Overview
Our sharpening service will provide a good serviceable edge on the blade. The result is typically “very sharp” with a small secondary bevel and a bit of an “apple seed” profile. The resulting edge is somewhat dependent on the particular blade. Some blades will take and hold sharper edges than others and the thickness of the blade will determine how wide the bevel will need to be. We adjust the angle of the edge to suit the specific blade and attempt to get as close to a bevel-less edge as possible without marring the surface of the blade.
The Sharpening Process
The sharpening service is done with a belt sander. The process involves many passes with sanding belts of various grits. The blades are rested between passes to prevent them from becoming hot and damaging their temper. By default we will sharpen as much of the blade as possible including any false edges if appropriate. If you have a different preference, feel free to make that request in the special instructions at check out. We can sharpen only the last half or third of an edge, for example. Our sword sharpening expert has personally sharpened several thousand swords at this point, so will provide you with a professional service.
What the Service is Not
The resulting edge will be “sword sharp” not razor sharp. Our goal is to provide you with a usable edge for cutting practice that will hold up to some use and not require constant re-sharpening. In other words, we intend to provide you with a serviceable weapon, not a personal grooming implement. The service will not provide a completely bevel-less edge. To create that type of edge will necessarily scratch up the blade surface and we lack the machinery and time to provide a full re-polishing of a blade’s surface. A service of that nature would be significantly more expensive as a great deal more time would be required. We do not offer this type of service at this time.
Disclaimer
We make no guarantee that the resulting edge will meet with your expectations. Every blade is different and some will take and hold a sharper edge than others, due to the blade material, heat treatment or geometry. Some customers can also have incorrect assumptions about sword sharpness and improper expectations as a result. All we can say for sure is that the resulting edge will be sharper than the default edge, in most cases, significantly so. We can not provide any refunds for the service once it has been completed, so consider it to be provided “as is”. That being said, if you are unhappy with the product for any reason, we do still allow you to return the item for a full refund, including the sharpening costs under our normal return policy. This does not apply to special sharpening requests, for example if we sharpen something specially for you that does not normally list that option on our site. The vast majority of our customers are happy with the results of the service, so as long as you keep the above mentioned in mind, we are confident you will be pleased with the results as well.
Kyle –
Fairly Disappointed An absolutely gorgeous blade but I feel I got one that slipped under quality controls radar. The sword I received had some fairly noticeable blemishes on the pommel and crossguard and what I would guess to be some sort of abrasion damage on the scabbard. These are all minor cosmetic details but on a sword that’s supposed to be so ornate I feel those flaws become more serious. As a note while it is an option I did not purchase a blemished model.
Functionally the sword is pretty solid, no looseness anywhere but to my disappointment the blade is incredibly dull. I can squeeze the edges in my hand as I pull the length of the blade through them with no fear of getting even a minor cut. Despite what the video review shows I got a butter knife that has no prayer of cutting paper.
Ken –
Pretty Disappointed Let me start by saying that I am a novice when it comes to Chinese swords and swords in general. I purchased this sword in hopes that it would be a usable sword as well as a nice display sword. When I received it and had a chance to look at it, it gives a nice initial impression, but closer inspection revealed that the wooden handle does not fit the tang well. There are gaps between the tang and the wood ion both sides, but more on one side. This is my main concern, as I am not sure how this will affect the sword when/if i attempt to actually cut something with it. Again, I am a novice and have no experience with cutting things, but it seems that the handle will be loose on the tang and make the sword unstable in the hand and difficult or impossible to use. In addition to this, the blade is not as sharp as I expected. It will not cut paper, for example. The sword looks nice on casual inspection, but when one looks closely, the detail on the lion’s heads and other decorations is a little crude. This is not a major point, and as I said the sword looks nice if you don’t look too closely. My main concern is the gap between the tang and the wooden handle. Because of that, I give the sword only two stars. Otherwise I’d probably give it 3.5 or 4 stars.
Brandon –
Better Than Expected The sword was better than expected. Cold steel has spotty quality but the Jade Lion turned out well. The scabbard had some dents and scratches and looked like they rubbed sandpaper up and down the length of the scabbard and they didn’t finish it off with a finer sandpaper and polish but not hard to do myself. The handle pleased me a lot, the finish on the fittings where more gold than nickel but it personally looks a lot better and gives off a good light gold finish that’s a bit antique and makes an excellent display sword. No rust on any of the metal a few dents but it just adds to the antique look. The wrap is very tight and shows no form of movement and is very comfortable. Finally my most favorite part of the sword, which is the blade. The folded steel is beautiful giving life and a story to the sword and is a lot more appealing than single non-folded steel. It has a mirror polish with no rust or nicks on the blade. The balance point and weight is right where it needs to be for excellent swings and recovery but enough weight to put power into slashes. The blade is sharp but not razor sharp and I love it. Its not over kill sharp where you effortlessly cut paper and the edge isn’t thin so when you cut a harder target it doesn’t dull after one cut. The edge is strong and able to cut and stay sharp. I probably got lucky and got one that was sharp but you have to put effort into cutting paper. It will cut traditional targets but paper it seems to have a problem. The jade lion is made in the exact range that traditional Jian’s are produced. Cold steel usually isn’t known for historical accuracy and that shows with the fittings but this sword is very close to traditional Jian’s dimensions, which include a peg in the tang for extra security, folded steel, a balance point around 4 inches from the guard, weight around 2 pounds, and a blade around 28 inches. The Jade lion Gim is a fine sword and I would have given it five stars if it wasn’t for the unfinished look the scabbard had other than that the finish on the blade was better than expected, the folded steel added character, and the handle was phenomenal.