How do you hold it two handed? I can't wrap my mind around griping the top half. The Gladius I purchased because pretty much everyone at some point owns a Gladius and raves about it. Having one myself it is a freakishly adept dueler. The downside is that it kina looks like a flashlight. This is a tradeoff I feel happens frequently: the cooler the saber looks it the less of a capable dueler it is.

I appreciate that you wrote up a review, Culinary, I'm going to integrate it into my original post. Everyone else who wants to, write a review using my template or your own and I'll add it in and cite the author.

h2soy wrote:
I think you're mistaking the Fallen for the Reborn haha. Unfortunately still don't have my Reborn, hopefully I'll have that within the next couple of weeks.

Bwah-hah-ha! You're right, let me fix that. My reading comprehension skills aren't up to snuff this morning.

Epoch "Classic"

This version of the hilt was replaced by the ASP / 2015 "vertical window" hilt, but I felt doing a review might be good for anyone who was considering adding one of these to their collection.

Balance: 2
Comfort: 2
Versatility: 3
Precision: 3
Power: 5

At slightly over 1' long, the "Classic" Epoch almost demands to be held in a two handed grip, but the raised edges along both the emitter windows and switch / grip section can make this very uncomfortable without gloves or unless the edges are sanded down.
The hilt is noticably pommel heavy without a blade installed, and anything less than a 37" blade tends to feel a bit too short to get the most out of the power the duelist is capable of generating through the hilt's excellent leverage.

The hilt can be used single handed, or even reversed with some practice (and particular with a shorter blade), but it's clear the original design was for a strong two handed hilt that would support Form I and Form V moves, and it's a good fit for anyone looking to practice those styles. All power and minimal finesse, it's basically the saber equivalent of a drag car.

The Epoch will serve adequately when on defense, but this is a design that favors the aggressive fighter, and will reward someone who handles it appropriately. I can completely understand the reasons why SF decided to significantly redesign the hilt for the ASP release, but there's a reason beyond the aesthetics that this hilt has a passionate following.

Nice, TY! I tweaked your title a bit because this is the 2nd gen model (there was a version that came before it that people are less familiar with).

Yeah, I almost called it the "2014" Epoch, but I wasn't actually sure when the hilt was originally released.

Glad that I can help out!

I think the version previous to the current one was the V2, and the current one is V3.

1st Gen

2nd Gen

3rd Gen

The ASP iteration will be a bit shorter and have the power button/kill key in the switch section rather than the lower body.

I don't think I've ever seen the Gen 1 Epoch before, so it's really cool to see one. Seems like that bar on the back would get in the way a little.

I love the look of the Gen 2, which is why it was the first saber I bought from SF. That being said, it's definitely not the greatest saber for dueling. The two "prongs" beneath the emitter window are super cool, but very sharp if you don't file them down. Makes for a very awesome look, not so great for the hands though.

Personally, the Gen 3 doesn't appeal to me as much. Not really sure what it is. Although I've never seen one in person so I don't know first hand. Looks like it would be more comfortable for dueling, though.

It's one of my favorite SF designs because it's very different from most of the sabers out there. I don't like dueling with it but Daniel Lane, SF employee and saber spinning master, mentioned once that it's his 2nd favorite elite saber behind the Gladius. "Different strokes for different folks" etc.