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.
RJR –
surprisingly good Good value is an understatement. This sword handles marvelously well (especially for a cutlass), and cuts readily and easily. It does not receive 5 stars because of the guard being less than excellent protection in size and thickness and because the blade has a slight lateral movement that I personally prefer to do without. However, that flex comes from being a light, nimble and lightening fast blade. That blade does not reduce cutting ability when proper technique is used, nor does it affect parries when does properly. The clip point is not optimized for thrusting (having a front cutting surface rather then much of a penetrating point), but works well if the angles are proper (i.s. not just straight), as in a rising boar’s tooth or a descending thrust from the hanging guard. The sword weighs 1.5 pounds, the scabbard another half so the covered sword is useful for solo exercise. The grip is large enough for my hands , but perhaps a but thick for smaller people (I am 6’+ and 215lbs). As a matter of taste I would haver preferred bright steel, but the black is well presented. This sword is much in the historical spirit of cutlasses – cheap and effective.
TLB, F. –
Outstanding Bought it to hack my way thru’ gorse and other spiny stuff at work. Worth every penny as a working tool: easy enough to carry, does not lose it’s sharpness and surprisingly efficient once you got used to it. Handle may be a little bit too thick for smallish hands (women co-workers who tried it told me so) but it can be thinned quite easily – or so I think.
Final price with shipping and french customs: 120€ more or less.
Shane G. –
Excellent for your money This cutlass is perfect for someone who wants a good sword for comparatively little money. The materials are good and it feels sturdy. The edge was, out of the box, close to Buck-knife sharpness. This weighs a little more than a machete, but that weight is distributed over two feet, allowing for agile movement and fast back-and-forth horizontal slashes. The blade is not overly flexible, and doesn’t wobble during swinging, nor when I wiggle it side-to-side. I’m a small guy (for you) with baby hands, but I can handle this easily and without too much exertion. The handle is 3 cm wide (between the two sides of the brass rivets) and 3.2 cm thick, and I can grip it with one hand comfortably. This sword is of amazing quality for the price. I’ve been wanting to own a sword for years, but I didn’t want to pay $300 and way beyond for a good one, nor pay $50 for a sharpened piece of Chinanium at a flee market. I’m glad I bought this.
Also, the scabbard is good.
Connor c (verified owner) –
I’ve had 2 of these now the first one I got was from amazon and broke the moment I hit something with it (must have been a bad one offloaded on a shifty seller or something), but I liked how it handled so much that I decided to get a new one from KOA. The one I got here seems to be tough and after some sharpening cuts amazingly well. handles very well for a machete very predictable and the weight seems just about right. not so good in the thrust due to the broad tip and the flex in the blade. my main complaint is that the grip is almost square in cross-section so its a bit awkward out of the box