Lightsaber Hilt Designs by Character: Families, Parts and a Full List

Lightsaber hilt designs fall into a few families: the straight cylinder that most Jedi carry, the camera-flash look of the first films, the curved hilt, the double-bladed staff, the crossguard, the shoto and a few one-off hybrids. Wikipedia says the hilt of most lightsabers is straight and predominantly cylindrical, with other types as exceptions [1]. This page maps each family to the characters who carry it and links to the page for each one. It is about how the hilts look. For hilt types, materials and buying, read lightsaber hilts. For the order of appearance, read every lightsaber by film.

This is an informational reference. Star Wars and its characters belong to Lucasfilm and Disney, and this site shows no film stills or logos.

Last checked: 2026-11-12.

Quick answers

• Most common design: a straight, cylindrical alloy hilt of about 28 centimetres [1][2][4][5][6].
• Camera-flash origin: the first film hilts were built from Graflex press camera flash parts [1][2].
• Curved hilt: Count Dooku, then Asajj Ventress and Ahsoka Tano’s white pair [8][9][10].
• Double-bladed: Darth Maul first, Cal Kestis in one mode [1][11][12].
• Crossguard: Kylo Ren, and Cal Kestis in one mode [12][13].
• Short hilt: Yoda, 15 centimetres [7].
• Every hilt below is canon, as described by Wookieepedia, a fan wiki. These are in-universe descriptions and the films do not state them.

Lightsaber hilt designs by family

Parts you can see: grip, emitter, pommel and guard

Four parts change how a hilt looks. Wookieepedia names examples of each.

• Grip: Vader’s saber has a black ridged handgrip [3]. Rey’s has a cloth handgrip [17]. Mace Windu’s has what the wiki calls a specially designed handgrip [6].
• Emitter: Yoda’s has an emitter shroud [7]. Vader’s has a beveled shroud [3]. Sabine Wren added a larger shroud and guard pieces to protect her hands [15]. Rey’s emitter opens with a rotating, gear-like mechanism [17]. Sidious’ hilts have a flat aurodium emitter [18].
• Pommel: the Darksaber has an angular pommel, a hand guard and a slit-shaped emitter, all in beskar [16]. The film-prop Skywalker hilt had a D-ring added at the bottom [2].
• Guard or crossguard: Kylo Ren’s quillon emitters sit on the sides of the hilt [13].

The camera-flash origin

The look of the first films has a real-world source. Wikipedia says the prop hilts for the original film were built by Roger Christian from old Graflex press camera flash battery packs and other hardware [1]. Wookieepedia adds that Luke’s hilt was the flash attachment of a Graflex 3-cell unit, with ridged grips made from plastic T-track glued on, a switch plate made from a calculator display and a D-ring at the bottom [2]. Vader’s hilt in the first two films came from a British MPP Microflash, and a Graflex tube was used for a lookalike in Return of the Jedi [3]. Wookieepedia also says genuine Graflex units were used for the props in The Force Awakens [2].

Anakin’s second saber is the in-universe Skywalker lightsaber: 28 centimetres, cylindrical, alloy metal and carbon composites, with black rubberized grip ribbing [2]. Wookieepedia says the Revenge of the Sith hilt was machined to look like Luke’s, since the stories treat them as one weapon [2]. The full story is on the Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker pages.

Straight cylinders

Most hilts on screen are plain tubes. Wookieepedia lists these as cylindrical and straight, except Plo Koon’s, where it gives only length and material:

• Qui-Gon Jinn’s, 28.5 centimetres, alloy metal [4].
• Obi-Wan Kenobi’s first saber, 28 centimetres, based on his master’s simple design [5].
• Mace Windu’s, 28 centimetres, electrum-plated alloy, with an electrum finish the wiki reads as a sign of his Council rank [6].
• Plo Koon’s, 28 centimetres, alloy metal, a design the wiki calls common among Jedi who saw themselves as sentinels [19].
• Palpatine’s pair, 19 centimetres, with a phrik body [18].

They differ in finish, grip and emitter rather than in shape. For how the parts of a tube hilt fit together, see the lightsaber hilts guide.

Curved hilts

Dooku’s hilt is the reference. Wookieepedia lists it as cylindrical and curved, 35.5 centimetres, and says the curve gave him finesse and precision when lunging or slashing [8]. Wikipedia says the curved hilt first appears with Dooku in Attack of the Clones [1]. Who drew it is disputed between sources, and the Count Dooku page sets them side by side.

Asajj Ventress carries a pair of red curved, rectangular hilts that can be used separately or joined into an S-shaped double-bladed weapon [9]. In canon, Wookieepedia says the pair came to her from a former Padawan of Dooku and resembled his own saber [9]. Ahsoka Tano’s white pair has curved, rectangular hilts too, rebuilt over the years from rougher first versions [10]. A curved hilt with a straight blade is not a sword shape, which the lightsaber katana page covers.

Double-bladed and split hilts

Maul’s saberstaff is the best known. Wookieepedia lists it as a double-bladed Sith lightsaber, straight and cylindrical, 49.5 centimetres long [11]. Wikipedia describes it as two regular lightsabers joined at their butt ends, each making a blade on its own [1]. Cal Kestis’ hilt in Jedi: Fallen Order can run as a single blade, a double-bladed staff or two separate sabers, with a black grip section in the middle and emitters at both ends [12]. Ventress’ joined pair is the third example [9]. For how the type handles and what a real one involves, see double-bladed lightsaber.

Crossguard hilts

Wookieepedia lists Kylo Ren’s saber as a cylindrical, straight hilt of 29.8 centimetres with quillon emitters added after its crystal cracked [13]. The vents are what produce the side blades [13]. In Jedi: Survivor, Cal Kestis fits a crossguard emitter from an enemy’s saber to his own [12]. The crossguard lightsaber page covers the design and real versions.

Short, hybrid and one-off hilts

• Yoda’s shoto: 15 centimetres, straight and cylindrical, weighing 0.6 kilograms by the wiki’s figures [7].
• Ezra Bridger’s first saber: a lightsaber and blaster hybrid. Wookieepedia lists a double-bar design, with the blaster components in the outer bar [14]. Wikipedia mentions it as a blaster pistol built into the handle [1].
• The Darksaber: a straight, rectangular hilt with a guard, made of beskar [16].
• Rey’s saber: built from parts of her quarterstaff, with a cloth handgrip, a blocky and heavy hilt, and a yellow blade [17].

Lightsabers by character: the list

This table answers the common “list of lightsabers” search for the characters we cover. The length column is the wiki’s figure where one is given, and “not opened” means this page did not verify a length. Every row is canon unless the linked page says otherwise.

Other characters have pages too: Kit Fisto, General Grievous, Baylan Skoll, Starkiller and Darth Revan. I did not re-read their hilt details for this page, so check each page for its canon or Legends label.

Canon and Legends

Canon is the continuity Lucasfilm treats as current. Legends is the label for licensed stories from before the April 2014 reset. The hilts above are described from Wookieepedia’s canon pages. Legends can differ, and each character page keeps the two apart.

Which hilts stand out

“Coolest” is a matter of taste, so this page does not rank. What the sources show is which designs break the plain tube: Dooku’s curve, Kylo’s side vents, Maul’s length, Ezra’s two bars and the Darksaber’s beskar blocks. For hilts you can buy, see coolest lightsabers. The wider type list is on types of lightsabers.

Hilt design ideas for your own build

If you want to draw on a family, start with the part you want to change:

• Grip: ridges, wrapping or cloth, as Vader’s, Windu’s and Rey’s are described [3][6][17].
• Emitter: a plain shroud, a guard or a flat plate [7][15][18].
• Pommel: a ring, a block or a clip point [2][16].
• Shape: straight, curved or a staff [1][8][11].

The practical steps are in customize a lightsaber hilt, 3D printed lightsaber hilt and lightsaber parts list. For the board that runs the lights, see the Proffieboard guide. For the stone inside, see kyber crystals and the krayt dragon pearl.

Sources

1. Wikipedia, Lightsaber, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
2. Wookieepedia, Skywalker lightsaber, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Skywalker_lightsaber (read through the public API, accessed 2026-11-12)
3. Wookieepedia, Darth Vader’s lightsaber (canon), https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Darth_Vader%27s_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
4. Wookieepedia, Qui-Gon Jinn’s lightsaber (canon), https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Qui-Gon_Jinn%27s_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
5. Wookieepedia, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s first lightsaber, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Obi-Wan_Kenobi%27s_first_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
6. Wookieepedia, Mace Windu’s lightsaber (canon), https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Mace_Windu%27s_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
7. Wookieepedia, Yoda’s lightsaber (canon), https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Yoda%27s_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
8. Wookieepedia, Dooku’s lightsaber (canon), https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dooku%27s_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
9. Wookieepedia, Asajj Ventress’s lightsabers (canon), https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Asajj_Ventress%27s_lightsabers (accessed 2026-11-12)
10. Wookieepedia, Ahsoka Tano’s white lightsabers, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ahsoka_Tano%27s_white_lightsabers (accessed 2026-11-12)
11. Wookieepedia, Darth Maul’s double-bladed lightsaber, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Darth_Maul%27s_double-bladed_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
12. Wookieepedia, Cal Kestis’ second lightsaber, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Cal_Kestis%27_second_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
13. Wookieepedia, Kylo Ren’s lightsaber, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Kylo_Ren%27s_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
14. Wookieepedia, Ezra Bridger’s first lightsaber, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ezra_Bridger%27s_first_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
15. Wookieepedia, Sabine Wren’s lightsaber, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Sabine_Wren%27s_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
16. Wookieepedia, Darksaber (canon), https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Darksaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
17. Wookieepedia, Rey’s lightsaber, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Rey%27s_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)
18. Wookieepedia, Darth Sidious’ lightsabers (canon), https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Darth_Sidious%27_lightsabers (accessed 2026-11-12)
19. Wookieepedia, Plo Koon’s lightsaber (canon), https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Plo_Koon%27s_lightsaber (accessed 2026-11-12)