So, personally, I confess that in pictures the Disciple never appealed to me. I don't know exactly why, maybe the black rings north of the choke point? I was however looking for a hilt with a wrap option that I could get for my daughter for our silly home movies. She loves purple. So one day I decided to go for the lowest entry point to the wrapped hilts, the Disciple in the Apprentice category. I placed an order on Etsy and requested the "+" upgrade following the process. Then I kind of put it out of my mind, knowing the backlog and wait would put me in 2016 sometime for delivery. In that time I found a great used Consular in 12W purple and snagged it. It is pretty cool. But today a Toblerone showed up with my Daughter's Disciple in it. I have to say, WOW, it's much better in person. My daughter is small and I was worried about this hilt being too big for her, maybe something we'd hold on to for a while until she grew a bit. I was wrong. This hilt is thin and light and nimble, and it is PERFECT for a youngling. Yes the emitter has some sharp edges, but I can take care of that. The feel in the hand is very lively. When I showed it to her, she loved it. and let me tell you, a 12W+ in a 26" blade is pure awesome emitter to tip. I am very happy with this choice, and she is too.