Does a Fixed Blade Fighter guard have to be Metal?

[Robert Hankins]

Does a Fixed Blade Fighting Knife guard have to be Metal?
There are a few out there that have guards made of G10 Etc.
Some of the Cold Steel blades have Kraton guards and even better blades like "Mad Dog" uses G10.

Don't care for the Kraton guards myself (Which is why I won't buy one) but how often does the guard actually come into "Hard Play" ?

The purists will argue--- I'm sure that it needs to be "Bullet Proof" but does it really need to be metal?

 

[djolney]

I’d like to buy a fixed blade with a G10 guard and pommel, but I’m not sure what kind of handle material I’d want to have in the middle