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.
Grif (verified owner) –
Overall I’m pleased with the sword. The blade is what I wanted in feel and look. It came very sharp. Tsuka feels good to my hand. Wrap is fair. Rayskin looks fair. I only have 2 complaints. Not a fan of the paint finish on tsuba fuchi kashira. The tsuba wasn’t cleaned properly before so some paint Is coming off. Cheapens the look of sword. I’ll be replacing furniture so not a big problem for me. My biggest problem is the serial number on hibaki. Whatever law made that a thing is stupid. I live in US and haven’t heard bout that. Been a while since I bought a sword though.
A –
Only Minuses:
– Slightly frayed ito silk in one spot, the ito that comes through kashira and the knot could have been done straighter.
– Mekugi are slightly rounded but holes could have been done neater. Don’t appear to be traditionally smoked (as they are light in color).
– Transitions on tsuka could have been done a bit smoother. But really not too bad, nitpicking. Thankfully kashira seems to be on well, and the ito is tight, as expected for this price.
Pluses:
– Pretty much everything else, such as the blade with its frosty hamon and hada — it consists of interesting patterns that stand out in the right light well, manufacturer didn’t use any acid wash.
Nice kisski, bo-hi well done. Good balance. Good saya lock. Decent polish. I like non-glossy texture of the saya, and the opening looks good. Habaki is well aligned on each side. Emperor’s Nodes on one side of the tsuka, very nice ones. Tsuba looks sharp for a casted piece, no muddiness. The rest of the fittings are acceptable. They are well fitted to the tsuka/sword. The handle appears on the pics a bit axe-like, but it’s more oval in shape and feels ergonomic. Only sides look tall but the thickness of the tsuka is not very significant. Pic when the sword sits on the side — you can see it there to some extent.
– Minor Pluses: good packaging with a sturdy and thick sword bag, maintenance accessories are not bad. Habaki has horizontal lines’ patterns, but it’s not from the same stock as what you can find on most budget LongQuan swords, the design is similar, but the habaki is not from the the same cast (sorry, forgot the Japanese term for this specific design). The same applies to the rest of the fittings. This degree of uniqueness is appreciated. Acceptable sageo.
Overall impressions: it is a beautiful and harmonious sword, and since none of the issues mentioned are in particular severe, or impede this shinken from its ability to cut, or be used for training Iaido, and other Japanese martial arts, I am not taking the star off. For the price I would like some more attention to details, but can’t help but enjoy the overall package.
I might, in time, work with CottonTails Customs on more premium tsukamaki, especially if silk starts fraying further. But at this time the sword is good as is. A bit pricey. Not sure if it’s truly worth the asking price, hope the steel and the blade, including folding, were done with outmost care, and the differential hardening was very precise. That would make it worth it by all accounts, except I don’t have the means to test these aspects, I just hope that they are true. This is not the sword I am planning to put through heavy cutting, it’s a rather special one, considering my limited budget.
Thank you, Kult of Athena for your customer service! Special thanks to Nikkie.