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.
Mike –
Nice Project Axe Assembly is pretty straightforward and the metal and wood are free of any major defects. I swore off Cold Steel swords after a bad experience but have never had issues with their axes.
Cold Steel axes come pretty generic from the factory and that is why I like them. You can pretty much create whatever finishes or look you wish. Like all Cold Steel axes I have purchased, this one comes from the factory with some kind of thin polymer clear-coat finish. This is great for rust prevention but kind of kills the rugged authentic look of a Viking/Dane axe(don’t think they had spray cans of rustoleum back then) First thing I did was sand all that off and apply an antique finish. I put a few coats of dark stain on the wood and some passes with steel wool in between coats gave it a nice aged appearance with some character. It looks just as great on the wall next to a shield as it does outdoors. My factory edge came somewhat sharp but I did a little sharpening of my own to make it a bit more aggressive. Handling is what you would expect when you put a ~4 lb chunk of steel on the end of a 37 inch shaft. It’s going to be a bit unwieldy and you need to choke up a lot to use the axe for anything but single blows. Lighter Dane axes are more user friendly but you are going to pay a pretty penny for this maneuverability. So,price-wise, it’s not a bad deal. Your’e getting something authentic looking and solid that can be used for cutting. No complaints, really.
Corey C. –
And My AXE This is a very nice dane axe for the money. Arrived pretty sharp. Assembly instructions were clear and easy to follow. The only tools you’ll need are a rubber mallet, a power drill with 1/4″ and 1/8 inch drill bits, and a flat head screwdriver.
The thickness of the eye walls are different on each side. It’s nothing major, just something to be aware of if you have OCD like me. :)
This is my first order from Kult of Athena after months of window shopping, and the experience was very positive. I will definitely be doing more business with them. Shipping speed and packaging quality were both top notch.
Anthony David –
The Axe you’ve been looking for… I was looking for a larger axe and after going through the Hanwei Danish Axe and then the Broad Axe, I found myself still thinking that it wasn’t quite right. So, I gave this Cold Steel Viking Axe a whirl. Right out of the box I could tell that this was going to be good. The haft was hickory and beautifully stained, though they definitely went a little heavy on the varnish. I’m assuming it was because when you put the head on it scratches it up pretty good. I’ll likely sand it down a little and put a lighter coat on. That being said, the axe securely attaches to the haft and hardware is included. Once it’s put together, an easy task, you pick it up and it feels soooo right. The axe head is pretty large so you’re expecting it to be heavy, but with the incredible leverage on the haft, it really is very manageable. The power you could get from a full two handed swing would be pretty terrifying. As the other reviews have pointed out, this axe is a DIY customization dream come true. Add some leather here, some fur there, whatever. The axe head is not as robust as some of the Hanwei large axe designs. I don’t think I’d try and cut down trees with it. But that’s the trade off for a poleaxe that doesn’t weigh north of 5lbs.
In conclusion, this is probably the best large axe you can get without being TOO large. Very maneuverable and the large haft makes it handle a bit more like a polearm. Thanks, KoA!
McM –
This axe ROCKS! I didn’t buy this here, but I do own one. If you have even one drop of Norse blood in you, you owe it to yourself to get one of these monsters. The blade comes beautifully polished to a soft, satin sheen. The handle comes VERY heavily coated in clear varnish, so some sanding/filing will be required to EVER get the head on. The hardware for attaching the head is virtually useless. Toss it and use a steel pin all the way through, or use short nails on both sides. BUT…once it comes together…you will have an axe that would take down Ogre, Orc, and Goblin with ease. The only reason I docked one star is the crappy hardware and the globbed-on clear coat. When the axe is assembled, it’s a 6-star!
Jarl Cal –
I like it after I managed to get it hung So I love it. It’s a good size, sharp as hell (It needs a cover and ASAP). The eye is SUPER thick. I guess most of the weight is focused there but it seems unecessary. Everything seemed even and all that. Except for the haft.
I spent 4 hours trying to fit the axe to the haft. It comes WAY too thick. I banged it some and then towards the end it would not go close to the end. It sat about 8 inches or so from the edge, similar to the KoA picture here. Cold Steel has it right to the end. I ended up taking my hand belt sander and vicing it to my workbench and sanding the crap out of the haft. I would not be exaggerating if I said I took more than an inch off. I ended up getting it to within 3″ before giving up.
I feel like a champ with this thing though and I hope that we get attacked some day by North Korea or something with a land force so I can use it on soft targets. Until then It will work nicely on stuff in the yard.
Louis Levesque –
Could Be Great I have had one of these for about six years, and it’s a powerful chopper purpose built for felling two legged “trees”. The edge can be really honed fine. This is NOT a wood axe. The drawbacks: the handle is nearly round, with a very slick, hard coat, making good edge alignment very difficult. It wants to rotate in your hands on impact. Installation of the head was very difficult, and when I installed it, I foolishly used a hardened tool steel hammer instead of a softer mallet, so I left hammer marks on the bottom of the head – my fault there. This axe would be oustanding if only the handle wasn’t so rounded! With good edge alignment though, this a e will pass through nearly anything with little to no resistance, and it can be used effectively for hooking, and can deliver a nasty thrust.
Minsu G. –
Better than i tought – The haft needs some work for fit the head (it’s very thick, sanding a bit will enough i think)
– The head is bigger than i thought and its sharp. Not sharp as razor but sharp as average kitchen knife
and most importantly. It delivered very well
*Haft
Collin –
Great axe (No pun intended) I didn’t buy my cold steel axe from this specific site but I have one nonetheless.
You can find this axe at a pretty good price on most stores and it’s a pretty well made axe. Head comes sharp out of the box and it’s sturdy. My only critiques are ones that are either nit picky or easy to overcome and I’m more listing them to give others some ideas rather than complain.
1. It does come with a varnish but this is easily sanded off and is pretty normal on axe handles to prevent warping and damage when shipping.
2. The haft does come a little thick but since you’re probably going to sand it anyway that’s not a big deal.
3. I wish it came wedged on instead of a tomahawk style fixture but the great thing about these axes is that they’re perfect for modifying however you want.
When I bought the hand-axe Cold Steel sells I replaced it’s haft with an ash wood one I carved myself and it’s worked well and some people have done the same with this specific axe.
4. This is just me being nit picky but I do wish they shortened the distance between the eye and the blade edge to make it stouter, that probably could’ve cut down on weight and cost.
Overall I’m happy with this axe. It’s a good price for a usable axe that I can mod.
ringo –
It’s a pound too heavy to be perfectly accurate, but a very nice piece of steel for the price- the better Dane axes are three times as expensive. Edge produces a different tone than closer to the haft, which makes me think it’s differentially hardened. Very good. If you intend to use this at all, do not for god’s sake use the screws but get some wedges and a mallet and haft it the old-fashioned way. I sanded the varnish off both the haft (it mustve been 1/8 inch thick) and the steel, stained the wood (hickory does not take a stain very well and this is a hard piece of hickory, needs multiple coats) and sawed off a bit of extra wood at the top, as the head does not go far enough up the haft. If you have a grinder, you could take a little of the extra steel off and get the axe closer to a historical weight. Only problem that can’t be fixed is that the empty holes are an eyesore, even if you put some hobnails or wooden pegs into them. It came as sharp as necessary and delivers some monstrous cuts. If you’re willing to get into a bit of a DIY project, you get a very good axe head and a very nice haft for not very much money. If you’re on the stronger side, the extra weight won’t mean too much for usability, though more historically accurate weapons do feel more responsive.