Red lightsabers were weapons primarily associated with the Sith and dark side users. While their construction was similar to that of lightsabers used by other Force-sensitives, the underlying philosophy was different.
Unlike the Jedi, who followed the light side of the Force and established a mutual bond with kyber crystals, the Sith were unable to do so due to the hate, fear, and other negative emotions associated with the dark side that clouded their concentration. Instead, the Sith engaged in a process known as bleeding, where they used the Force to pour their negative emotions such as rage, hate, fear, and pain into kyber crystals.
This process caused the crystals to take on a distinctive red hue. Any kyber crystal could be bled for use in a Sith lightsaber, although some Sith believed the proper method to obtain a crystal involved seizing one from a Jedi lightsaber.
What Does a Red Lightsaber Mean?
The red lightsaber represents power and aggression, anger, dark side alignment, and the rejection of Jedi principles.
- Power and Aggression: The red lightsaber embodies the Sith’s ruthless nature and their pursuit of dominance. The color red represents danger and aggression, reflecting the Sith’s relentless approach to gaining power.
- Anger: The red lightsaber indicates anger because it is tied to the Sith’s ability to harness their rage. Sith corrupt their lightsaber crystals through a process called “bleeding,” infusing them with hatred and fury, which turns the crystals red. The red lightsaber is a symbol of the Sith’s reliance on raw, destructive emotions to increase their strength.
- Dark Side Alignment: The red lightsaber signifies a character’s alignment with the Dark Side of the Force. It indicates their willingness to use fear and violence as tools for achieving their goals, contrasting with the Jedi’s restrained and ethical use of the Force.
- Rejection of Jedi Principles: The red lightsaber symbolizes defiance against the Jedi Order and its teachings. Sith wielders often embody traits such as arrogance, impulsiveness, and a relentless pursuit of power, which are at odds with the Jedi’s values of humility and self-control.
To learn more about the meanings behind lightsaber colors, check out our article 17 Lightsaber Color Meanings Explained.
Who Has a Red Lightsaber in Star Wars?
Sith and Dark Side users are known to have red lightsabers. Here’s a list of some of the most famous users:
- Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker)
- Darth Sidious (Sheev Palpatine)
- Darth Maul
- Count Dooku (Darth Tyranus)
- Kylo Ren (Ben Solo)
- Asajj Ventress
- Qimir (The Stranger)
- Darth Plagueis
- The Inquisitors
1. Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker)
Who is Anakin Skywalker?
Anakin Skywalker was a Force-sensitive human male destined to bring balance to the Force as the Chosen One.
Born on Tatooine in 41 BBY, he was discovered by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and trained under Obi-Wan Kenobi. Anakin became a powerful Jedi Knight and general during the Clone Wars, known as the “Hero With No Fear.”
Despite his abilities, Anakin struggled with attachments, secretly marrying Padmé Amidala. Manipulated by Palpatine and fearing Padmé’s death, Anakin turned to the dark side and transformed into Darth Vader. He led the destruction of the Jedi Order and helped establish the Galactic Empire.
As Vader, he served as the Emperor’s enforcer for years until discovering his son Luke’s existence. This eventually led to his redemption during the Battle of Endor, where he sacrificed himself to save Luke and destroy the Emperor, fulfilling the prophecy of the Chosen One.
Anakin Skywalker wielded at least four lightsabers throughout his life.
- Anakin’s first blue lightsaber was constructed and used as a Padawan learner.
- He briefly used a fallen Jedi’s green lightsaber during the Battle of Geonosis.
- His second lightsaber was a blue-bladed weapon used throughout the Clone Wars.
- As Darth Vader, he constructed a new black-alloy lightsaber with a red blade.
Darth Vader’s Red Lightsaber
This Red Lightsaber featured a dual-phase function, allowing the blade’s length to be manually adjusted during combat. It included a black-ridged handgrip, a black power cell chamber, a beveled emitter shroud, two dual-phase focusing crystals, a high-output diatium power cell, and standard power and length adjustment knobs.
Darth Vader continuously fine-tuned and upgraded his lightsaber to ensure maximum blade power and stability. According to Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, the lightsaber was the only object Vader seemed to care about, showing any emotional attachment to it.
Due to the various modifications that Darth Vader implemented over the years, the exterior appearance of his lightsaber underwent slight changes. However, its design continued to be largely based on his first Jedi lightsaber. Vader experimented with a rounded emitter shroud, reminiscent of his second Jedi weapon.
As a Dark Lord of the Sith, he frequently wielded his lightsaber in battles against Jedi and other formidable foes, though he often opted to use the Force against lesser opponents. Similar to his Jedi lightsaber, Vader’s lightsaber was also capable of functioning underwater.
2. Darth Sidious (Sheev Palpatine)
Who is Sheev Palpatine?
Sheev Palpatine, also recognized as Darth Sidious or simply the Emperor, was a human male who became the Dark Lord of the Sith and the ruler of the Galactic Empire from 19 BBY to 4 ABY.
Initially a senator from Naboo, the secretive Sith Lord maintained dual identities—Sidious and Palpatine—to advance his political ambitions and achieve his goals through deception.
He was behind the collapse of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars, establishing his dominion over the galaxy until his death at the Battle of Endor.
However, the dark side of the Force granted him abilities that enabled him to evade death, seeking immortality until he was ultimately and permanently destroyed by Rey, his granddaughter, during the Battle of Exegol.
Darth Sidious’ Red Lightsabers
Darth Sidious had a pair of red lightsabers built during his apprenticeship under Darth Plagueis. Despite being a highly skilled and lethal combatant, Sidious rarely used his lightsabers, only doing so when absolutely necessary to avoid being identified as a Sith Lord. Instead, he preferred to wield his powers of manipulation and relied on his servants to execute his secretive plans.
Reflecting his discerning tastes for the finer things in life, Sidious’ lightsabers were made from nearly indestructible phrik, with flat aurodium blade emitters and an electrum finish. Both lightsabers housed corrupted kyber crystals at their cores.
Originally identical, one of the lightsabers was later modified with an unknown black material. One of these weapons was usually concealed within a neuranium sculpture displayed on his desk in his office at the Senate Office Building on Coruscant.
3. Darth Maul
Who is Darth Maul?
Maul was a Force-user Dathomirian Zabrak male who became a crime lord during the Galactic Empire’s rule. He was known as Darth Maul when he was the apprentice of Darth Sidious.
Trained in the ways of the Force, Maul was a powerful warrior skilled in lightsaber combat. Even after losing his place as Sidious’ apprentice, he remained a cunning mastermind, always plotting to gain more power.
Maul was first revealed to the Jedi during the events leading up to the Invasion of Naboo, where he fought and killed Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn but was defeated and severely injured by Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Despite being presumed dead, Maul survived and returned during the Clone Wars, seeking revenge and power across the galaxy.
Darth Maul wielded a red double-bladed lightsaber. When it was cut in half in 32 BBY, it turned into a single-bladed weapon.
Darth Maul’s Red Lightsaber
Maul crafted his double-bladed lightsaber out of necessity when he was sent to the Jentares system to assassinate the reclusive Jedi Master Siolo Ur Manka. Unable to physically compete with the Jedi, Maul was disarmed and struck across the face with Manka’s Force-imbued staff. Realizing he couldn’t win through martial prowess alone, Maul resorted to his strategic skills and devised a plan to surprise his opponent.
Returning to his ship, Maul used Sith schematics to fabricate two separate lightsabers, which he then welded together to create his new double-bladed weapon. Each half of Maul’s lightsaber possessed identical designs, featuring modulation circuitry and an activator below the beam emitter and projection plate. Adjacent to the activator was a control lock and a small ridged handgrip, followed by controls for blade modulation and a second set of control locks. The two lightsabers were joined at the center.
Maul took considerable pride in the creation of the crystals for his weapon. He crafted four synthetic lightsaber crystals in a compression furnace, entering a deep meditation for four days to use the Force to control and monitor their formation.
4. Count Dooku (Darth Tyranus)
Who is Count Dooku?
Count Dooku was a Force-sensitive Serennian human male and a Jedi Master during the last years of the Galactic Republic.
Shortly after the Battle of Naboo, he became disillusioned with the Jedi Order and fell to the dark side of the Force, taking the name Darth Tyranus as the Dark Lord of the Sith.
After leaving the Jedi Order, he became the Count of Serenno and Head of State of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
As the second apprentice of Darth Sidious, Dooku played a crucial role in his master’s plan to conquer the galaxy by leading a pan-galactic secessionist movement against the Republic and the Jedi Order, both of which he saw as corrupt.
Immersing himself in the dark side, Dooku tirelessly advanced his and his master’s plans, unaware that he was merely a pawn in Sidious’ Grand Plan. Ultimately, Dooku was betrayed by his master, who arranged for his death at the hands of Anakin Skywalker.
Count Dooku’s Red Lightsaber
Dooku wielded a curved-hilt lightsaber powered by a kyber crystal that produced a red blade. As the apprentice of Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith, he employed this Sith weapon against his enemies.
The weapon was specifically designed for lightsaber combat, and the Sith Lord carried it into many battles during the Clone Wars, a conflict he and his master orchestrated from both sides. In his final duel aboard the starship Invisible Hand, Dooku lost his lightsaber to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who then used it to behead the Sith Lord and end his life.
5. Kylo Ren (Ben Solo)
Who is Ben Solo?
Ben Solo was a Force-sensitive human male and the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa. He was trained as a Jedi by his uncle, Luke Skywalker, but was lured to the dark side of the Force by Snoke, the Supreme Leader of the First Order. Taking the name Kylo Ren, he strived to be powerful like his grandfather, Darth Vader.
Throughout the sequel trilogy, Kylo Ren served as a warlord of the First Order, the leader of the Knights of Ren, and an antagonist to Rey. He killed his father and Snoke, subsequently taking the role of Supreme Leader.
Ren eventually discovered a connection with Rey known as a “Force dyad.” He ultimately rejected the dark side, aided Rey in defeating the resurrected Emperor Palpatine, and sacrificed the last of his life force to revive her when she collapsed.
Kylo Ren’s Red Lightsaber
In line with the Jedi Order’s tradition, Ben Solo crafted his lightsaber sometime between 15 ABY and 25 ABY while training as a Jedi Padawan under his uncle, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. His natural strength in the Force and exceptional talent made him surpass his peers in lightsaber skills.
Kylo Ren took the kyber crystal and lightsaber hilt he once used as Ben Solo to make his new Sith lightsaber. He began by using the dark side to bleed the crystal, causing it to crack and emit a surge of fiery energy, changing its hue to red-yellow. To handle the dangerous power channeled through the damaged crystal, he added vents on either side to release excess heat, resulting in quillon blades.
The rough design traced back thousands of years to a significant battle between the Jedi and Sith on Malachor. Despite these modifications, the kyber crystal barely contained the weapon’s power, giving the red blade an unstable, flickering appearance. Although its crude look suggested amateur construction, Ren favored his lightsaber’s volatile nature and opted not to repair it. The partially exposed inner workings allowed for easy modifications and maintenance.
6. Asajj Ventress
Who is Asajj Ventress?
Asajj Ventress was a Force-sensitive female from Dathomir. Throughout her life, she had many roles: a Nightsister, a Jedi Padawan, a Dark Jedi, a military commander for the Confederacy of Independent Systems and a bounty hunter.
She was born during the last years of the Galactic Republic to a clan of Nightsister witches led by Mother Talzin on Dathomir.
When she was a baby, her clan had to give her to the criminal Hal’Sted, who took her to the war-torn planet Rattatak where she became his slave.
After Hal’Sted was killed by Weequay pirates, Jedi Knight Ky Narec who was stuck on Rattatak and fighting the pirates, found her and took her in.
As she grew, Count Dooku trained her in the dark side of the Force. Ventress secretly worked as Dooku’s apprentice, yearning to be considered a true Sith. During the Clone Wars, she fought for the Separatists and clashed with Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. However, when Dooku was ordered to dispose of her and left her for dead, Ventress returned to her Nightsister clan to seek revenge. Eventually, she reinvented herself as a bounty hunter reclaiming her identity as neither a Sith nor a Jedi.
Asajj Ventress wielded several lightsabers throughout her life. As a Padawan, she used a green lightsaber. Later, when she served the Sith Lord Count Dooku, she used two red curved-hilt lightsabers, similar in design to Dooku’s own weapon. After being betrayed by Count Dooku, Ventress felt lost and began searching for a new purpose and identity. During this period, she obtained a yellow lightsaber from the black market.
Asajj Ventress’s Red Lightsabers
Asajj Ventress wielded a pair of red lightsabers with curved hilts. These lightsabers could be used individually or joined to form a distinctive S-shaped double-bladed saber. They originally belonged to a former Jedi Padawan of Dooku. Ventress received the lightsabers after aligning with Dooku, who had become the Count of Serenno and Head of State of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, serving as his assassin and secret Sith apprentice.
During her service to Dooku, Asajj Ventress’s lightsabers helped her defeat many opponents throughout the Clone Wars. In one notable mission, she fought Jedi Master Luminara Unduli to a standstill.
During the Battle of Sullust, Darth Sidious ordered Dooku to eliminate Ventress due to her increasing power and proficiency with her lightsabers. Following this betrayal, Ventress continued using the lightsabers, even lending one to Obi-Wan Kenobi during a duel with Savage Opress and the rogue Sith Lord Maul.
Later, Barriss Offee stole the lightsabers and used them to frame her friend, Ahsoka Tano, for the bombing of the Jedi Temple hangar. Ventress informed Anakin Skywalker, who then forced Barriss into revealing the truth by taking her lightsaber and attacking her, leading to her confession.
Ventress eventually replaced her stolen lightsabers with a yellow one acquired on the black market. She wielded this new lightsaber while working with Jedi Master Quinlan Vos on a mission to assassinate Count Dooku.
7. Qimir (The Stranger)
Who is Qimir?
Qimir was a Force-sensitive human male Sith, known as “the Stranger” because he claimed to have no name, active during the High Republic Era. He began as a Padawan under Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh but was eventually expelled from the Jedi Order.
Following his expulsion, he was trained as a Sith by Darth Plagueis and started seeking an acolyte of his own. After murdering a coven of witches on Brendok, he encountered Mae-ho “Mae” Aniseya and began training her as his apprentice. Throughout her training, he never revealed his name or face, and she knew him only as “the Master.”
The Master tasked Mae with killing a Jedi without a weapon, disguising himself as “Qimir,” a former arms smuggler for the Hutt Clan. He provided her with the intelligence and equipment needed to defeat her enemies while secretly monitoring her progress.
However, in 132 BBY, Mae discovered her twin sister, Verosha “Osha” Aniseya, was alive and decided to betray the Master, turning herself in to the Jedi to reunite with her sister. This forced the Master to reveal himself, leading to the deaths of most of the Jedi investigation team sent to Khofar, including self-exiled Jedi Master Kelnacca, as he targeted Mae.
Though he failed to kill Mae, the Stranger captured Osha and became determined to train her instead. Upon discovering that Osha’s former Jedi teacher, Master Sol, was responsible for the murder of her mother and coven, Osha killed Sol and embraced the dark side of the Force. She agreed to the Sith’s offer of training in exchange for erasing Mae’s memories and allowing her to live.
Qimir wielded a red lightsaber, which could be separated into two individual lightsabers, one of them being a shoto.
Qimir’s Red Lightsaber
The Star Wars canon remains sparse on details about the Sith Master’s lightsaber. All known information about Qimir’s lightsaber comes from The Acolyte TV show. Nevertheless, we do know the essentials. The Sith Master, also known as Qimir or The Stranger, designed his lightsaber hilt with a detachable handgrip. When separated, this section functions as a dagger-sized lightsaber. This feature allows the Sith Master to unpredictably shift his combat tactics, catching his opponents off guard.
So, how does that work? While schematics are unavailable, general lightsaber lore helps us hypothesize the workings of the Sith Master’s weapon. All lightsabers require a kyber crystal, a focusing lens, an emitter, and a power cell. The Sith Master’s saber, therefore, contains two complete sets of these components – one for the main hilt and one for the mini-hilt. This likely accounts for the smaller size of the second saber, as its compact power cell may be insufficient for generating a full-sized blade.
8. Darth Plagueis
Who is Darth Plagueis?
Darth Plagueis was a Force-user Muun male Dark Lord of the Sith who mentored both “the Stranger” and Darth Sidious. Known for his insatiable thirst for immortality, Plagueis believed that the key to eternal life lay in scientific pursuit. He dedicated his life to researching bioengineering alongside his apprentice, Darth Sidious, and conducted groundbreaking experiments in manipulating midi-chlorians to create life itself.
Through his relentless studies, Plagueis amassed an impressive wealth of knowledge about the Force. However, his pursuit of power ultimately led to his downfall. In a twist of fate that adhered to the Sith’s Rule of Two, Plagueis met his end at the hands of his own apprentice, betrayed and murdered when he least expected it.
The tale of Plagueis’ demise would later be used by Sidious as a tool to lure Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker to the dark side of the Force. In recounting the story, Sidious referred to his fallen master as “Darth Plagueis the Wise,” a title that spoke to the Sith Lord’s vast knowledge and abilities.
Even after his own death, Sidious utilized the teachings of his master to cheat death itself. However, the cycle of apprentice surpassing master would continue, as Sidious was ultimately and permanently destroyed by his own granddaughter, Rey.
Darth Plagueis’s Red Lightsaber
Darth Plagueis wielded a red lightsaber, which he crafted during his apprenticeship under Darth Tenebrous.
After Plagueis assassinated his master on Bal’demnic in 67 BBY, the lightsaber remained in his possession, even as he trained Palpatine as his own apprentice.
When Palpatine killed Pax Teem in retaliation for being outmaneuvered by Teem and his master, he used Plagueis’s lightsaber. He observed that the weapon was designed for a larger grip, requiring him to use both hands to wield it effectively.
9. The Inquisitors
Who are the Inquisitors?
Inquisitors are dark side adepts employed by the Galactic Empire, specifically trained to hunt down and eliminate Jedi survivors following the execution of Order 66.
Operating under the command of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, these individuals are formidable in their combat skills and proficiency with the Force.
Each Inquisitor typically has a unique designation, such as the Second Sister or the Fifth Brother, reflecting their rank and role within the Inquisitorius, the organization to which they belong. Their primary mission is to eradicate any remaining Jedi and suppress potential threats to the Empire’s dominance.
The Inquisitor lightsaber
The Inquisitor lightsaber was a specially designed model that could operate with either a single or double blade and had the ability to spin in a circular motion when both blades were activated.
Notable wielders of this model included the Grand Inquisitor, Barriss Offee, the Second Sister, the Third Sister, the Fourth Sister, the Fifth Brother, the Sixth Brother, the Seventh Sister, the Eighth Brother, the Ninth Sister, the Thirteenth Sister, Tualon Yaluna, Marrok, a masked Inquisitor, Jerserra, and her Imperial master.
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Tony Allen is a writer for LightsabersBlog.com, a website focused on everything related to lightsabers. Tony grew up in Austin, Texas, and went on to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas. Passionate about science fiction and fantasy, Tony has always been deeply involved in hobbies like tabletop RPGs, sci-fi novels, miniature painting, and crafting. This love for creative pursuits drives Tony to write about lightsabers in a way that ignites the imagination of fans around the world.
