*Ignites lightsaber*
pssh... nothin personnel... youngling

I don't know the feel I am feeling.

Darth Radnasty.

Most excited I've ever been for a Star Wars movie. This is going to be a long wait.

Darth Sliphazard, voted most likely to get a mechanical hand in Sith Academy.

I had a lot of apprehension before the trailer was revealed. A little still remains, but I was worried JJ wouldn't go for the rugged 70s simplicity that characterizes the old film's aesthetic.



Surprisingly, it's even reflected in the villian's lightsaber. A while ago it was revealed that he isn't force sensitive and just collects various Sith artifacts. His hand trembles as his unsteady blade extents - those exhausts there to expel excess energy are pretty neat. Makes it feel like it could blow at any time. 

I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to put mini lasers on the sides considering that stuff cuts people up like butter.

It can work as a guard, it can be used offensively, and I'm pretty sure that they'd be trained or have trained themselves not to cut their own hand off. It's not even the most impractical lighter there's ever been either.

(11-29-2014, 12:45 PM)Gwen Wrote: It can work as a guard, it can be used offensively, and I'm pretty sure that they'd be trained or have trained themselves not to cut their own hand off. It's not even the most impractical lighter there's ever been either.

examples
All taken from
http://starwars-exodus.wikia.com/wiki/Lightsaber_Types

As someone who has experience wielding actual swords and mock lightsabers I can say that the cruciform saber-hilt is a bad idea.
If you were to make use of extra lightsaber blades for a guard your safest possible bet would be something like this;
Then again, having a guard that can be made to cut against you is a terrible idea for any weapon since the guard will end up touching you. Remember that the main point of a guard is to keep dangerous parts of other objects away from your hand and body.

Of course there's no reason a guard couldn't be fabricated from one of the lightsaber resistant materials found in the Star Wars universe.

Yeah what can't a lightsaber cut through except itself?

The link I put up top had a few examples of materials that it can't cut through. Mainly, its just an excuse to have long hilted blades for staff fights.