 When it comes to movie props, there's never been anything as iconic as the lightsaber. So with all the merchandising tie-ins that Star Wars has to offer, you think that'd be the one thing they'd really have figured out. There's been everything from cheap plastic toys to limited edition replicas, but nothing has really captured the feeling of what it would be like to hold one of the items from the movie. That's why over the past 15 years fans have taken matters into their own hands. They've built a homegrown lightsaber aftermarket where people make custom machined hilts, designed high-end sound and lighting electronics, all in the name of getting as close to the films as possible. Now it's not cheap, but if you dive down the rabbit hole, nearly anything is possible. I personally started collecting last year and thought just one would do it. Not so much. So this is an original design made by a husband-and-wife team called Vader's Vault. This blade can turn any color you want and it's sturdy enough for full contact dueling. And this is an Obi-Wan Kenobi made by Roman's Empire props. Every single piece of this thing is an exact replica of the part used to make the original prop back in 1977. I also have a Luke Return of the Jedi being installed with electronics somewhere in Arizona. I might have a bit of a problem. But even though I have all of those, what's been haunting me is the original lightsaber. You know the one. With the Force Awakens literally ending with Rey handing that lightsaber to Luke, I decided it was time to find the most authentic, accurate, Star Wars-y Skywalker saber I could possibly find. So of course I ended up talking to Yoda. My name is Michael Murphy. I own a website called FXsabers.com. People know me as Yoda. And I specialize in turning the vintage three-cell Graflex camera flash, which was the original saber seen on screen, into a functioning lightsaber. Now you're probably wondering what a vintage Graflex camera flash is. It might be hard to remember, but back in 1977 the original Star Wars was kind of a low budget flick, and everything from the Death Star to the Blasters were made from found parts and old model kits. The one thing they couldn't figure out was the lightsaber, until one day set decorator Roger Christian found an old box of vintage camera flashes from the 1930s. The company that made them? Graflex. Christian added some grips, a bubble strip pulled from an old Texas Instruments calculator, and a D-ring. And that was really it. That's the original lightsaber. He apparently showed it to George Lucas and Lucas looked at it and just smiled. And that was apparently the biggest compliment you could get from Lucas at the time, and that's what I feel when I look at a Graflex. I just smile when I look at it and say this is, you know, this is more than just a camera flash. Okay, so this is where it's going to get pretty nerdy, but it's also where it's going to get kind of amazing. Because according to Star Wars lore, lightsabers are powered by a tiny crystal inside them. And Michael made a lightsaber with a crystal chamber that looked like it was working on the inside as much as it did on the outside. That lightsaber sold on eBay for $3,900. It was really the first of its kind thing on eBay. As an artist, it was like putting a painting up at Sotheby's or something for auction, and other people looked at it and said, oh wow, this is something I can make a bunch of money. I was like, oh wow, I've got to live up to this. I've got to make it better. And over the years, he's basically become the Graflex godfather in the lightsaber world. If you're looking for something that's as close to canon as possible, Yoda's the guy. How much so? His latest design sold on eBay for over $15,000. So after getting on Yoda's waiting list, I picked up an old Graflex flash on eBay, and then it was time to get started. Luke's lightsaber is slightly different in each of the different movies, and in this case, I was going for my personal favorite, The Empire Strikes Back. We selected the exact two crystals I wanted to use, and then Michael drills them by hand underwater. That's to make room for the fiber optic lighting system. But first, the 80-year-old flash has to be disassembled and cleaned. This all happens by hand, and once the insides of the flash are gone, that's when Michael can drill holes for grips and put his own chassis inside. When you get a lightsaber, you swing it around and stuff. And to make sure everything didn't break, he took a design cue from RC Cars and built a custom chassis. The nice thing about this is that the combination of ABS and aluminum piping and the way it's hooked together and the plates that I've created allow it to flex a little bit in various directions. That way, when it takes a hit, all of your electronic components aren't completely absorbing that. The chassis absorbs it for them. So obviously, making a lightsaber is super easy. Okay, so it's been about a month since we last visited, and we are now heading back to Yoda's to pick up the finished lightsaber. But this still doesn't look anything like Dagobah. Okay, this is awesome. I kind of don't want to touch it because it's so nice, and I feel like it's like a movie thing that I... I feel like I'm actually at a prop show. This is... this is fucking beautiful. The blade fits just perfectly snug. I want to start doing all kinds of like crazy shit, but I don't want to hit anything ever, so I'm terrified. My seven-year-old self inside me right now is... is like freaking out, and I feel like I've accomplished like a long-life goal. That probably sounds like an exaggeration, and yes, there are more important things in the world than a replica movie prop, but there's something beautiful about the passion it takes to create something like this. It's a reminder of the power storytelling has to encourage and inspire, to bring people across the world together in pursuit of a common goal, and that's a gift that artists like Michael get to pass along, too. I like making the fans happy, and I know when I'm able to put that into someone else's life, then it... it makes it worth it for me, too. Hopefully it will serve your collection proudly for years to come. This fan is very happy. Do you guys like the Goonies? There's this guy in Texas who makes a really like kick-ass one-eyed willy map. We should go.
 When it comes to movie props, there's never been anything as iconic as the
 lightsaber. So with all the merchandising tie-ins that Star Wars has to offer, you
 think that'd be the one thing they'd really have figured out. There's been
 everything from cheap plastic toys to limited edition replicas, but nothing has
 really captured the feeling of what it would be like to hold one of the items
 from the movie. That's why over the past 15 years fans have taken matters into
 their own hands. They've built a homegrown lightsaber aftermarket where
 people make custom machined hilts, designed high-end sound and lighting
 electronics, all in the name of getting as close to the films as possible. Now
 it's not cheap, but if you dive down the rabbit hole, nearly anything is possible.
 I personally started collecting last year and thought just one would do it.
 Not so much. So this is an original design made by a husband-and-wife team
 called Vader's Vault. This blade can turn any color you want and it's sturdy
 enough for full contact dueling. And this is an Obi-Wan Kenobi made by Roman's
 Empire props. Every single piece of this thing is an exact replica of the part
 used to make the original prop back in 1977. I also have a Luke Return of the
 Jedi being installed with electronics somewhere in Arizona. I might have a bit
 of a problem. But even though I have all of those, what's been haunting me is the
 original lightsaber. You know the one.
 With the Force Awakens literally ending with Rey handing that lightsaber to Luke,
 I decided it was time to find the most authentic, accurate, Star Wars-y
 Skywalker saber I could possibly find. So of course I ended up talking to Yoda.
 My name is Michael Murphy. I own a website called FXsabers.com. People know
 me as Yoda. And I specialize in turning the vintage three-cell Graflex camera
 flash, which was the original saber seen on screen, into a functioning lightsaber.
 Now you're probably wondering what a vintage Graflex camera flash is. It might
 be hard to remember, but back in 1977 the original Star Wars was kind of a low
 budget flick, and everything from the Death Star to the Blasters were made from
 found parts and old model kits. The one thing they couldn't figure out was the
 lightsaber, until one day set decorator Roger Christian found an old box of
 vintage camera flashes from the 1930s. The company that made them? Graflex.
 Christian added some grips, a bubble strip pulled from an old Texas Instruments
 calculator, and a D-ring. And that was really it. That's the original lightsaber.
 He apparently showed it to George Lucas and Lucas looked at it and just smiled.
 And that was apparently the biggest compliment you could get from Lucas at
 the time, and that's what I feel when I look at a Graflex. I just smile when I
 look at it and say this is, you know, this is more than just a camera flash.
 Okay, so this is where it's going to get pretty nerdy, but it's also where it's going to
 get kind of amazing. Because according to Star Wars lore, lightsabers are powered
 by a tiny crystal inside them. And Michael made a lightsaber with a crystal
 chamber that looked like it was working on the inside as much as it did on the
 outside. That lightsaber sold on eBay for $3,900. It was really the first of its
 kind thing on eBay. As an artist, it was like putting a painting up at Sotheby's
 or something for auction, and other people looked at it and said, oh wow, this is
 something I can make a bunch of money. I was like, oh wow, I've got to live up to
 this. I've got to make it better. And over the years, he's basically become the
 Graflex godfather in the lightsaber world. If you're looking for something
 that's as close to canon as possible, Yoda's the guy. How much so? His latest
 design sold on eBay for over $15,000. So after getting on Yoda's waiting list, I
 picked up an old Graflex flash on eBay, and then it was time to get started.
 Luke's lightsaber is slightly different in each of the different movies, and in
 this case, I was going for my personal favorite, The Empire Strikes Back. We
 selected the exact two crystals I wanted to use, and then Michael drills them by
 hand underwater. That's to make room for the fiber optic lighting system. But
 first, the 80-year-old flash has to be disassembled and cleaned. This all
 happens by hand, and once the insides of the flash are gone, that's when Michael
 can drill holes for grips and put his own chassis inside. When you get a lightsaber,
 you swing it around and stuff. And to make sure everything didn't break, he
 took a design cue from RC Cars and built a custom chassis. The nice thing about
 this is that the combination of ABS and aluminum piping and the way it's hooked
 together and the plates that I've created allow it to flex a little bit in
 various directions. That way, when it takes a hit, all of your electronic
 components aren't completely absorbing that. The chassis absorbs it for them. So
 obviously, making a lightsaber is super easy. Okay, so it's been about a month
 since we last visited, and we are now heading back to Yoda's to pick up the
 finished lightsaber. But this still doesn't look anything like Dagobah.
 Okay, this is awesome. I kind of don't want to touch it because it's so nice, and I
 feel like it's like a movie thing that I... I feel like I'm actually at a prop
 show. This is... this is fucking beautiful. The blade fits just perfectly snug.
 I want to start doing all kinds of like crazy shit, but I don't want to hit anything
 ever, so I'm terrified. My seven-year-old self inside me right now is... is like
 freaking out, and I feel like I've accomplished like a long-life goal. That
 probably sounds like an exaggeration, and yes, there are more important things in
 the world than a replica movie prop, but there's something beautiful about the
 passion it takes to create something like this. It's a reminder of the power
 storytelling has to encourage and inspire, to bring people across the world together
 in pursuit of a common goal, and that's a gift that artists like Michael get to
 pass along, too. I like making the fans happy, and I know when I'm able to put
 that into someone else's life, then it... it makes it worth it for me, too. Hopefully
 it will serve your collection proudly for years to come. This fan is very happy.
 Do you guys like the Goonies? There's this guy in Texas who makes a really like
 kick-ass one-eyed willy map. We should go.