Board Thread:Star Wars/@comment-4935956-20150911213501

Hello everyone. It's less than a hundred days until Episode VII now, and I can barely contain the excitement.

With that being said, I've been thinking about Kylo Ren's crossguard lightsaber recently and the reason why he has three sparking blades, and I think I finally have the answer. This theory does use a lot of Expanded Universe information that hasn't officially been ported over into the New Canon yet, but if this theory is correct, the information could be ported over eventually. So, here's my theory:

In the Expanded Universe, Sith prefer synthetic lightsaber crystals as opposed to the naturally grown ones that Jedi usually use. Some Jedi do use synthetic crystals though (Adi Gallia used one in her lightsaber to make it crimson for a time, and Luke Skywalker used one in his green lightsaber). Synth-crystals are made artificially, usually in a furnace. The process of creating a synth-crystal was not easy though. For example, Darth Maul had to be at a furnace for several days to make the four synth-crystals required for his double-bladed lightsaber. After they were shaped, the creator would then use the Force to pour his power and personality into the crystal, which would shape and color it. Synthetic crystals are more powerful than normal crystals, having the chance to break normal lightsabers.

However, the creation process of a synth-crystal can go wrong. If the process is done incorrectly, the crystal will become compressed or unstable, causing the blade to spark electricity. This could exlpain why Kylo Ren's lightsaber is sparking - he probably used a synth-crystal in it but messed up the creation process, causing his blade to become unstable.

The most likely reason why he put two smaller blades on the sides is to help stabilize the lightsaber. It doesn't mention any methods for stabilizing unstable synth-crystals anywhere in the Expanded Universe, but if this theory is correct and they port synth-crystals over to the New Canon, then maybe they'll have something that says creating additional smaller blades will help stabilize an unstable synth-crystal.

As to how Kylo Ren created the smaller blades - he probably cut a hole in each side of the lightsaber and attached an additional blade emitter to each. He probably also tweaked the inner circuitry of the lightsaber to conduct the crystal's energy to flow three different directions.

So, that's my theory as to how Kylo Ren's lightsaber works. Does anyone else have a different theory? 