Dooku's lightsaber

When he was a Jedi Master, Dooku set aside the first lightsaber he had used as a Padawan to create one that was superior. The new lightsaber used a personalized design, and it had no connection to his master, Yoda, or to the fashion of that time. Dooku studied the Jedi Archives' records to make the design, and the lightsaber was made to suit his technique, and favored long, elegant moves and deftness of hand. He continued to use the blade even after he became a Sith, but by then he had made minor modifications to the cosmetics of his hilt and his lightsaber had begun to generate a red-colored blade as a result of Dooku utilizing a red kyber crystal provided to him by his new master, Darth Sidious.

Unlike any standard lightsaber, Dooku crafted his with an unusual curved shape, which helped control the weapon when in a duel. Primarily, it allowed Dooku greater finesse and precision in combat when lunging or slashing at an opponent. This was done by Dooku as he considered himself a sophisticated duelist, often able to use his lightsaber under the control of only one hand, and against multiple opponents.

As sometimes occurred in the Jedi Order, Jedi Master Dooku set aside the first lightsaber he had used as a Padawan. Dooku wished to create a superior lightsaber, and, after studying Jedi Archives to make the design, the Jedi Master had his personalized design. His lightsaber had no connection to the fashion at the time or to his master, Yoda, who had a shoto. This lightsaber was made to suit his technique, and this weapon favored long, elegant moves and deftness of hand. The lightsaber gave off a blue color, and Dooku even dueled Yoda with the lightsaber. However, Dooku would leave the Jedi Order sometime before the Invasion of Naboo, where his former Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn, was killed. Although Dooku offered to leave the lightsaber with the Jedi, he decided to keep it upon Yoda's urging.

Dooku continued to use the blade even after he became a Sith. The blade still retained its blue color when he dueled and killed Master Yaddle and reaffirmed his new allegiance to the Dark Side.

During the galactic-conflict known as the Clone Wars, the weapon now had a red color as a result of it using a red kyber crystal provided by his new master Darth Sidious. Ten years after the Invasion of Naboo, Dooku used his weapon at the First Battle of Geonosis against Obi-Wan, Anakin and Yoda, which started the Clone Wars.

In a private hangar, as he made his escape from Geonosis, Dooku was confronted by the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker. Dooku was easily able to best his opponents with his lightsaber, wounding both Kenobi and Skywalker, the latter of which Dooku severed his arm after a brief duel. Immediately after, Dooku was confronted by his former Jedi Master, Yoda, whom Dooku was unable to best in combat with either the Force or his lightsaber, regardless of having challenged his former master to prove how powerful he had become.

At one point during the Clone Wars, Kenobi and Skywalker tracked Dooku's starship down in an attempt to capture him, but failed. A brief conflict led to a crash landing for Dooku's solar sailer on Vanqor, where the Weequay Hondo Ohnaka and his pirate gang offered him transport to Florrum. However, Ohnaka had no intention of aiding Dooku, instead using the loyal Kowakian monkey-lizard Pilf Mukmuk to steal Dooku's lightsaber and take the Sith Lord captive. Ohnaka demanded a ransom for Dooku, presenting the unique, curved lightsaber as proof of the Sith Lord's capture to the Republic and the Jedi—which convinced Yoda, who confirmed the weapon's authenticity. Dooku later recovered his weapon and escaped Florrum.

Dooku continued to use his Sith lightsaber through the Clone Wars under the guise as the leader of the Separatist Alliance, leading the conflict against the Galactic Republic. Although Dooku secretly operated under his hidden identity of Tyranus, he had no qualms about using the Sith weapon out in the open. Dooku killed the Gungan traitor Rish Loo with his lightsaber in front of Skywalker on Naboo during the war, and later killed the Pyke Syndicate leader Lom Pyke, in front of both Kenobi and Skywalker, with his lightsaber as well. It was this mission that the Jedi learned Dooku and Tyranus were one and the same.

Eventually, Dooku attempted to train two Sith apprentices of his own to overthrow Darth Sidious and become the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, as was the way of the Sith. However, although he successfully recruited both Asajj Ventress and Savage Opress to his cause for a time, eventually they were both failures as Sith; regardless, Dooku used both his knowledge of the Force and his dueling skill to train them both. He also successfully trained the cyborg General Grievous in lightsaber combat; Grievous went on to kill numerous Jedi in the Clone Wars and collect their lightsabers for his collection, becoming a feared opponent. Grievous was eventually defeated in combat by Kenobi.

During the Battle of Coruscant—in what would become Dooku's final bout—Dooku faced-off once again with Kenobi and Skywalker aboard Grievous' starship, the Invisible Hand, in the General's quarters. The two Jedi believed they were there to rescue the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who was in secret Darth Sidious; Sidious' true agenda, however, was to make Dooku a necessary sacrifice to recruit a new apprentice in Skywalker.

After Dooku defeated Kenobi and rendered him unconscious, a vengeful Skywalker charged at Dooku during their duel. Although Dooku was confident that his skills with a lightsaber would be enough to best the Jedi Knight —just like he had previously done on Geonosis— he was unable to keep up with Skywalker's ferocity and lost both his hands in a quick motion from Skywalker. The Jedi Knight then took Dooku's own lightsaber and, at the urging of Sidious, beheaded the unarmed Count Dooku with the Sith Lord's own weapon.

Once Skywalker escaped with both Kenobi and Palpatine in tow, Dooku's lightsaber was left behind aside Dooku's corpse in Grievous' quarters on the Invisible Hand. Shortly thereafter, the General's quarters were destroyed.

Dooku's lightsaber first appeared alongside Count Dooku's first on-screen appearance in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Dooku and his weapon continued to appear in Star Wars canon through other media, including Star Wars: The Clone Wars film, the television series of the same name, and The Clone Wars Legacy and a few novels.

When creating Count Dooku, George Lucas–creator of the Star Wars saga–wanted an older Jedi who was "very good," "elegant," and "sophisticated." These traits were later represented in Dooku's portrayal and in his feats with a lightsaber. The late Christopher Lee, who portrayed Dooku in the live-action Star Wars films, said he found the role "very rewarding" and that the action scenes from Attack of Clones were the greatest he had ever been involved in. Lee, a renowned expert at sword fighting throughout his career, had to learn new fighting styles for the lightsaber sequences. Kyle Rowling doubled for Lee in both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, in particular during some of the lightsaber sequences, where Rowling's face was replaced with Lee's using CGI. The distinctive curved shape of the lightsaber handle was a result of earlier exploration into Sith villains. Art Department Assistant drew inspiration from various Filipino swords, knives, and spears; the Barong, one of them, had a curved handle which provided a firmer grip for its bearer.

Originally, there were plans to have Count Dooku wield two lightsabers during his duel with Yoda in Attack of the Clones. This was later dropped from the film as it was not needed, although scenes were filmed, parts of which can be found on the special features of the Attack of the Clones DVD release. In concept art for unfinished episodes of The Clone Wars Legacy, Dooku's lightsaber was the basis for the lightsaber of Jedi Master Oppo Rancisis, who ultimately made an appearance in the episode "The Big Bang" without the lightsaber. The reference booklet "Lightsabers and Jedi Equipment" mistakenly says Dooku's lightsaber used a synthetic kyber crystal.

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