I've just acquired an Imperial Searles through Kult of Athena. I've had a DGW Searles for a number of years, so I can now do a side-by-side comparison. I bought the DGW as blade only, so that is all I will compare. The two blades are quite similar, but not identical. First, the Imperial gives a larger and more massive impression. It is 9 3/4" long, compared to the DGW's 9 1/4" length. The imperial is broader at 1 3/4" to the DGW's 1 3/8". However, the Imperial is noticeably thinner, 3/16" at the hilt compared to the DGW's 1/4" and it has far more distal taper, tapering almost evenly from hilt to point, where the DGW is all but untapered until the last 2" from the point. The result is that the Imperial, despite its larger appearance, is very light and lively in the hand. The DGW has an almost mirror-polish and it has a 1 1/2" silver plate set into its spine just in front of the hilt, apparently for engraving purposes. The Imperial's finish is close to matte though I suspect it would buff up nicely. It has no inset silver plate.
Overall, I would rate the Imperial as an elegant fighter: a gentleman's weapon for town and formal occasions. The DGW is a tool for hard use in the field and a fine weapon in a pinch. I would pick the Imperial for a Creole ball in New Orleans, the DGW for the woods or a flatboat voyage down the Mississippi. Both would do for a brawl in a dive in Natchez-Under-the-Hill.
The Imperial comes with a sheath patterned on the Fowler Searles, made of wood covered with thin black leather, with metal throat and chape, though I think the Imperial's is stainless steel rather than silver. Like the Fowler it has a belt stud on the throat, though rounded rather than flat, and it has a ring on the back of the throat. The ring on the Fowler's sheath is set at right angles to the axis of the sheath, but on the Imperial's it is parallel to the sheath.
As usual with most Fowler Searles repros, the guard, while short, is much thicker than on the original, about 3/8" where the original's can be no more than 1/32". The handle is of black wood and has the diamond crosshatching, but without any silver pins.
It has silver-colored escutcheon plates on both sides. I don't know if the original does since I've only seen it from one side.
Overall, I am very pleased with the Imperial Searles, because I've always wanted a full-dress Fowler Bowie and this is probably the best affordable repro out there. Custom knives can be had, but you'd have to pay custom prices.