Yes, very similar to how you grip a French grip Foil in Fencing - the old school Italian Fencing Foils utilized an almost identical grip to the Rapier as they retained quillions and rings and the fingers rested upon the ricasso behind the shell guard.
You'd have to elaborate my friend. I'm not a sport-fencer, so I don't know how a foil is gripped. I thought they had some custom, modern pistol grip thingy these days?
That is a custom James the Just modification of the Hanwei Side Sword guard. When it comes to the length of the hilt, user preference comes to mind. You'll find 17th century examples of longer and shorter handles, longer and shorter blades and so on.
Is that the hanwei practical side sword hilt? Also, have you considered shortening the grip seeing as many historical pieces did not have handles that long or press the pommel against the wrist?
