Lightsabers Aren't Exclusively Relying On Kyber Crystals As Power Source

Lightsabers are fueled by kyber crystals that have a deep link to the Force throughout the current Star Wars universe. The crystals' link to the Force enables them to bond with the Jedi and Padawans who discover them, forming a powerful affinity between Jedi and weapon. The Sith and other dark side users, on the other hand, may damage that link with the Force, both in their lightsabers and other weapons, most famously in Death Stars.
While kyber crystals have become a vital component of official lightsabers, they were not always required for the weapons in Star Wars Legends canon. Rather, both Jedi and Sith employed a variety of natural and synthetic crystals, and there are hints in the more recent official Star Wars works that a wider range of crystals may be used in lightsabers in the future.

Lightsaber Power in Star Wars Legends Canon

Kyber crystals, called kaiburr at the time, were still sought after in Star Wars Legends canon. Nevertheless, as Luke Skywalker reveals in Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights: Lightsabers by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, kaiburr crystals were very precious and simply unavailable to the majority of Force users. "Though lightsabers are powerful weapons, their design is so flexible that practically any kind of crystal can be used," Luke stated. As a result, Jacen Solo, Jaina Solo, Lowbacca, and Tenel Ka had to discover alternate sources for the concentrating crystals in their lightsabers.
As an outcome, the process of locating or building their lightsabers disclosed their characteristics and mirrored how they are as Jedi. Jacen Solo took the safest way, using a Corusca gem he extracted himself from Lando Calrissian's GemDiver facility. Jaina Solo, an engineering whiz, manufactured her own synthetic crystals because she wanted every component of her lightsaber to be handcrafted. Lowbacca, Chewbacca's Jedi nephew, even utilized a crystal and lens from an outdated projector to illustrate his own technological abilities and computer programming expertise.

Star Wars: Lightsabers, on the other hand, acts as a cautionary tale. Tenel Ka, the hidden heir to the Hapan throne, did not take the same amount of time and care in crafting her lightsaber. While her heroic endeavor to collect crystals from a lava tube was admirable, she only obtained flawed crystals and utilized them nonetheless. Tenel Ka's lightsaber failed at a vital point during a training exercise due to defects in her crystals, and Jacen Solo unintentionally sliced off her arm. Tenel Ka eventually took considerably more care in picking her components while building her second lightsaber. For the hilt, she combined crystals from her crown and a rancor's teeth, making her weapon to reflect both her Hapan and Dathomiri ancestors. In this sense, Star Wars: Lightsabers mirrors the Star Wars Legends canon's emphasis on the process of building a lightsaber and selecting the crystal to reveal the key characterization of each new Jedi as they create their path in the Force.

Kyber Crystals in the New Star Wars Canon

In the contemporary Star Wars canon, lightsaber configuration is significantly less variable, but the process of a new Jedi discovering their kyber crystal still has value. In "The Gathering" from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, six Padawans trekked to Ilum's Crystal Caves to acquire kyber crystals for their lightsabers as part of a graduation process. The quest to discover their kyber crystal was distinctive for every one of them since they each had to conquer their own fears and flaws in order to get their crystal. Kyber crystals became more difficult to get after the Empire's ascendancy, although as Ezra Bridger demonstrated in Star Wars Rebels' "Path of the Jedi," young Jedi might still acquire their crystals, albeit in less formal means.

While the current storyline concentrates on kyber crystals, more crystals may be developed to operate lightsabers and other comparable weapons. There are speculations that the Darksaber is fueled by beskar, for example. In Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #17 by Alyssa Wong, Minkyu Jung, Rachelle Rosenberg, Sara Pichelli, Nolan Woodard, Carlos Lao, Danny Khazem, Mark Paniccia, and C. B. Cebulski, Kho Phon Farrus disclosed their Whip of Sorrows, a weapon they created to imitate a lightsaber whip that did not in fact use a kyber crystal.
However, the prospect of alternative crystals being utilized to power lightsabers in the future exists. Avon Starros, a child genius in Justina Ireland's Star Wars: The High Republic: Mission to Disaster, sought to develop her own lab-grown form of kyber crystals, akin to Jaina Solo's method to lightsaber creation in Star Wars Legends canon. Avon, on the other hand, was not a Jedi, and she was more interested in alternative applications for the crystals than in lightsabers. Avon appeared to forsake her mission to replicate kyber crystals synthetically when her crystals were utilized as a weapon by the Nihil, but Padawan Imri Cantaros' encouragement may sway her back to her study and experimentation.
Therefore, though kyber crystals are now the sole official choice for Jedi and Sith, Avon's study suggests that fans may see more options for lightsaber crystals in the future. While kyber crystals are significant due to their link to the Force, such bonds might be recreated or discovered in other gems and crystals across the Star Wars universe. Kyber crystals were extremely uncommon in a post-Empire world, and having different crystal power sources might allow younger Jedi to use lightsabers, even if their design is less conventional.