Hardlight can be a useful material to make bladed weapons out of due to its light weight and projection ability. Due to its use of complex electronics however, hardlight blades are destroyed if exposed to an EMP. Hardlight blades can be hidden very well.
Silicon hardlight blades consist of a hilt or base with both an energy source and a silicate projector inside of it, and optionally a vibration device for use as a vibroblade, edged with nanocrystalline diamond for added sharpness. This weapon is favored by those who desire a blade that can quickly come back from damage to its edge without much issue. These blades are often mono-atomic along the edge, making for a superb cutting ability and unbeatable sharpness. Due to the blade requiring extra material to repair damage, they are often made as shortswords or knives to balance the material requirements with the benefits of silicon hardlight blades.
Photonic hardlight blades, similarly to their cousins, contain both an energy source and projector either inside of the hilt or base of the weapon or inside of an external pack in the case of extended use. To save on the amount of energy that must be expended on sustaining the hardlight projection, these blades are often extremely thin, often to the point of being only several dozen micrometers in thickness. Due to the exponential rate by which additional latticed photons add to the needed energy to support the structure, these blades rarely exceed length over 28in/71cm, and are commonly either arranged as wrist-blades exuded from gauntlets, or a Xiphos style swords.