and oxygen, fuel in the hilt | [8], one source |
| Mini-Saber | 2022 | Small butane flame toy | [10][11] |
The early rod sabers
The first builds were not plasma. A 2017 write-up describes a blade heated by power from 20 lithium polymer packs rated at 24 volts, with a lead to a pack instead of a battery in the hilt. It says a power source small enough for a hilt does not exist, and the first power circuit was overloaded and burned out [7].
Version 3, published in December 2019, uses a titanium pipe over a tungsten core. The titanium reaches nearly 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit in 10 to 15 seconds and glows white-yellow. The power pack weighs 41 pounds and gives over 20 kilowatts, and the saber is tethered to it [5][6]. These are the same specs in two independent articles. A May 2020 Kylo Ren style build wires three tungsten rods in series, and that page warns that an earlier tungsten prototype shed material that could release toxic gas [9]. The Kylo Ren lightsaber page covers the film design.
The retractable plasma saber
The October 2020 build is the one most people mean. Maker.io published it on 8 October 2020 as the sixth version [2]. Instead of a solid rod, the blade is a flame of liquid propane and oxygen forced through a nozzle made for glass blowing, using laminar flow to keep a blade shape [2]. Nerdist and Vice describe the same fuel pair, with Vice adding that gas reaches the saber by a tube from a backpack [3][4].
The reported temperature is up to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, about 2,200 degrees Celsius, in three sources [2][3][12]. Nerdist says it cuts quarter-inch steel plate, and Vice says it cuts steel [3][4]. Adding salts changes the colour: Vice names sodium chloride for blue, boric acid for green and strontium chloride for red [4]. The project page says an electronic circuit in the hilt switches the blade on and off, which gives the retract effect, and a sound module plays lightsaber sounds [2].
Guinness World Records lists it as the first retractable proto-lightsaber, credits James Hobson with help from Bogdan Malynovskyy, and describes it as connected to tanks of liquid propane and oxygen [12]. Wikipedia also reports the Guinness record from December 2020 [1]. The retractable lightsaber page shows what hobby sabers do instead.
Was it real or effects
The sources I read describe physical builds: a real flame, real metal cut, and a real hose and tanks [2][3][4][12]. None of them says which shots in the videos were edited or added. This page cannot sort real footage from effects, and it does not guess. What the sources do say is the limit that matters. The blade is tethered, uses a lot of fuel, and Vice reports Hobson saying a version without the backpack is beyond current technology [4]. The physics behind that is in real lightsaber.
The pike and the later versions
The Hacksmith’s 2023 project page describes a 6 foot lightsaber pike with 77 components, using butane mixed with oxygen, with valves and regulators and fuel and electronics in the hilt. The page states a goal of shrinking the hilt to 2 feet [8]. It does not clearly confirm the pike runs without a cable, and this is the only source for the details, so treat them as that page’s claim. For the shape, see lightsaber pike. Wikipedia says a later self-contained version was in development and that the team built clean rooms for liquid oxygen [1]. The maker’s own crowdfunding page says the full-size cordless saber is unfinished and will likely need liquid oxygen [11].
Can you buy a Hacksmith lightsaber
Not the plasma saber. The crowdfunding page offers no full-size or plasma saber for sale and describes that work as development funding [11]. What the store has sold is the Mini-Saber. The same page describes the Gen 2 as a handheld device with an all-metal hilt, a butane tank lasting up to 15 minutes and a blue or red flame, and it does not call it plasma [11]. Nerdist reported a $50 price in August 2022 [10]. Current price and stock are unverified: the store page did not load when checked. Dates on the crowdfunding page are inconsistent, so check the store yourself.
Safety
The maker’s own words are the best guide. The crowdfunding page calls the full-size project probably the most dangerous it has taken on, mentions liquid oxygen, and describes earlier prototype problems including overheating, melting and a fire incident [11]. The pages for earlier builds carry the same warning not to recreate them [2][5][8][9]. A 2017 write-up says anyone attempting similar high-power work should involve a certified electrical safety professional [7]. Do not use a flame saber near children, indoors or without fire safety. If you want to experiment safely with electronics, start with build your own lightsaber.
How it differs from a hobby saber
A hobby saber has a polycarbonate blade lit by LEDs, a rechargeable cell and sound. It does not cut and does not burn. A Hacksmith build is the opposite: it makes real heat and cuts, but it is tethered or fuel-limited and not a toy. Neither is the film saber, a solid blade of fixed length. See types of lightsabers for the real categories and neopixel lightsaber for how a lit blade works.
If you want to spar, a flame build is out of the question. Read how to duel with a lightsaber and pick a dueling-rated saber from best lightsaber.
Last checked: 2026-11-13.
Sources
- The Hacksmith, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hacksmith (accessed 2026-11-13)
- The Hacksmith Retractable Plasma Lightsaber, Maker.io (Digi-Key), 2020-10-08, https://www.digikey.com/es/maker/projects/the-hacksmith-retractable-plasma-lightsaber/d14232ad19c4454ebdc1dd6bbaef5f78 (accessed 2026-11-13)
- This Retractable Plasma Lightsaber Burns at 4,000 degrees F, Nerdist, 2020-10-08, https://nerdist.com/article/retractable-plasma-lightsaber-hacksmith/ (accessed 2026-11-13)
- YouTuber Hacksmith built a Star Wars lightsaber that can slice through steel, Vice, 2020-10-14, https://www.vice.com/en/article/youtuber-hacksmith-built-a-star-wars-lightsaber-that-can-slice-through-steel (accessed 2026-11-13)
- The Hacksmith Lightsaber Version 3, Maker.io (Digi-Key), 2019-12-19, https://www.digikey.com/es/maker/projects/the-hacksmith-lightsaber-version-3/1ccc9b614bb046b19c22ed2c322cc1f2 (accessed 2026-11-13)
- World’s first working proto-lightsaber cooks faces at 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, Syfy Wire, 2019-12-23, https://www.syfy.com/index.php/syfy-wire/proto-lightsaber-cooks-faces-at-2500-fahrenheit (accessed 2026-11-13)
- The Hacksmith: How Do You Power a Lightsaber?, Maker.io (Digi-Key), 2017-06-02, https://www.digikey.com/en/maker/projects/the-hacksmith-how-do-you-power-a-lightsaber/fd82758e7f8e4d97ac34da1a3701e2ce (accessed 2026-11-13)
- Hacksmith Industries: Lightsaber Pike, Maker.io (Digi-Key), 2023-05-13, https://www.digikey.hk/en/maker/projects/hacksmith-industries-lightsaber-pike/f61b78c734f84ba595c061249d2ed85e (accessed 2026-11-13)
- The Hacksmith: Kylo Ren’s Lightsaber, Maker.io (Digi-Key), 2020-05-04, https://www.digikey.ca/en/maker/projects/the-hacksmith-kylo-rens-lightsaber/4578a04b432e4028b3d7397e1acb3b6b (accessed 2026-11-13)
- This Functional Mini Lightsaber Is Getting a Color Swapping Upgrade, Nerdist, 2022-08-25, https://nerdist.com/article/hacksmith-store-real-mini-lightsaber-will-come-with-color-change-attachment-sith-red (accessed 2026-11-13)
- Crowdfunding real lightsabers, Hacksmith store, https://hacksmith.store/pages/lightsaber-crowdfunding-campaign (accessed 2026-11-13)
- Canadian Inventor Hacksmith creates world’s first retractable lightsaber, Guinness World Records, 2020-12-10, https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2020/12/canadian-inventor-hacksmith-creates-world%E2%80%99s-first-retractable-lightsaber-641762 (accessed 2026-11-13)
FAQ
Is the Hacksmith lightsaber real?
The retractable plasma saber is a real, working flame prototype, fed by gas tanks, and Guinness lists it as a first [2][12]. It is not the film weapon.
Can the Hacksmith lightsaber cut metal?
Nerdist and Vice report it cuts steel, with Nerdist giving quarter-inch plate [3][4].
Can you buy the Hacksmith plasma lightsaber?
No. The maker’s page describes it as development, not a product [11]. A butane Mini-Saber has been sold [10][11].
Is the Hacksmith saber a retractable lightsaber?
Yes, in the sense that the flame can be switched on and off by the hilt circuit [2]. It is tethered to a fuel supply [4][12].
Who is James Hobson?
He is the presenter of the channel and founder of Hacksmith Industries [1][12].
Editorial team
Writes for Saber Atlas. Every guide is checked against the maker's specs and dated, so you know how fresh it is.
Read next
Real Lightsaber: Is One Possible and What You Can Buy
A real lightsaber that works like the films, with a solid blade of fixed length that cuts, does not exist. Light passes through light, lasers do not stop, and plasma needs fuel or an arc. What exists are plasma proto-builds and hobby sabers with a lit blade that does not cut.
Retractable Lightsaber: What Exists and What to Buy
A lightsaber whose blade slides into the hilt exists as cheap telescoping toys, DIY builds and one Disney prop that was not for sale. No hobby grade ready-made one was confirmed in the sources checked. For a film style blade that appears and vanishes, a pixel saber is the practical buy.
Types of Lightsabers: Every Design, Who Uses It, What You Can Buy
The main types of lightsabers are single blade, double-bladed, crossguard, curved hilt, shoto, lightwhip and pike, plus rarer designs like the Darksaber. Most have a real hobby version. Retractable blades are the exception: only DIY builds turned up in the research for this page.
Build Your Own Lightsaber: A Step-by-Step DIY Guide
To build your own lightsaber, pick a route (assembled kit, plug-in modules, or a soldered Proffieboard build), buy a matching hilt and parts, bench-test the wiring, then install the software and close the hilt. A first soldered build is a weekend or two. Read the battery and soldering safety rules first.
How to Duel With a Lightsaber: Parry, Spar and Stay Safe
To duel with a lightsaber safely, use a saber with a thick polycarbonate blade, wear a fencing mask and padded gloves, agree rules and target zones before igniting, learn footwork and small parries first, and train with a club. Real leagues differ on gear, so check their rules.