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In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Chirrut Îmwe and Jyn Erso have a conversation where they explain that kyber crystals power a lightsaber.

Chirrut: What do you know of kyber crystals?

Jyn: My father, he said they powered the Jedi lightsabers.

The parody video “How Rogue One Should Have Ended” has a scene where Chirrut Îmwe reveals that he made use of Jyn’s kyber crystal:

Chirrut: I’m one with the Force, and the Force is with me. And now…I have a lightsaber!

Baze: What the…?! Where did that come from?

Chirrut: Jyn let me borrow her kyber crystal. So I made my staff a lightsaber.

Baze: When?

Chirrut: Don’t worry about it! I’m a Jedi now and that’s all there is to it!

While pretty funny, How it Should Have Ended does have a habit of ignoring things for the sake of comedy (and as they handwave here, he didn’t really have any time when he could have made it).

Still I’m wondering: could Chirrut Îmwe have possibly constructed a lightsaber out of Jyn’s kyber crystal if given the time?

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Given time and equipment, yes. The lightsabers used by the Inquisitorius are mass produced to a standard design, so it's proof that the creation of lightsabers in canon are not limited to only trained Force users - anyone can build one given the right tools.

If done the traditional way, however, then it's not likely. The traditional approach of building one by hand is a highly complex task, requiring one to align the kyber crystal's matrix perfectly with the internal components to prevent it from blowing up, let alone work. In other words, lightsaber construction by any method requires precision at the molecular level.

By the traditional method of constructing by hand, this can only be done by one sufficiently trained in the Force to sense the matrix structure and align it precisely. This is the reason why Vader commented that, with the successful constructing of his own lightsaber, Luke's training is now complete - he has progressed far enough to be a powerful apprentice of the Sith.

As such, for Chirrut to build a lightsaber by hand, he must first be a Force-sensitive. Whether he is one is highly debated, as shown here https://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2016/11/is-donnie-yens-rogue-one-character-chirrut-imwe-force-sensitive-or-not.html The debate is inconclusive but generally leaning towards a no. Based on this, Chirrut is unlikely to be capable of building a lightsaber by hand.

Assuming Chirrut is indeed Force-sensitive, then he can definitely build a lightsaber, given enough time to train to the level of proficiency in the Force needed to build one. The Clone Wars series has shown that trained younglings are capable of constructing one within seconds. It's the training that takes possibly years (he's no Skywalker).

Of course, all is as the Force wills it. He could even construct from the crystal by hand a handheld Death Star pistol capable of assassinating the Emperor all the way from Jedha without any Force training or sensitivity if the Force decides it to be so.

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    I don't buy that the inquisitors lightsabers as mass produced, we only see a few of them, at it seems like there aren't many inquisitors around. All it shows is that the base parts are standardised, and it is likely that each inquisitor had to align their crystals themselves. After all, in the clone wars episode with the younglings, all the parts were provided, they just performed the final assembly. Existing evidence so far says then non-force sensitives cannot align the crystal properly.
    – Jack
    Jul 5, 2017 at 5:32
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    How is there a debate? He's one with the force, and the force is with him. What more do you need to know? Jul 5, 2017 at 10:16
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    @Jack To add on to that, if you look closely you will find that the Inquisitors Lightsabers are all quite different. Even though they are all double bladed spinning red sabers Example 1, example 2 Jul 5, 2017 at 13:04

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