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.
Rick M. –
Worth every cent of Kult of Athena’s asking price!! When Cold Steel announced the introduction of this sword, the asking price from Cold Steel was (still is) about $730 plus shipping. I knew that Cold Steel always listed a much higher MSRP than the sword would actually sell for through retailers, so I waited…
Now that they are available for a much more reasonable price through KoA, I can recommend this sword as being a good sword for a good price. It’s actually quite a well made sword, with excellent fit and finish that handles better than most other swords available in the $400 price range. This is a solid longsword with good dynamics and superior handling characteristics. The 2.75″ balance point makes this sword feel much lighter than it’s 3.35 pound weight.
Although the sword is well worth the price offered by Kult of Athena, it’s not without it’s drawbacks. First, I think the sword was built with too much emphasis on looks at the expense of function. I really can’t see any reason for the dramatic up-turn/down-turn guard. Because I sometimes fence left handed, I discovered that when using a left hand grip, with the side-ring out as it is meant to be, the down-turned guard digs into the left wrist which limits mobility and also hurts like hell.
The side-ring also seems like an afterthought and is a bit flimsy.
The scabbard is a real treat at this price point. Instead of a bulky, poorly fitting ugly scabbard, this comes with a very nice, well fitting scabbard that includes suspension straps. Too bad they don’t offer a matching sword belt as an option.
cold Steel advertises this as a “high end” European Longsword. In fact though it’s just a good mid range sword, and at the sub $400 price point available here, it’s a very good deal!