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.
thediscarded87 (verified owner) –
Simple look,
Straight lines,
Sharp edge.
Exactly as advertised.
Recommended.
TommyBoy (verified owner) –
Very nice sword in the APOC line (I have 4 now). It is hefty, but very well balanced – providing the dexterity for a quick recovery while still having the weight to do significant damage. Balance is about 3 inches forward of the hilt. Steel is well tempered and sharpens well. Insider trick – the Rada sharpeners work very well with this steel, and a quick stropping on leather makes the edge scary sharp.
Craig Harms (verified owner) –
I have bought 2 of these. 1 for my friend and one for myself. I am a huge fan. I did a write up on FB (search apoc survival tools armory club) for how to add some hardware on the pommel thru the 3/8″ hole that adds some nice balance making it feel significantly less chunky. By my estimate it holds up wonderfully when compared to my Hanwei Tinker Longsword.
Big recommend.
joshualaw801 (verified owner) –
Good sword, but the cap at the end of the sheath wasn’t glued properly, and keeps coming off when you put the sword back in the sheath. So good sword and an ok sheath
Jack (verified owner) –
This is a fantastic sword, the only issue possible is the cap of the scabbard, but if you don’t slam the sword in it’s fine. Might put two reviews to balance out the actual libel coming Herb, the “expert”
Jack (verified owner) –
Hey if Herb gets to put 2 1-star reviews to complain, I get to put 2 5-stars, right?
Satisfacto Customero –
I have not received this product yet, because this review only exists to say that Herb sucks
Justin Fisher –
Just ordered mine on 10/25. Will post after unboxing and some rolled up carpet slashing. Gonna start with 5 stars
Justin Fisher (verified owner) –
Received in good condition on the first of November.
Edge is sharp if not a bit rough.
Will stone it and commence with test cutting
Jason Holland (verified owner) –
Listen, if you want perfection, drop $1200 and buy a show piece. If you want something that your children’s children will be able to beat the crap out of while still being reliable, buy this. It’s worth more than I payed for it and it exceeded my expectations.
Lester (verified owner) –
Well tempered and I am pleased with the flex test I put this blade through but do go for KoA’s sharpening service as this edge was barely defined from the factory. Lots of features beg for modification or ergonomic improvement. It’s a hardy piece of steel with a scabbard for less than $200. Good luck finding all of this under the same price line with other makers. I will say my only complaint is with the scabbard as the blade seem slightly too long and has pushed the end cap and rubber buffer out of the end. Nothing a little glue can’t fix. 4.7
Matthew Kruge (verified owner) –
Been very excited since ordering this sword, originally was going to buy the guardian, but after seeing this blade knew it’d suit me better. looks gokd and swings well, handle length requires wider grip spacing for some joined swings, or good foot work, handle could use better texture as it’s smooth ish. oiled well and came sharp enough to use but not razor honed sharp.
I made a 550cord belt for the scabbard as one is not offered with it.
scabbard fitment is good to decent, no big complaints really. the end cap issue has been solved.
only real gripe, maybe, would be a wider cross guard or more parallel to stop hand sliding forward in serious thrusts.
overall, for the price, yes I’d buy another one.
Guns run out of ammo, but almost any rock can sharpen metal.
Herbsucks –
Herb is just awful
Slonjo (verified owner) –
Love it! I am really digging Angus Trim’s APOC line. Got several of them now. I’m more into modern usage and utility than historical collecting. This can be wielded one hand or two. It has great balance, a nice utilitarian grip and is good for cutting and thrusting. I re-profiled the edge to remove most of the secondary bevel and this thing is a great cutter. I’ve abused it a bit, cutting weeds and trimming branches and it still slices right through water bottles. Really love these swords. I don’t think you can beat them for the price if modern, practical usage is what you’re going for. Needless to say, I think at this point this is my go-to sword for SHTF situations. Either this or one of the other APOC swords like the Tactical Wasteland Gladis or the Broadsword. Situation dependent. Add to the list his Jian, which I just also ordered. Love these!
DeusProcyon (verified owner) –
The sword itself is fantastic and handles really nicely, the spring tempering seems to be good. Now for the problems: The sword came with some rusting on the handle and towards the end of the tang which can be resolved easily but it’s not something that should happen for a product that’s being sold as new, and also the scabbard itself is straight up bad for the sword, just drawing the sword out makes the scabbard scratch the blade which scrapes off the black coating…