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.
Dalton –
Cold steel man at arms hand and a half This sword makes a unique showpiece, but is rather atrocious for practice. The sword’s hilt was rendered unusable after a single cutting session, consisting of three soda bottles, which the sword struggled to cut through.
Christos Milonas –
chrmil Beautiful design. Well balanced. Sharp – not really but not worse than other swords on the market.
Dissapointed to notice that the end cap wiggles. Tried to tighten the screw holding the end cap but did not help. Then I tried to unscrew the end cap only to notice porly fitted small pieces of wood mixed with some sort of metal welding/glue thus making it impossible to fix the wiggling. Also the end screw holding the end cap looks weak. I would not use this sword with repeated force and not around people. I own many Cold Teel items, that is knifes, and this swords quality does not compare to their other products. Says manufactured in India and mayby they lack quality control there but still the construction looks weak/cheap. Will it be able to cut plastic bottles? Yes. Would it hold up for a real sword fight? Most certanly not!
Ry (verified owner) –
For the price and what I use it for, I’d say this sword garners a solid 4 out of 5.
The grip and pommel are comfortable in my hand while swinging the sword, my only gripe about it being that the pommel has a tendency to loosen during extending chopping sessions. After getting through the first 3ish pumpkins, the sword noticeably rattled and I had to retighten the pommel. Since then, only every other chopping session but for the most part, not a big issue as long as you can tighten the pommel with a flathead screwdriver. The more often I use the sword, the less often I have to tighten the pommel so maybe it’s just a timing thing. Not the end of the world but something to consider.
The hilt has some visible epoxy to seat it to the blade tight which doesn’t bother me but I know it would others. It doesn’t stick out of the hilt but it is visible when looking down on it. Otherwise comfortable hilt that isn’t intrusive and gets the job done. Mine came with rust near one edge but KOA customer service was great and was able to give me a partial refund for what would be a “blemished” item. Not much else to be said about it.
I personally like the way the finish looks on the blade, even more so seeing it wear off after cutting stuff up, giving it a roughed up look. Functionality-wise, the blade holds up surprisingly well. I knew it was going to be a sharp piece of metal after putting a new edge on it but it holds the edge pretty darn well. I’ve had this sword for a little under two months, and after putting a new edge on it the week I got it, I haven’t had to sharpen it since and it cuts like a dream. Being 1055 steel I was a little concerned that it wouldn’t hold up for very long but so far I’m a happy camper.
The scabbard that comes with the sword is basic but looks and feels nice. At first it held onto the sword REALLY hard making it difficult to remove but over time and use it’s loosened up. Biggest gripe is likely the metal casing that touches the hilt when its sheathed because the lip around the blade has a tendency to scrape the side of the sword, and with the black finish can leave some unpleasant scrapes. Otherwise does the job fine and comfortably seats the sword.
Last thing, the POB on the website is almost exact. Being a relatively large sword with a POB 4ish inches from the hilt, this sword is difficult to use with one hand. With 2 it’s great but with one hand, it’s a bit on the heavy side to cut accurately. Maybe I’m just not strong enough to do so but swinging swords around is only a hobby of mine so maybe that’s it.
Overall, a great sword especially for the price. With the biggest concerns being the nut pommel loosening and the scabbard issue, I personally love this sword. This is a great sword for anyone who’s not picky and just wants a fun badass looking sharp thing to cut stuff up with.
Donovan Quesenberry (verified owner) –
Just purchased it this Dec 2023. My first “real” sword, and for the price, a good deal. Comes sharp, handles well, balance feels good. This Cold Steel Hand & A Half (on Kult of Athena) is less priced by a few dollars than what is on Amazon, which I thought is interesting. The Amazon specs are vague (irritating), and that sword is the 9 & 7/16 handle version, I think. There are over 250 Amazon reviews at 4.5 out of 5. And while this specific sword is not on Amazon, the two are very close. That saying most buyers love this sword overall. I intend to purchase several swords for my collection and I would buy this one again. Very happy with it. Also, I intend to come back to Kult of Athena for future buys. I am impressed with the company. Their web site is good, though the search is a little slow. 😊
josephjakubczyk (verified owner) –
I’ve had this sword for awhile before I wrote this review, wanted to use it some before I judged it.
First off, the sword looks really nice as a showpiece. Came sharp but not shaving sharp. The grip is comfortable to hold. Seems pretty well balanced.
At first it was fine cutting through pool noodles and water bottles. The problem started when I tried to cut anything tougher. Struggled to cut through bamboo which caused me to realize that this sword gets dull really easily. I sharpened it, but it still gets dull way easier than any other sword I own. The other problem is that the hilt started to rattle after I cut bamboo with it. End cap wiggles and I dunno how to fix it.
All in all, I would give it 5 stars if I was just hanging this on my wall but I cant get past the problems with actually using it.