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.
Darakez –
Great Accurately Weighted Sparring Sword for the Price. Having used this for several months mostly against other rapiers and side swords, here are my conclusions:
POSITIVES:
1.Looks great! Very lovely guard.
2. Weighs as much as a rapier should. It’s not too light or too heavy compared to historical rapiers.
3. It’s length and guard offer great protection against cuts.
4. The tip is perfectly safe and not floppy at all, and it’s easy to pound a rubber safety tip on to it for additional protection.
5. The guard not only looks good, it’s solid and very protective against cuts! it’s taken heavy hits without a scratch. It’s size also fits a lot of hands and covers a lot of my silhouette when assuming a guard.
6. Replacement blades for sale. This is great, as rapiers can get beat up a lot with HEMA sparring, especially against mixed weapons (see negatives section for more)
NEGATIVES:
1. A rolled tip would be much better than the capped tip it has as it would be far less likely to snap.
2. It doesn’t come in a left handed version. A more symmetrical guard would solve that.
3. Alas, like MOST rapier simulators I’ve held tt has relatively soft steel in the blade and is very flexible throughout. This means that most existing training longswords, messers, and side swords would beat it up very handily as they are built more like steel bars and are much more rigid.
4. The blade’s flexibility combined with its length makes very unresponsive when cutting.
SUMMARY,
This has been a great first rapier to own. I’ve fenced with several before this but I love this one. If the manufacturer makes a future model, I’d recommend a left handed or symmetrical version of the guard. Lastly, a more solid blade construction on training rapiers in general is needed for people to be able to practice effectively against harder or stiffer blades found in choppier sword simulators. I’d recommend this one for anyone looking for a budget priced rapier as it performs just as well as some of the more expensive swords I’ve held.
Adrian –
Good for Stage I’ve used these for a number of Staged/Theatrical Combat Workshops. They hold up well and are comfortable to use. Little on the heavy side, especially for new people who have never held a sword before. Also the blades are replaceable, so any failures of the blade can be easily and quickly replaced.
I will say that the one major letdown I have with these is actually the button tip. I’ve heard it’s not great for HEMA and most would prefer a spatulated tip that a rubber blunt can be put on easily. I know from experience while tinkering with my blade on my workbench the blade fell off the bench and smacked me above the nose. The button tip cut pretty deeply into it my face. As a safety concern for stage all of these have been removed. I’d advise anyone who buys this to do the same, even for HEMA, as it would allow you to add a rubber blunt fairly easily if the unsafe button tip is removed.
Overall a nice product, especially for the price.
Rodrigo Masó Yi-Con –
I just got one as my first rapier and so far, I am very happy with it. It went against a longsword and another rapier, with good results.
So far, this are my observations:
Good flexible blade, not to wobble to be annoying but enough to not hurt anyone. In cutting I have no trouble at all although I try to avoid them in order not to abuse of the sword. It’s weight is enough to be physically demanding but not enough to hurt.
Of course, one must take care of the sword and not put it into excessive stress, for no sword is indestructible. For the rest, fully recommended, specially as a first rapier.