

A lightsaber is more than just an elegant weapon in a more civilized age. It's also Luke Skywalker's introduction to the Force and all it holds.

In this YouTube video clip from an upcoming episode of "Mark Hamill's Pop Culture Quest" series, Star Wars actor Mark Hamill gets a chance to see and hold his lightsaber from "Return of the Jedi," thanks to prop collector Brandon Alinger.

"I haven't seen this thing in years," Hamill says in the video posted late last week. "It's heavy, isn't it?"

The lightsaber prop was not only Hamill's. It was also used by Alec Guinness who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in "A New Hope."

Hamill talks in the video about the old-school technique of creating an illuminated lightsaber by using a pole made from movie screen material for the blade that reflected the light source back "hundreds of times the intensity."

"You also had a wire up your sleeve and a battery pack on your belt so you'd go like this and freeze," Hamill said as he posed holding the lightsaber hilt. "Then they'd run in and put that pole that you're talking about on it and then run out, just like they did the effects on 'I Dream of Jeannie.'"

The video clip gives insight into both the special effects techniques from Industrial Light & Magic and how much Hamill loves talking about fun, behind-the-scenes moments.

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