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.
Ben b. –
Good sword, but be aware that is indeed a Talwar I got a prototype version of this sword from the cold steel parking lot version, it appaers as though the only difference as that the one i have has less ornamentation, and isn’t detailed on the scabard. The sword itself is a beast, and it may be because mine is the prototype but mine seems to be longer, more that 31 inches by a little bit. Unlike other sabres, this sword does not feel light and fast, this sword makes you feel sorry for whoever is in its path. Also, the disk on the bottom does exactly what it is there for, it is very painful to break your wrist mid swing, the disk sill dig into your wrist. If you keep your wrist rigid then the sword is fine to use, but it is imperative that you follow through. The blade itself is beautiful and is very well tempered and has a wider semi shallow fuller with a great taper. It really does train you not to break your wrist, that being said, its not my favorite, but it was what i was looking for.
Elias Katsaros –
I just received this Indian Talwar , and I am really surprised with the beautiful balance, the distal taper at the blade is excellent!! The brass looks beautiful, and the blade is very sharp.
And also is very well polished !! And I don’t have any problems with the disc , it doesn’t bother my hand .
Thank you for the beautiful sword!!
Elias Katsaros
Nate S (verified owner) –
Excellent piece for an excellent price; not much more I can say about that which hasn’t been said already but I may as well confirm that, at least with the current blade (as of 2021), it’s superbly balanced and very fast.
I do have some information concerning the hilt that will hopefully be helpful to someone – I held off on buying this at first as I was afraid that “large enough to comfortably accommodate a large hand” would be more akin to “large enough to accommodate everyone who doesn’t like or understand the disc pommel,” but fortunately it means exactly what it says.
For reference, my hand is near exactly 4 inches across my palm at the knuckles and my glove size is XL (depending on the glove, sometimes I can squeeze into L in a pinch), and it fits the handle nice and tight like it’s supposed to.
If you’ve REALLY got a massive pair of meathooks you might be out of luck without some DIY (although it does have a threaded tang. . .maybe some washers between the pommel and handle would do the trick?), but I expect that at least a somewhat larger hand could still fit without issue as well – if I had to guess, your hand could be up to almost 4.5 inches across (again, at the knuckles) before it would be truly problematic, since the tightness comes mostly from the meat of my hand compressing when I’m holding it.
If your hands are smaller I can’t speak to that very well, but for what it’s worth I can offer that the handle is not so big as to be untrue to its purpose. I would go as far as to wager that even for a significantly smaller hand, the shape of the grip itself is still going to help keep it tight against the pommel.
In short – excellent sword overall, and as near as I can tell, excellent representation of a talwar.
alientude –
Quite possibly Cold Steel’s best sword, and one of the best buys in this price range, period. A beautifully realized sword with very pronounced distal taper and excellent performance. Overall just a joy to own and use.
Here’s my full video review: https://youtu.be/7Rph0mTBtZE
Sher Singh –
Carried this everyday from March 2021 to 24 as a Kirpan.
Paid 350 cad.
As a display piece it’s a 5.
What I don’t like about it as an EDC:
Sheath is nearly 500g heavier than comparable goat leather/wood pieces from Panjab.
Total weight is 1600g VS 1kg for Pulwar.
They should mention that this type of blade is a Sirohi – a cutting and not chopping Talwar.
It sucks for Jhatka the traditional Sikh method of ritual animal slaughter.
There’s not enough weight at the tip, and it’s neither curved nor heavy enough to follow through.
The handle also easily comes loose from heavy contact, and I had to loctite the nut (permatex).
The price isn’t that good since I got an Afghan Pulwar for 150 Usd including shipping from Panjab.
My beard also caught a lot in the handle when bending down to tie my boots.
I like that it easily changes direction, and can thrust. There’s less flow due to the weight and restrictive pommel.
https://www.sriasdhuj.com/products/afghani-pulwar
The little thing on the Pulwar helps flow quite a bit.
Overall, I don’t regret buying the Cold Steel Talwar.
mesantos0718 (verified owner) –
I am marrying into a Sikh family and wanted a functional and traditional talwar for the wedding ceremony. Incredibly sharp and well balanced in the hand. Absolutely stunning brass work and the scabbard is equally impressive. If you are used to traditional European style swordsmanship be careful, most Indian swords require a hammer fist technique with zero or very minimal wrist movement. Look into Nidar Singh Nihang on YouTube. He’s the last grandmaster of Shastar Vidya and has great instructional videos on wielding this sword.
NikhReddy (verified owner) –
Crossguard has some tarnished spots, blade is chipped a little, other than that it’s decent for it’s price.
Todd –
Excellent talwar! One of Cold Steel’s most nimble & balanced swords. Definitely not a “sharpened crowbar”. Rigid / not floppy blade (which I like), even with aggressive distal taper. Very high quality & good price. Not a beater sword.