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.
Shirwyn Dalgliesh –
I purchased a Factory Second of this blade for roughly $25.00 and at that price point it was an excellent deal.
Pluses: The blade seems to be decent quality steel and the weight to length ratio would make it a good choice for work cutting saplings and light undergrowth if you sharpen it (see cons below). For any English think of it as being a fascine knife like a billhook. The hilt is solid and the wood work has an interesting spiral on it that I wouldn’t expect from a knife at this price. I haven’t taken it apart but it seems to have been peened or very solidly glued (in fairness I haven’t done any chopping with it yet). The hilt is long for a one handed knife and has an unusually thick diameter which could make it an issue for people with smaller hands but it narrows down close to the cross guard so you can get a good grip at this point.
Cons: The blade came unsharpened (it’s “sharp edge” is literally at right angles for about an eighth of an inch along it’s length) and the way it is currently ground it will take a lot of work to get a decent edge. While the hilt is solid, the cast brass cross guard is loose and doesn’t line up correctly with the blade (I did buy a second so this might be the fault). The sheath is good enough to provide a cover for storage or transportation but wouldn’t be much use for carry.
Overall: If you are a Civil War re-enactor and have the experience to properly sharpen it and make a sheath this would be make for an interesting project item. If you interested in it for modern practical use you might be better served with kukri or machete. For it’s price it seems a very good deal so I am giving it a 4 star. If the price was set at the current (2021) suggested retail that would probably drop down to a 3 star.
Ian Hall –
I bought on sale and might be worth for the price point, nice for re-enactors and the handle feels weighty and nice. Could definitely use as a shovel in a pinch. Could not use as a dagger in a pinch, intentionally dulled blade. With a decent belt sand setup you could get it deadly. The spine of the blade seemed slightly off parallel. 3/5.