How long should the blade be?

I'm building a lightsaber with a permanently attached blade. What I have so far is 4ft. hilt and blade all together, it looks and feels too long though, how long should I have it.
Thanks!
Later

 

Lightsaber blades are traditionally 1 meter long.

 

Is that blade alone or blade plus hilt?
Thanks
Later

 

Just the blade. The hilt is usually 24-30 centimeters.

 

Thanks again! This really helps.
Later

 

Traditonaly,when a Samurai had a blade made for him it would be just barely long enough to touch the ground when standing straight and holding the sword at his side, tip down, and grasping the sword at the top of the grip.

This is the best length for dueling, as it is long enough to use, but not so long that it gets in the way or is unweildy.

But then a longer blade looks cooler!

 

The blades I use in my sabers are 40" long, 36" out of the hilt. And I have never had a problem with them!

 

That's 0.9144 meters, so I wouldn't say there's much of a difference.

 

Sorry, I didn't know what it was converted to meters. But that is good to know.
Thanks!

 

Most of my swords are about 36-40 inches long, but then I'm about 6' tall. I'd recommend a weapon with an overall length about equal to the distance between your bellybutton and the the floor. Not perfect, but it's an okay rule of thumb.

Really, though, it's all about what's comfortable for you. Yoda's lightsaber isn't 1 meter long, so there's no reason anyone else's should be if the want it shorter (or longer).

 

I've settled on 36" overall for my blade lengths. With two or three inches stuffed into the hilt, that will mean a 33 or 34" blade. It's just slightly longer than my Katana, but shorter than my medieval longsword. I'm only 5'3, so a full meter long blade might be overdoing it.
Also, I used the exact dimensions of polycarb tubing that Jedi Loreen suggested in her tutorial, and with the diffuser tubing in, the blade hardly "whips" at all.

 

Actually a samurai's blade length depended on personal pref and on what style of swordsmanship he used. What you said was very general. I have a really short blade on my saber because I like it that way. I can fight faster with it. Whatever feels comfortable for you. An average sized adult (5'7"-5'10" i think) should have a blde about a meter long.

 

The "Stunt" sabers blades were exactly 36" from the "emitter"

-Marty

 

I really think it depends on the height of the person.

 

Definitely depends on the height of the person. When it comes to lightsaber blades, size matters. lol

 

For WWII, katana were standardized with the blade at ~ 27.5 inches. Unfortunately, this ment a lot of older blades were cut down. (Vandalism in my opinion--defiling national treasures and family heirlooms).

Make what use of that information you wish.

 

Some say, "it's not the length of the blade that matters but how you use it."

 

On this topic.....

Im thinking of making a double bladed saber. 40 inches on each side is far too long, plus a smaller amount on the shaft. In total with 40 inch blades in totals up to about 8-10 feet.

 

For a double bladed saber, why not use Maul?s as a guide for the length of the blades? Ray Park is 5?-9? and his lightsaber with both blades extended is a good bit taller than him. 8 feet, tip to tip sounds about right to me. About a 2 foot long hilt with 3 foot long blades equal 8 feet. Just my two cents.

 

Alright.Thanks for your help