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Adam Savage’s Tested
Here's What's Officially Inside Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber!
⏱ 20 min video · 2 min read8 Jun 2026Worth watching
TL;DR
Adam Savage sits down with former ILM colleague and archivist Don Peace to examine the first-ever officially constructed interior of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber, built for the 1997 Dorling Kindersley Star Wars Visual Dictionary. The conversation covers the craftsmanship behind that prop, original Graflex flash handle replicas, stolen ILM artifacts, and close calls with lost Star Wars history.
Key points
1
Don Peace built the first official lightsaber interior cutaway model for the 1997 Dorling Kindersley Star Wars Visual Dictionary, working from a sketch by author David West Reynolds that included the kyber crystal and power cell.
2
The model was constructed using laser-cut pieces, lathe-turned brass parts, a real crystal sourced from a lapidary shop in Petaluma CA, aluminized tape, vacuformed EMA tube, and Plastruct T-track.
3
Don owns an original Graflex flash handle (the base of Luke's lightsaber) with castings pulled from an archive original, and has since supplemented it with high-precision replica parts from the Graflex Shop.
4
During his time as ILM archivist, Don nearly discarded the original Darth Vader mask used in the unmasking scene at the end of Return of the Jedi, finding it buried in a crate he was about to throw away.
5
A real R2-D2 head from the original Star Wars or Empire Strikes Back (aluminum construction, A-unit) was stolen during Episode 1 production and repeatedly surfaced at auction; Don was able to identify it and shut down sales by revealing its provenance.
Key takeaways
→
The Graflex Shop now produces one-to-one metal replica parts for Graflex flash handles that fit original camera hardware, making screen-accurate lightsaber replicas more accessible than ever.
→
The Dorling Kindersley Star Wars Visual Dictionary (1997) was the first publication to show an officially sanctioned interior of a lightsaber, making it a foundational reference for prop replica builders and fans.
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Many original Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back props never returned from England after filming and are simply lost to history, including Obi-Wan Kenobi's costume and lightsaber.
Notable quotes
“I dug through and I pulled out this flannel bag. And inside of it was the mask that they pull off of Vader at the end of Return of the Jedi. And I almost threw it away.”
“Whoever it was that stole that head offered it to me at one point. And I asked one question and they disappeared forever.”
“There is so much work done nowadays in the fandom of exposing the insides of lightsabers, but this is the first one.”
Worth watching?
✅
Worth watching the full video?
Watch if you are a Star Wars prop enthusiast or maker — seeing the actual first lightsaber interior model on camera alongside original Graflex hardware and hearing the behind-the-scenes archive stories is genuinely rare content, though the key facts are all captured here.
Saved you some time? The creator still deserves a like.
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