This is more of a first impressions thing, as I've had both for barely a week and I haven't swung them around enough. I wanted to do a separate for each saber, but the Emperor's Hand I got is so damned near-perfect I don't have much to say about it other than "Perfect!"
But without further ado...
Raffle Entry: EMPEROR'S HAND
HILTWent for an all-silver look, as I fully intended this to be a show-piece from the get go, so the shinier the better. The design is just beautiful, though it would even be more so without the activation box. The hilt has a bit of optical illusion going on. Without the blade, it looks longer/sleeker (and quite better). It just screams "PUT ME ON DISPLAY!"
One thing I wasn't aware of is that the blade retention screw isn't the same size as on other sabers. Apparently, the hex set I bought was enough for the standard retention screws but nothing fit for the EH. Had to go buy another set for it (shoutout to
Lord Bladewraith for pointing me to the correct size). Learned from other reviews that there are two screws on the emitter. The one for the blade is usually above the other greeblies. Mine came on the opposite side.
BLADE AND COLORDecided to go Bane's Heart on this after watching Lord Bladewraith's review. I kept pausing at times where his saber would flash to Bane's Heart, only to see him switch the LED near the end of the video.
No FoC as I didn't think I'd be a fan of Adegan Silver (only FoC color for BH). BH is beautiful in person. I'm now considering getting hot pink for the next one.
Blade is 32" UE Midgrade since I wanted one that wasn't
bent curved. No complaints on the balance on either 32" or 36" though I favor the former more.
ELECTRONICS AND BATTERYThis was my first saber with sound. Skipped lite because I wanted the Li-Ion setup and charger so as to save on buying batteries and avoid dimming. Now that I have it, I realized I mostly practice with my sabers turned off anyway. And I went straight for the v4 for... the mute... sound... fo... ... I regret nothing!
EH is a little thicker than other sabers, so battery pack rattles a bit. Prepare some padding if you're getting this. Also, clash sound doesn't seem to go off when hitting the middle to upper part of the blade. Haven't played around with the software yet, so not sure if it's a sensitivity thing or something else.
GRIP, COMFORT, AND HANDLINGWhile thicker than I'm used to, I found it surprisingly comfortable. The bottom part of the emitter is comfy to hold. I have smaller hands, so no complaints on the activation box getting in the way. Also, I was fortunate enough that the covertec wheel was opposite the switch. This made two-handing a non-issue.
Second Place Prize: REAPER.
Ah, the Reaper. I never liked it. I didn't like its circuit-board engravings. I didn't like the slanted pommel. The shroud reminded me of a pet cone. I thought the claw on the pommel was overkill. If I did the Isola challenge, the Reaper would be the second name I'd write down.
Not sure if it's because it's a prize, so there was little to no room for disappointment. But when I opened the box, I went from "Gasp! A Reaper!" to "Nooo, a Reaper" in under 10 seconds. Then "Weeee! THE REAPER!" after 10 minutes. Probably less. Okay, fine. Five.
What won me over?
The claw is just one simple piece but it adds a lot of character to the hilt. On a sidenote, I also disliked the Scorpion very much. After seeing more of them with the claw, I now want one.
HILTThe Reaper is... interesting. Most of its pieces are removable or adjustable. Don't like the claws? Remove them. Don't like the shroud? Take it off. Don't like the orientation of the claws or the emitter? Rotate it. Want to switch the claws between the emitter and the pommel? Dew it. Want to switch the pommel and the emitter for some odd reason instead of just switching the claws around? Go ahead, but I'd highly advise against it. More on that in a bit.
Small markdown for the engraving. It's a little messy in some parts, but only noticeable if you look at it very closely.
Here's the Reaper as it came out of the box.
Without the shroud
Without claws. Just FYI, the screw sizes on the claws are same as the retention screw for the Emperor's Hand.
And my personal favorite, without the slanted emitter and pommel.
I love this stripped down look. One thing to note is that the slanted emitter piece screws on to the windowed part, so there will be screw marks.
Medium markdown: there were already multiple screw marks on it before I got it. It's as if US couldn't decide where the slanted piece should be facing and screwed/unscrewed it from the main emitter several times.
Remember when I said I advise against switching the slanted pommel piece and the slanted emitter piece? Well I swapped it by accident because I wasn't paying attention. So now I have additional and unnecessary screw marks. See that out-of-place screw mark in the middle, close to the window?. That's where the pommel screws into the emitter. If you're not careful, you might damage the windows.
The slanted part of the pommel is sort of a shroud in itself. It can be removed without losing the pommel, so the pommel can be put on your other sabers. Just FYI, it's an open vented pommel. Not particularly fond of it as I have a very curious cat to protect the speaker from.
One more caveat:
Without the shroud, you can screw the emitter piece all the way in. But with shroud piece equipped, the emitter piece loses about a 3/4 of a full turn from being screwed all the way in. For example, say you're looking down the emitter end of the hilt, and the switch is at the 12 o'clock position. To screw in the emitter, you turn it clockwise. Without the shroud, you can screw in the emitter and align the claw with the switch. After putting in the shroud, you can only screw in the emitter up to a point where the claw now only goes up to the 3 o'clock position, give or take. It doesn't really matter much as the LED module seems to be snug. But if you're like me, who wants to keep the LED secure with the blade as much as possible, this is something to consider.
All in all, I'm quite impressed with the design of this hilt. Again, not something I liked at first, but I grew fond of it rather quickly. I'm still on the fence with the pommel claw, but I'm not removing it only because of the fact that it looks badass in reverse-grip.
BLADE AND COLORUS gave me Guardian Blue, which is perfect because I always wanted a GB blade on a dark hilt, and is also the last on my "Colors I Want First" list.
It also came with FoC in Adegan Silver - the color I deliberately avoided on the EH. It's still great that it came with it so I'd be introduced to it. Now that I've seen it in person, I've decided I'll choose Tri-Cree over it anytime. Not really a fan, I'm afraid. AS is okay as FoC, but not something I'd personally get as a main color. It just looks like a flourescent bulb to me; and a dim one at that. Maybe a Tri-AS would change my mind, but that's yet to be seen.
ELECTRONICS AND BATTERY
The hilt came with an Obsidian v4, which is another surprise as I expected only a v3 at most. No rattling here, too, so that's a huge plus.
GRIP, COMFORT, AND HANDLINGNo choke points here, but I don't think it's even necessary. The shroud helps, but not by using it as the grip (for me, at least). I rest my hand on the bottom of it and it serves to stop my hand from sliding up to the windows, which are quite sharp by the way. The hilt itself isn't too thick, so it's quite comfortable grip-wise. Without the claws, this can be wielded quite well. With claws, it will take a little getting used to. I conked myself on the head with the pommel claw a few times already but I'm not giving up on it. They're far too cool to remove.
VERDICTIf I would desrcibe the Emperor's Hand in one word, I'd say "Beautiful." The Reaper, "Versatile." All in all, I love both of these sabers. Wallet's in a coma so I won't be making another purchase for a while, but this definitely is not my last.
Not sure how to end this, so here are a few more pics.
...and one for the road - a switcheroo abomination
Thank you again US!
