There is no one proper way to determine the length of the sword - it varies not only by person, but also by sword style.
If you're not trained in a sword style but want to twirl around your saber and maybe spar a bit, then just play around with some sticks and see what works well for you.
Also, consider whether you want to use it strictly two-handed (you'll be able to comfortably handle something longer) or strictly one-handed (you'll want something a bit shorter, especially if you're going to have another one in the other hand), or if you want to be able to do a bit of two-handed and a bit of one-handed, in which case you'll settle for something in between long and short.
One very nice thing about the MHS system is that you can fairly easily add/remove a good chunk off your hilt to convert between a two-handed and one-handed hilt. However, with the standard 7-inch hilts, even a simple pommel+hilt+emitter setup is a bit larger than needed for a one-handed grip and fairly comfortable for a two-handed grip (at least for medium/small adult male hands). Of course you can swap out different length blades pretty easily as well.
For me, a good length for one-handed use is from my hip bone to the ground, pommel to blade-tip.
Bookmarks