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.
R. K. –
A Rugged, Heavy Katana I’m no expert on Japanese swords, so feel free to point out any mistakes I made in labeling the parts.
Mine first impression when I unsheathed this katana was “Wow! This thing is heavy!” This being my first katana, I didn’t know what to expect in terms of balance and weight. I have been told that this katana is very heavy and tough compared to other katana.
The overall shape of the tsuka is somewhat cone-shaped, tapering slightly towards the kashira and flaring out a little on the other end near the fuchi. The ito alternates, is tight, and the diamonds are fairly even, but not perfect. The ito feels more like rayon or polyester then cotton, which is nice – no fuzz. The kashira and fuchi are plain steel or iron (I tested them with a magnet), with a matte black coating. The Mushashi style tsuba is also made of matte black coated iron or steel. The same is real, though the strips seem to be a little narrow in places – I can see just a little bit of wood on the edge of one diamond. The menuki on my katana are not Buddhist swords as shown in the pictures and description, but are instead, as far as I can make out, depictions of the sun and the moon with clouds. Some of the decorative filed edging on the seppa between the tsuba and the habaki is uneven and ragged looking. There is one mekugi.
The blade itself is flawless. It is through hardened, with no fake hamon. The kissaki is counter-polished, with no geometrical yokote. When looking down the mune of the blade, I can see that the kissaki flares out a little before coming to a point. A nice touch. The polish is mirror on the shinogi-ji, and almost mirror on the rest of the blade, except for the kissaki. The edge is sharp – not razor, or dull, just sharp as it should be. The ha is straight as a laser.
The saya has an iron or steel kojiri, which is finished matte black like the other fittings. The lacquer is glossy and even. The koiguchi is horn, and I assume the kurigata is as well. The sageo is the same black material as the ito. The katana does rattle a little in the saya, and the koiguchi does not hold the katana tightly – it slips out of the saya very easily.
I have had no training or prior experience using a katana. I tested it on a few water-filled milk jugs. It did the job fairly well – nothing extremely impressive, but that was because of my less then stellar technique. It had no bends or other problems when I was done, even after I accidentally hit the top of the trashcan the targets were sitting on.
Overall, I would class this katana as a heavy cutter – a backyard beater that may not be as pretty as other models in it’s price range, but one that will probably outlast the competition.