Kylo Ren's Lightsaber: History, Cracked Crystal and Fate

Kylo Ren’s lightsaber is a crossguard saber with an unstable red blade, and in current canon it began as a blue lightsaber that Ben Solo built as a Jedi student [1]. Ren bled its kyber crystal, the crystal cracked, and he added side vents to the hilt to cope with the extra heat [1]. It appears in Episodes VII to IX, from 2015 to 2019 [4]. In the last film Ben Solo throws it toward the ocean of Kef Bir [1]. This page covers the history of the weapon. For the crossguard design itself and real replicas of it, read the crossguard lightsaber guide.

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Last checked: 2026-11-09.

Quick answers

• Colour: blue as Ben Solo’s saber, fiery red-yellow after the crystal was bled [1].
• Type: single blade with two short side blades, called quillons [1][2].
• Built: between 15 and about 19 ABY by Ben Solo, changed after the Jedi temple fell in 28 ABY [1].
• Fate: thrown toward the ocean of Kef Bir at the end of Episode IX, so it sinks [1].
• Legends: none. The character first appears in 2015, after the 2014 split [4][7].

From Ben Solo’s saber to Kylo Ren’s

Wookieepedia says Ben Solo began Jedi training under Luke Skywalker in 15 ABY and built his saber at some point before about 19 ABY. It had a standard cylindrical hilt and a blue blade [1]. “ABY” means after the Battle of Yavin, the calendar Star Wars stories use.

After the Jedi temple was destroyed in 28 ABY, Ren bled the crystal to turn the blade from blue to red [1]. Bleeding is the canon term for forcing a kyber crystal to the dark side, and the red lightsaber page explains it. Ren was not a Sith, but Wookieepedia says he followed the Sith custom of corrupting a crystal [1]. The crystal cracked in the process [1].

That crack is the reason for the odd shape. The Lucasfilm Databank says the weapon is built around a dangerously flawed crystal that would overload without the lateral plasma vents, and the vents are what produce the crossguard blades [2]. Wikipedia’s lightsaber article says canon reference books give the same cause for the unstable look [5]. Wookieepedia adds that the hilt was black and burned after its first ignition without the vents, and that Ren added the vents to divert extra heat [1].

What the hilt is made of

Wookieepedia lists the hilt as cylindrical and straight, about 29.8 centimetres long, in heat-hardened industrial alloy [1]. It says a diatium power cell sits in the grip and that the blade switch is a slider near the top [1]. The Databank describes the focusing crystal activators that split the plasma stream into three channels, with the quillons appearing after the main blade ignites [2].

These are in-universe specifications. A film does not state them, and the wiki entry itself carries a notice asking for the history section to be expanded [1]. The design reference is also stated two ways. The Databank ties it to weapons seen millennia ago during the Great Scourge of Malachor, and Wookieepedia names the ancient Sith Lord Darth Atrius for the crossguard idea [1][2]. Wookieepedia also reports that a Lucasfilm art manager credited the side beams on Luke’s saber in the 1977 posters as the inspiration for the film design [1].

Where the Kylo Ren lightsaber appears

The table covers the three films. Wookieepedia also lists comics, novels and games for the saber, which this page does not try to cover [1].

Wookieepedia notes that the flashback saber in Episode VIII looked similar, but the film did not confirm it was the same weapon. That came from the 2019 reference book The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary [1].

The Databank page for the saber lists only The Force Awakens under appearances [2]. Treat it as a short entry, not a full list.

What happened to Kylo Ren’s lightsaber

In the last duel on Kef Bir, among the ruins of the second Death Star, Ren was winning until his dying mother reached out to him through the Force. He dropped the saber, and Rey picked it up and ran him through [1]. She then sensed Leia’s death and healed him [1].

Alone on the wreck, Ren was reached by a memory of his father, and Wookieepedia says Kylo Ren ceased to exist and Ben Solo returned. With no use for Ren’s weapon, he threw the saber toward the horizon so that it would sink into the ocean [1]. Nobody retrieves it in any source I read.

The Skywalker lightsaber link

Kylo Ren’s saber is a different weapon from the Skywalker lightsaber, but the two are tied together through Rey. The Skywalker lightsaber is the blue weapon Anakin built and Luke later used [3]. Wookieepedia says Ren, as Anakin’s grandson, tried to claim it on Starkiller Base, and Rey took it instead [3].

Later, Rey and Ren pulled on it with the Force in Snoke’s throne room, and the strain cracked the crystal and split the hilt in half [3]. Rey repaired it, binding the halves with a strap and healing the crystal with techniques from Jedi texts [3]. On Exegol she handed it to Ben Solo, who used it against the Knights of Ren [3]. After the battle she buried the Skywalker sabers on Tatooine, built a yellow saber from parts of her quarterstaff and took the name Skywalker [3].

So both weapons were damaged by their wielders’ struggles, and both ended up away from the people who fought over them. For the older saber’s history, see the Luke Skywalker lightsaber page. For the earlier Skywalker family dark side saber, see Darth Vader’s lightsaber.

Canon and Legends

Canon is the continuity Lucasfilm treats as current. Legends is the label for the licensed stories that came before the April 2014 reset [7]. The Force Awakens was announced as part of that new slate, and Kylo Ren’s saber first appears in the 2015 film [4][7]. Wookieepedia files it as canon and lists games such as Fortnite and LEGO titles under non-canon appearances [1]. The handbook card for the saber also marks it canon (handbook/sabers/kylo-ren-red-crossguard.md) [8].

That card says the blade colour was written from memory and the release year was not checked separately. This page replaces both with the Wookieepedia and Wikipedia sources above [1][4][8].

Real world replicas

Hasbro lists a Star Wars The Black Series Supreme Leader Kylo Ren Force FX Elite lightsaber, model E5238, as an adult collectible that needs three AA batteries, not included [6]. Its page says the design follows the saber from Episodes VII, VIII and IX, with activators that split the plasma stream into three channels [6]. I did not confirm a current price or whether it is in stock, so check a retailer. The handbook card says no replica of this exact saber was confirmed, which predates the Hasbro page above [8].

Comparisons of licensed collectibles and hobby sabers are on the Black Series Force FX lightsabers, lightsaber replica and conversions and replicas pages. For a film by film list of every blade, see every lightsaber by film.

Sources

1. Wookieepedia, Kylo Ren’s lightsaber, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Kylo_Ren%27s_lightsaber (read through the public API, accessed 2026-11-09)
2. Star Wars Databank, Kylo Ren’s Lightsaber, https://www.starwars.com/databank/kylo-rens-lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-09)
3. Wookieepedia, Skywalker lightsaber, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Skywalker_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-09)
4. Wikipedia, Kylo Ren, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kylo_Ren (accessed 2026-11-09)
5. Wikipedia, Lightsaber, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-09)
6. Hasbro, Star Wars The Black Series Supreme Leader Kylo Ren Force FX Elite Lightsaber instructions, https://instructions.hasbro.com/en-us/instruction/star-wars-the-black-series-supreme-leader-kylo-ren-force-fx-elite-lightsaber-with-advanced-led-sound-effects (accessed 2026-11-09)
7. StarWars.com, The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page, https://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page (accessed 2026-11-09)
8. Handbook card handbook/sabers/kylo-ren-red-crossguard.md (its header marks colour as from memory)