I have to ask then, where does your opinion stand on the Starkiller saber? It has very obvious Graflex influenced top half, which I think is why I was very drawn to it. That and the exposed crystal chamber.
I have this theory that the lightsabers featured in a given story are often representative of the story on a conceptual level.
The PT sabers are mass-produced, don't have a ton of character, and are a bit generic... like the PT
The OT sabers are very worked over, beat up and feel hand made and one of a kind... like the OT
The re-appearence of the Graflex in TFA feels like JJ Abrams doubling down on his promise to a return to older style Star Wars filmmaking.
The EU sabers are over the top and always trying to one-up themselves.
As such, TFU was like Star Wars on steroids-- so it seemed fitting that the lightsaber was like the Graflex but AMPED. It was cool as hell and fun-- but I'd never really consider it canon.
And these are just my opinions-- I know people disagree, and that's cool.
Since it was during the time where Jedi were "in their prime," I always thought that the super sleek lightsabers of the Jedi Order fit the PT more. The rusted old look of the ANH Obi always fit well because it was so old and worn and he was no longer in his prime. I felt Obi's saber was a representation of the Jedi: Once a great weapon during the height of the order, now a rusted worn relic of the old republic.
This makes total sense-- I just didn't like getting a clean, slick and new Star Wars universe in the PT. If the Jedi and Republic were as old as we were led to believe, I don't see why 20-30 years previous to where we started would be any less lived-in.
Plus, I always felt like lightsaber construction was a carefully guarded secret-- so much so that there was no such thing as pre-made parts, or a machine shop in the Jedi temple where you could get the parts you needed. Everything was scavenged and handmade. None were alike, none were perfect, and even freshly made they were far from pristine. I know I'm seeing the difference between the hero and stunt saber on ROTJ with Luke-- but you could canonically say that Luke's NEW saber built right before the movie started is already worn in beaten... because he used found parts to do it.
Again though-- to each their own. I will say that I think the work of TCSS and fans doing machined sabers took the aesthetic of the PT, but did much more interesting things with it.