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.
Harrison T. –
It does the job but it’s a poor quality. I realize this is a Hanwei issue and not a Kult of Athena issue, but the problem should be voiced: the metal that this retention nut is made from is a poor quality and strips fairly easily. The one that came with the my Tinker Longsword (not bought through KoA) was completely stripped on arrival and I bought another retention nut from KoA, but I don’t know how it’s going to hold up because they become loose after awhile and need to be continually tighten. I have a feeling this one is going to strip too! That’s my two cents!
Rch. –
Tip for tinker sword The Tinker sword is very handy because you can carefully change the blades due to threaded tangs, you have to be careful not to damage the long tang nut through cross threading.
I recommend using an anaerobic adhesive to ensure the nut doesn’t work lose. An anaerobic glue gives security but allows you to unscrew due to having a lateral breaking plane.
Its very handy for any screw that can work itself lose. E g spectacle screws etc.
I use it on my tinker longsword and it works a treat.
Nut p. –
Wears out quickly I bought hanwei tinker longsword from a retailer some times ago (not KoA). The nut came loose after two days. But I found a cheap solution for that. Wrap some strong and high-quality toilet paper around your tang’s threaded end, put the pommel on and screw the nut. Yes, you read right, toilet paper. You would be amazed that how well it helps. But you must roll the paper tightly before screwing the nut.
Kasey –
My solution to the problem of this nut’s poor quality issue:
There are major steel working firms in my local area, and I can easily take this nut to them as a sample. When I do, it is a simple matter to ask them “How much would you charge me to exactly duplicate this nut in all its dimensions and its internal thread type, but in the most hardcore indestructible grade of fully hardened stainless steel you have the ability to fabricate from here in this very shop?
So, yes buy any one of the Hanwei Tinker medieval swords, and then buy this spare nut, and have a steel production company replicate it in an ultra hardcore stainless steel for you to swap out the sword’s original pommel nut with forever.
IN MY OPINION:
Having such an awesome sword and then having that one little Achilles-heel of an issue solidly resolved, is by far worth the expense (which for such a small part may not even be all that much anyway, unless you’re like me in the way that I like to have a large stockpile of spares made, even though they will be made of such a superior steel to begin with). But I would still spend the money for that.
Problem solved.