I’ll start this review by stating that this is not the first Apprentice class saber in my collection. I have a Consular that I was quite pleased with from the moment I received it. It was the best example of “elegance in simplicity” that I could have hoped to find. However, outside of the windows on the emitter, all of the design elements are pretty much produced via the circular effect on the lathe from which it was formed. I love it all, but it is pretty simple. The Talon, while sharing the same Apprentice designation, sports a much more complicated set of design elements that highlight the CNC aspect of the machining process, and I gotta say I am duly impressed!
I recall when the Apprentice line was undergoing what could be termed as explosive expansion, where it seemed like new models were being added every few weeks. To the extent where folks started to wonder out loud if we were going to see any love going to the Elite line anytime soon. Of course, that did happen as well over time, but for a while, it was all about the Apprentice. From that expansion came some fantastic new sabers, and the Talon was among them.
The first time I saw one of Thomas Snyder’s 3D renderings of the Talon, my interest was piqued. Right off the bat, it was a thin-neck saber, and I am sure I don’t have to tell anyone here where I stand on those. So, I made a mental note to myself to keep an eye on this one as it came closer to a production release. Fortunately, it did not take long!
The next time I saw images of this saber, Phil had posted pictures of not only the Talon, but the other three Apprentice sabers he was releasing at the same time. While I was intrigued by the other three, my attention remained focused on the Talon. The pictures of the finished product (in Dual Tone Finish) pretty much cemented by decision to add it to “must have” list. I’ll start from the emitter, and work my way down on what I like so much about this saber.
The saber itself is 12 ¾ inches in length, which is the same as the Elite thin-necks that I have, but it is noticeably lighter than any of those designs. Next, that emitter! I just love the shape of that emitter! It was everything I loved about the Foresaken emitter (which was my favorite, up to this point), but even better! I did have one concern about it though. The individual tines of the emitter made for a menacing appearance, but I was a little unsure of their durability. That was addressed very quickly. I saw Thomas Snyder on-line just before it was officially released, and expressed my concern about the blade making contact with those tines during heavy contact, and bending, or breaking them. He understood my concern, and it just so happened that he was about to take a prerelease Talon out behind the shop, and beat the holy hell out of a heavy post to put it to the test. He returned a few moments later, and said that he swung with full force, multiple times, and while he did pop the blade tip (which is something considering that they are threaded), he assured me that the emitter stood the stress just fine. No bending of the thin-neck, and none of the tines on the emitter were bent. So much for those concerns!
He attributed the sturdy nature of this emitter to the fact that the “neck” of the saber extends into the emitter by a good half inch. So, the blade is seated between the outer wall of the blade socket, and the outer wall of the protruding portion of the neck. Another factor that likely contributes is the fact that there are 4 blade retention screws. They appear on every other tine of the emitter, so the blade is held from 4 opposing points, rather than just a single one. The individual tines are very thick at the lower end of the emitter, and get gradually thinner as you get to the upper end. They look like they would bend easily, but they are much stronger than they look. If I have one nit-pick about the emitter, it is only the way that it holds the blade plug so snugly. It makes it a little challenging to get the plug out if you seat it all the way down in the socket. Pretty minor compared to all the good stuff here!
The neck itself on this saber, as with the other Apprentice sabers with thin-necks, is noticeably thicker than those on the Prodigal Son, Redeemer, and Exhalted. I don’t yet have a Descendant, or a Shadow Hunter, so I can’t compare to those first-hand, but judging by pictures, it looks more heavy duty than those as well, or at least equal to them. The feature that I really like here is the collar. It is circular, just like most other thin-necks, but the rectangular shapes carved there in alternating black/silver colors is quite unique to this saber. It is a really nice touch!
Now we come to the upper body/switch section. This is a grenade design, similar to the Prodigal Son. The individual circles are very smooth to the touch, and unlike the emitter, and the collar, there are no sharp edges here. It is very comfortable in the hand, made even more so by the smaller diameter of all Apprentice sabers. Personally, I find that I like the feel of these Apprentice sabers much more than I thought I would. The lower body of the saber is fine cross-hash texture, which is not the least bit grating on the hands. Again, very comfortable.