Seems i should have searched harder..
found this thread
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?p=68999
with some lovely examples that i hadnt yet seen which was very helpfull..mods let me know if you want me to take my questions there or leave them here.
It seems the red lacquered handle / grip type is the most common along with the plain un-lacquered wood and rattan type like the 'worker' in my pics. Almost every example of the admittedly few ive seen has one of these two types of hilt colouring / decoration.