system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Star Wars] what was the significance/advantage behind Dooku's curved saber hilt?

Dooku had a lot going for him, 1. He was played by Christopher Lee and 2. He had that awesome curved saber hilt. As someone who's interested but never experienced much of the EU, why exactly did he have such a hilt? And how was his fighting style changed by it?
gpt
From a fencing perspective, it brings the blade forward when he grips it (instead of pointing up).  It's not a huge difference in angle, but it can have a pretty distinct difference in style.

First, think of how you block with a lightsaber.  You hold it next to you, creating a sort of wall that the enemy blade lands on.  When you're gripping a straight hilt and keeping your blade up, you can block like that to the left and right very quickly.  With Dooku's grip, you have to move the blade much farther, and it won't be as strong.  Instead, you have to catch the blade while it's still moving forward and guide its momentum from the outside, deflecting the attack.

When attacking, the blade stays mostly pointed at the enemy.  This allows it to make quick, small circles around the grip.  For someone accustomed to the kinds of blocks described above, these can be very tricky to stop.  To stop an attack near the hilt, you really have to move the hilt out of the way and *then* block.  This movement is different enough from your standard block that it's going to throw a lot of people off.

The curved grip lends itself to a specific style, one that is based heavily on finesse and small movements.  The lightsaber, generally, is a weapon based on very large motions aided by the lightweight nature of the weapon.  Most Jedi fight by making large circles - the weightless blade allows the Jedi to cover their whole body in an instant. There's a reason for that - it's just better.  Dooku's style is just not as good.

*But*

In fighting like that, there are more important considerations than what is "best."  His style is different, and likely one that is rarely encountered by most Jedi.  His own speed and skill (and natural finesse) allow him to compensate for many of the style's weaknesses, and most of his opponents are unprepared for it's unorthodox nature.  

Tl;dr: He essentially uses the saber as less of a slashing weapon and more of a stabbing weapon.  A master swordsman can adapt to that style, but most simply won't know how to defend against it.

Final note: This is basically based on the idea of an epeeist fencing saber, or a saber with a pistol grip.