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.
michael m –
Nice weight & Balance, but… The sword has excellent weight and balance and it is joy to use in WMA. However, the edges are squared instead of rounded – so you will need to manually file them. The biggest issue is that the blade is just a little too soft. When sparring with Albion’s there are a lot of deep nicks that need to be filed down.
Eric L. –
Leaves a lot to be desired. The pommel comes loose very easily and even when the pommel is screwed on as tightly as it can be, the tang clinks on quick movement.
Ellery D. –
Save for Something Better This sword is affordable however this is its only distinct virtue. In today’s world there are a number of reasons to have a sword. You might practice WMA or HEMA, you might plan to use it for reenactment or stage use, or you might plan simply to have it as a display piece. This sword does nothing of those very well.
Overview: As Kult of Athena says, this is a sword meant for practice (the blunt version) and is easily disassembled for transport and experimentation with new fittings (I guess?). It’s an affordable sword that handles well for its price point and can give someone short on cash an idea of what a sword is like to handle.
Fit and Finish: The sword unfortunately falls pretty far at this point. It’s handling is fine and its durability isn’t great, but the Tinker Longsword is a bit of a mess. After fifteen or so good swings through the air with a normal grip and speed, the leather grip began to peel off, such that I removed it and cord-wrapped it later. The pommel and guard are mirror-finished and in almost any light will stick your fingerprints and grease-smears in the face of anyone who looks at the sword. The blade seems fine, the machining is not perfect but it’s good enough. The sheath is light and the mirror polish again looks cheap and the metal is thin. The leather is soft, especially near the throat, and has give.
Durability and Usage: The sword’s hex nut hilt assembly is its biggest downfall. I use a Federschwert for Longsword sparring and bought a Tinker to have an extra sword on hand for handling practice. Unfortunately, the assembly becomes loose to the point of making clacking noises at the cross after five or six moderate strikes. The hex nut threaded sleeve stripped and miraculously both the local hardware stores did not have a piece that could replace it. The blade has taken a slight set after no actual sparring with it and I have never hit a hard target (although it’s been dropped from weight-height twice, this should not set a sword’s blade off-kilter).
Conclusion: For $215.00 this seems like a deal too good to be true. If you check HEMA forums, you will find that many disdain the Tinker Longswords and swear by Albions or Regenyeis, and you will find proud wielders of these swords on those same forums. My experience has been rather remorseful, as I wish I could have the money back to save for something more utile, as this sword neither looks good enough to keep on a wall, and is not sturdy enough to use for anything other than practicing cutting and forms in the air. Had it for less than a month too! My advice is that if you are looking for a training sword, save for a Regenyei trainer or an Albion Maestro sword like the Meyer or Liechtenauer. The difference is worth the money because the other options both look and function better, and those two qualities are indicative of a sword one would use with intent rather than simply because they were willing to spend 200 dollars.
sam d. –
perfect sword if youre tight on money this isnt going to be a long review more just its pros and cons in a breakdown, id like to start by saying i dont have much experience with swords but this one is a very fine piece for the price asked here
pros:
+ low price
+ handling is excellent
+ very sturdy construction, steel performs well and takes stress safely, steel will flex but not bend under impacts, and when bending it behaves how spring steel should.
+ nut thread allows for switching of blades between trainer and sharp
+ scabbard (on mine at least) has a perfect fit and can hold the sword in place even when held upside down by the tip of the chape
+ replacement blades can also be easily bought
+ personally i LOVE the look
cons:
– small handle makes it uncomfortable when making blade contact in heavy hits for larger hands (such as mine, this is probably the largest downside for me as all the others go mostly unnoticed)
– steel is somewhat soft though this wont be a problem for light and medium cutting and contact with most practice blades
– the locket at the mouth means the blade abrades with the metal which could dull it over time if a sharp blade is used. does make a cool sound while it ruins the blade though so theres a bonus to this downside
– loosens up over time and so will need to be tightened every now and again (barely an inconvenience)
– squared edges on the practice blade require filing for safe practice and preferably a rubber blunt
– sharp blade doesnt come as sharp as it could be, adding sharpness yourself would be ideal
– others have complained about tang clicking and rapid loosening of the assembly which i didnt get on mine but its something to note as a possibility
for me i couldnt have expected any better from a £220 purchase including delivery, import tax and customs charge. if youre in a situation where you wont gain any spare money for quite some time then this is the perfect buy
Steven Wynn –
Great for practice It is very light and nimble. It’s weight and handling is very close to historically accurate. It is slightly off only because the weight changes when blunted and rounding the tip
Kelly –
My First Longsword I have to give this sword a 5 star rating as its my first long sword, and it is 1000 times better than the junk swords I have had in the past. It is very light and quick. Also, with the flexibility and bluntness of the blade, my son and I have not dismembered each other yet. So that’s a plus……
Connor –
Great sword just kinda snapped About two days upon receiving this sword the blade snapped when I did a false edge strike against my striking post and sent the tip of the sword flying… But my case is the first of which I’ve seen of this sword breaking and I believe this is due simply from a bad quench for this blade in particular and the vast majority of the swords are of good quality. Also it handles quite well.
Kyle –
My experience with this sword has been great! I used it learning full contact Fiore. Maintenance seemed about the same as the other swords being used, so I don’t think it’s as fragile as some of the others have potrayed. It’s fairly plain, but if you’re going to be using it against other swords, why bang up a more expensive sword? My HEMA class recommended this sword and I’m glad they did!