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.
Dexter Wilson –
Some of Windlasses best. Windlass really stepped up their game on this one. I cuts well enough, could be a bit better, but anyone can sharpen a knife. On most windlass blades there will be surface imperfections, but this is perfectly smooth. The only complaint I can really find is that the peen could have been sanded a bit better, but that’s not a big deal. Windlass really outdid themselves on this one, and if the other items in the Battlecry line are just as good, I definately look foward to using them.
Roahn scifinutter –
Very nice seax I noticed the same peen issue, definitely needs to be sanded or filed down but I don’t want to damage the finish.
The blade is flat ground with the spine starting around 5/32″ with no distal taper until you reach near the point. Finish is remarkably close to a rust blue but it has a sort of antiqued crinkle to it I can’t place. The closest I can match it to is the sort of cracking you see in some theatres where they used shellac slightly past its prime to create ripples and cracks. Visual effect aside the blade is very smooth.
This was my first intro to the Battlecry series by Windlass, looking forward to purchasing one of their Maldon swords.
whiterabbit –
Excellent quality & beautiful This seax is great, I was on the fence about buying it for a while and I have no regrets about doing so. The blade comes plenty sharp, not razor. The steel color and pattern are beautiful, almost looks like some type of fantasy steel. The construction is solid, nothing loose, bent, or crooked. The peen issues that the other reviews have mentioned are nothing to worry about, it’s not perfectly smooth but it’s not sharp or anything bad enough to catch on things or cause problems.
I hope that Windlass increases their Battlecry line, I really like the look of this steel.
Rick –
Brutally Strong ! Ancient artifact looking blade is beautiful. It comes plenty sharp. After all you not using it to cut up tomatoes for your salad. I took it outside to test it out. I hit everything around. Some bricks, rocks and other stuff. I also hit some of the big logs in a pile of wood to see if the blade would bend if I pulled it from left to right. The blade held up really well and nothing got lose. Really impressive! I would not recommend getting the blade sharpened. It is sharp enough. Like the videos point out, a sharp blade is much easier to chip or break. Mine was in perfect shape. ��I have bought 17 weapons from Kult of Athena and love them all. Especially their maces. BUY IT.