I agree--Roy you did a very nice job with those pics. But still, I don't see any tape. The polyester mylar film is totally out--way too shiny. And yes, the aluminum foil does obscure the letters, making them appear to be more like the saber in the original reference photo. Nevertheless, there is a marked difference in finish between the aluminum foil on the clamp and the finish of the Graflex flash itself. There does not appear to be any such contrast on the original saber.
Observe also that on the original, you actually can see the outlines where the L, E, and X letters are on the clamp. The X is somewhat visible on the clamp with the aluminum tape due to its position in the light, but the L and E are totally washed out, as I suspected would happen.
Your picture of the hilt without tape looks closest to the original prop. See how there are those grey outlines of the letters L and E? They're a bit blurrier on the original and the lighting is a little darker, but they're there as well.
Again I point to the cleanliness of the cutouts in the clamp as evidence of there being no tape. I also want to emphasize the identical finish between the clamp and the Graflex body as indicating no tape.