User Manual Breville BSB510XL Control Grip Immersion Blender

The BSB510XL Control Grip™ will work best on chopping those foods but it can blend them. The blades on it covered with a kind of hood so that the small food or ice pieces are kept under it and against the blades until smooth. The food pieces would need to be chopped very small to fit under that cover and the food items would need to be processed in small amounts as blending should not exceed 30 continuous seconds at a time

I do not have arthritis, and I love this blender. I personally found the size of the previous inversion blender i had to be easier (cuisinart). Also, I agree that it's very difficult to detach the head for cleaning. It's not a problem for me but it always take a few seconds and extra effort. Overall I like this hand blender more but I'd recommend the other for someone with arthritis for sure, especially because they are similar in functionality

No, the plastic guard on the blending attachment cannot be removed.