Short answer: the crossguards are vents, not guards. Kylo Ren's lightsaber is built around a cracked kyber crystal, and the weapon would overload if that energy were not bled off sideways. The two side blades are the escaping plasma. That is why the main blade spits and rages instead of holding a clean edge — the instability is the crystal's fault, not the design's.
The films never say this. It comes from the reference material and a 2020 comic, which is why the question keeps getting asked.
What the official sources actually say
The Star Wars Databank describes the weapon as "constructed around a dangerously flawed kyber crystal, which would be overloaded if not" vented, and explains that the quillons "emerge from focusing crystal activators that split the lightsaber's plasma stream into three channels."
The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary puts it more bluntly: the stressed crystal barely contains the power of the weapon, "necessitating lateral plasma vents that become the crossguard quillons." The same book notes the hilt's crude appearance "suggests construction by an inexperienced hand."
So the sequence is: flawed crystal first, vents second, ragged blade as the consequence.
Why the crystal was cracked
This was answered in 2020, in The Rise of Kylo Ren #4, written by Charles Soule. Ben Solo bleeds his own blue kyber crystal — the dark-side corruption process that turns a crystal red — and the crystal does not survive it — the issue shows it breaking apart. What he reinstalls is the damaged remains, and the saber overheats. The crossguard design is his answer to a weapon that would otherwise destroy itself.
The design also has a precedent in-universe: crossguard lightsabers are described as an ancient pattern dating to the Great Scourge of Malachor, and Ezra Bridger finds a broken green one on Malachor in Rebels that fails almost immediately when activated.
The myth: Jony Ive did not design it
This one has stuck for a decade, so it is worth correcting directly.
Apple's Jony Ive was quoted in a 2015 New Yorker profile discussing the saber, and the internet decided he had designed the crossguard. His own account is that it was "just a conversation," that he said nothing about cross guards, and that what he actually argued for was a blade that looked less precise — "more analog and more primitive."
The people who did shape it are on record. J.J. Abrams: "The lightsaber is something that he built himself, and is as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character." Concept artist Doug Chiang recalls Abrams describing Kylo as "kind of like a knight, a dark knight. So it works well, that the blade has a crossguard."
Are the quillons weapons?
Functionally, in-universe, they are vents — that is their stated purpose. The reference material also describes emitter shrouds that shield the user's hands, which is not the same as the crossguard itself protecting them.
Whether Kylo ever uses the side blades offensively is a matter of opinion, argued both ways by people who have watched the films frame by frame. We are not going to settle it, and any page that states it flatly is giving you a reading, not a fact.
Buying a crossguard: the honest version
The side blades are the whole reason to buy one, and they are the part most likely to break. They are short, they stick out at right angles, and they catch everything — door frames, furniture, the other person's blade. Think about that before choosing a configuration.
Our two:
- Unstable Nephew SE — $175 baselit, $249 SNV4 Pixel, $299 Proffie. The simplified, duel-oriented build and the cheapest way into the shape.
- The Shattered Moon — $525 SNV4 Pixel, $575 Proffie. Pixel-only, and the more detailed crossguard in the range.
Both take a 1-inch blade, not the 7/8-inch used across much of our range, so blades are not interchangeable with most of our other sabers. If you plan to duel a partner, that matters: mismatched blade grades mean the thinner blade takes the damage.
A note on the unstable look: the ragged, spitting blade is a blade style, and it needs a pixel board to render properly. On a baselit saber the blade lights as one even tube, so you get the crossguard silhouette without the crackle. If the instability is what you are buying, buy pixel.
Where we lose
Our own page contradicted itself on this until recently, which is worth admitting. The Shattered Moon said in its description that the crossguard side-blade emitters were included, then listed them as optional in its spec box a few lines below. They are included, and the page now says so consistently. If you read that listing before we fixed it and came away unsure, that is why.
We do not sell replacement side blades on the site. On the part most likely to break, that is a gap we should close — and worth asking any other seller too, because several of them list side blades as a separate spare, which tells you something about how often they go.
And a crossguard is not the saber to learn on. The protrusions change how it handles, they catch on things, and they add two more parts to damage. If this is your first saber, the beginner's guide points somewhere more forgiving.
Common questions
Why does Kylo Ren's lightsaber have a crossguard?
Because the kyber crystal inside it is cracked. The weapon would overload, so the excess plasma is vented sideways — and those vents are the crossguard blades.
Why is Kylo Ren's lightsaber unstable?
Same reason. A damaged crystal cannot hold the energy steadily, so the blade spits and rages rather than forming a clean edge.
How did his crystal crack?
In The Rise of Kylo Ren #4 (2020), Ben Solo bleeds his own blue crystal and it cracks in the process. Reinstalled, it makes the saber overheat.
Did Jony Ive design Kylo Ren's lightsaber?
No. He discussed the blade's look in one conversation and has said he said nothing about cross guards. J.J. Abrams and the Lucasfilm design team shaped the weapon.
Do the crossguards protect his hands?
That is not their stated function. They are plasma vents. The reference material mentions emitter shrouds shielding the hands, which is a separate feature.
Is the crossguard explained in the films?
No. The explanation lives in the Databank, the Visual Dictionary and a 2020 comic. Nothing on screen tells you.
Do the side blades come with it?
Yes, on both of ours. Unstable Nephew SE lists two side blades in the box. On The Shattered Moon the crossguard emitters are built into the hilt rather than bolted on, and the side-blade emitters are included with every configuration it sells, since all of them are pixel.
Can you duel with a crossguard saber?
Yes, carefully. The side blades protrude and catch on things, and they are the most likely part to break. For heavy contact, take the baselit configuration — but accept that you lose the unstable blade effect, which needs a pixel board.
Where to start
If the crackling blade is the appeal, the board decision is the one that delivers it: Proffie vs SNV4 vs S-RGB, and neopixel vs baselit for why baselit cannot produce the effect. If you are comparing unusual hilt shapes generally, dual-wield vs a saberstaff covers the other awkward-to-store option.
Both crossguards appear on Neopixel Sabers in their pixel configurations.
What happens after you order with us
Orders ship within 14–21 business days. Once shipped, delivery takes a further 7–10 days, in the US and internationally. Shipping within the US is free; international is a flat $50.
Returns are free for 30 days. If it is not right, you will not pay to send it back to us. The saber needs to come back unused and undamaged in its original packaging, and you email us first so we can send you a prepaid label and instructions. Every saber carries a one-year warranty against manufacturing defects.
The venting explanation is from the Star Wars Databank and The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary. The cracked-crystal origin is from The Rise of Kylo Ren #4 (Charles Soule, 2020). Ive's account comes from Ian Parker's 2015 New Yorker profile as reported at the time; the Abrams and Chiang quotes are from contemporaneous interviews. Prices are our own live prices as of 30 September 2026.