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.
no96 (verified owner) –
First off, much better than I’d typically expect from Deepeeka. I’ve got a couple other Deepeeka blades, and this one is more on par with many I own for twice the price. There aren’t any major warps or wiggles to the blade, there isn’t any significant gapping anywhere on the blade’s construction or the scabbard, and nothing rattles. That being said, I do have a few qualms with it.
First off, the photos of it all show a small piece of metal at the top of the guard, as is (somewhat) the case in historical examples. The one I received, however, doesn’t have the metal cap, but instead a piece of felt. That’s rather disappointing, especially because I lack the means to make something fit onto the top of the guard properly.
Second, the grip is a bit too long. The hand is just supposed to fit in there, and there’s plenty of excess room- and I’m someone with rather large hands.
Third, which may actually be a plus for some, is that it came very sharp. I didn’t order the sharpening service, and didn’t expect something from Deepeeka to come sharp at all, let alone as sharp as it was.
Things that are neither pros nor cons: it’s a very front-heavy blade, due to the grip, pommel, and guard being almost entirely wood. That’s to be expected from a blade like this, though. It’s not unwieldy, but it’s not something that’s going to be a weapon of finesse. It’s longer than many would expect from a gladius, but it seems to be modeled after the older Hispaniensis type, which WAS longer than the more famous Maintz and Pompeii-type gladii. It’s not a PERFECT recplica of a Hispaniensis, but it’s not too bad.
Overall, I’m happy with my buy.