From the origins of the orders, sith and jedi fought with traditional metal sabers (very similar to Japanese katanas) usually modified with power generators to increase their cutting power as well as counteract the impact of the enemy saber.
There were also different types of sabers (traditional one-blade, short blade, double blade and spears) these sabers were very heavy and difficult to handle.
It was not until the beginning of the Mandalorian wars and the Jedi revolution (approximately 10 thousand years before the battle of Yavin), in the Sith laboratories located on Korriban (central planet of the Dark Lords), they discovered that by firing a beam of concentrated energy in a crystal from crystal mines located in the Dantooine system, it generated enough energy to cut almost anything. Depending on the characteristics of said crystal is the power of the saber. The first lightsabers only had a single cut crystal. Later the capacity of these was modified becoming the saber that we know.
These sabers allowed an expansion of three crystals. The colored glass, the cut crystal and potentiated crystal and an energy generator enhancer. Usually an enhancer that increased the size of the saber or a frequency generator that increased the speed of lightning output, that is, the cutting of the light sheet was faster.
This revolutionary weapon was a huge problem for the Jedi, who at that time were still using traditional sabers. As a counterattack measure, they improved their traditional swords with ineffective energy shields and soon chose to use the lightsabers, as explained in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
