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.
Matthew C. –
Cold Steel Colichmarde Small Sword Got the sword a few weeks ago, maybe close to a month. Has an incredibly acute and strong point, making it very easy to pierce through tough materials. Have not tested against weak metal yet. The balance is right in front of the guard, giving you great point control. Also, if you use the finger rings you can control it even more. Has a decent edge, making it capable of making small slashes, but it clearly does not have enough mass to be a cutting sword. If you are someone who has no idea about what they’re looking at in a sword, do NOT get this if you want a cutting sword. This is purely for thrusting.
All in all, while Cold Steel’s offerings are sometimes sub par, this sword is absolutely fantastic.
Robert1234 –
Excellent Smallsword and it is sharp. Sharper than the Cold Steel Cavalier rapier. Definitely sharp enough to avoid others grabbing the blade. I would imagine that superficial cuts would do well.
I do wish Cold Steel offered a leather frog as an extra. So you could wear it.
The grip is ok. Cold steel should have used a tight wire wrap. The grip sort of feels like a slinky.
The guard is ok. Not bad. I do wish it was a full shell guard. The Cavalier rapier is an example of an excellent guard. Cold Steel could have made the guard a bit wider and more rounder.
Other than that’s it’s pretty good.