Luke Skywalker's green lightsaber

The design of this particular weapon was derived from blueprints that Luke discovered within a book left for him by Ben Kenobi at his mentor's hut located on Tatooine. Despite the final product closely adhering to these initial blueprints, Luke implemented some simplifications to the weapon, considering it was his initial endeavor in lightsaber construction. For example, he opted to utilize only a single crystal for his lightsaber, rather than the optimal three needed for a fully customizable blade. Luke successfully acquired the majority of the necessary components for constructing his weapon from various merchants within the city of Mos Eisley, encompassing a high-energy reflector cup, power cells, and a focusing lens. However, he encountered difficulty in procuring the single, crucial component that would unify the entire project: the lightsaber crystal itself.

Following the Galactic Empire's rise to power in 19 BBY, significant measures were enacted to eliminate the remaining resources of the vanquished Jedi Order from the galaxy. Among these measures was the prohibition of all crystals suitable for lightsaber construction and the closure of facilities housing them. Lightsaber ownership was also made illegal, with exceptions granted solely to Palpatine, Darth Vader, the Emperor's Shadow Guards, and the Emperor's Hand. Others who possessed lightsabers collected them as trophies from defeated Jedi. Consequently, Luke was compelled to create his own green synthetic lightsaber crystal, employing a small blast furnace and the book of instructions he found in his fallen Master's home on Tatooine.

Luke dedicated numerous days to meticulously working on the components, repeatedly verifying the instructions and avoiding any shortcuts. Even after more than a month since the project's inception, the weapon remained incomplete. Luke had to temporarily suspend his work when he and his companions undertook an ultimately unsuccessful mission to rescue Han Solo from the clutches of bounty hunter Boba Fett on the planet Gall. Upon returning to Tatooine, Luke resumed his efforts on the weapon, carefully cutting and shaping the crude crystal he had created into a refined, multi-faceted lightsaber gem. He continued to consult the book for the final steps, ensuring perfect alignment of the components for optimal functionality. Following several unsuccessful attempts, Luke, recalling Yoda's teachings "Do, or do not," set aside the book, connected with his weapon through the Force, and relied on his intuition to finalize the construction.

Upon its initial activation, Luke Skywalker found that the weapon operated flawlessly. The green blade produced no heat, indicating the proper functioning of the internal superconductors, and it effortlessly sliced through a rock spire of wrist-thick dimensions. Luke also observed that the weapon exhibited superior balance compared to Anakin Skywalker's second lightsaber. Possibly attributed to the use of a synthetic crystal, the lightsaber emitted a characteristic snap-hiss sound upon activation, distinguishing it from the sound produced by his father's weapon.

In 3 ABY, the successful construction of his Jedi weapon instilled in Luke Skywalker the confidence necessary to advance his studies and progress toward becoming a Jedi Knight. A year later, the young Jedi employed the weapon during the daring rescue of his comrades from Jabba the Hutt's grasp on Tatooine. On the surface of Endor's moon, he utilized it to deflect blaster fire from Misik's speeder and sever the speeder's steering vane, leading to Misik's crash into a tree. Aboard the second Death Star, Luke wielded his lightsaber during his final confrontation with Darth Vader. During Palpatine's inspection of the lightsaber, he remarked on the similarity of its design to that of Luke's father. At the climax of his duel with Vader, as he stood poised with the weapon aimed at his defeated father's throat, Luke resisted Palpatine's attempts to provoke him into slaying his father and succumbing to the dark side of the Force, deactivating his lightsaber and discarding it aside. Luke later recovered his lightsaber after being rescued by his redeemed father from the Galactic Emperor's assault of Force lightning, carrying the weapon during the Rebel Alliance's victory celebrations on Endor.

In the years following the Battle of Endor, Luke continued to wield his lightsaber extensively, with frequent use. The weapon accompanied him as he oversaw the resurgence of the Jedi Order and the subsequent conflicts, including those against the Imperial Remnant, the Yuuzhan Vong, and the Killiks. During his brief period as an apprentice under the resurrected Palpatine, Luke was compelled to replace his green crystal with a red Sith gem. He ultimately wielded this red blade in defiance of Palpatine, who possessed a blue-bladed lightsaber, and triumphed over the Sith Lord. Luke subsequently reverted to his original crystal.

A later legend suggested that the lightsaber could be found within the remnants of Outpost 17, a station in the Unknown Regions that was destroyed during the Yuuzhan Vong War. This proved to be a myth, as Skywalker continued to wield this lightsaber for years after the Yuuzhan Vong war, including during the Swarm War and the Second Galactic Civil War. Later on, he brought the weapon with him into his self-imposed exile in 43 ABY. As of 44 ABY, the weapon was still in his possession, and he used it to eliminate Abeloth.

Over the course of his life, Luke crafted several additional lightsabers, including a short-bladed red version (referred to as a shoto) and several lightsabers for his sister, Leia Organa Solo. Sometime before 35 ABY, Luke constructed a backup lightsaber that closely resembled this primary lightsaber. This backup weapon was stored within R2-D2 and was used after UnuThul confiscated his primary lightsaber. Luke later regained possession of his original weapon.

For several decades, fans were captivated by a rumored "lightsaber construction scene" depicting Luke assembling this lightsaber in a cave on Tatooine. Although storyboards for the scene existed, Mark Hamill refuted claims that he had ever filmed it. However, at Celebration V in 2010, Hamill and George Lucas unveiled the deleted clip, which featured a brief sequence of Luke assembling the lightsaber and then activating it for the first time. The clip was subsequently included in the saga Blu-ray boxset.

The original prop lightsaber hilt used by Mark Hamill in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi was transported on Space Shuttle Discovery on October 20th, 2007, which coincidentally launched at 11:38 a.m EDT from Pad 39A.