Black onk represented a material suitable for the embellishment of lightsaber hilts. In the era of the Clone Wars, a prolonged set of battles between the Galactic Republic and the dissenting Confederacy of Independent Systems, the architect droid Huyang informed a collection of Jedi younglings located on the vessel Crucible that hilts imbued with black onk were a possibility when constructing their lightsaber.
The initial reference to black onk occurred within "A Test of Strength," the seventh installment of the canon animated program Star Wars: The Clone Wars' fifth season, initially broadcast on November 10, 2012.