Well, my blades are rarely longer than 33".

As for differences in blade tip techniques, I would have to respectfully disagree with you on there being little to no difference between the methods. The ones I use(from Ultra) do not have extreme brightness near the reflective material and allow a good amount of light to pass thru into the tip.

I've also used tips that were extremely bright at the mirror, much more so than the brightness of the overall blade. Some like this let no light into the tip, while others let too much light into the tip.