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.
Dustin –
Dustin I’ve had this sword for about a week and am quite happy with it.
The Good:
Good quality blade with good edge geometry and no secondary bevel but only mildly sharp. Easily cut through the box it came in but not water bottles. The tip is VERY sharp. Blade is stiff enough and doesn’t hold a bend. The crossguard is tight and doesn’t rattle, but there are gaps between the guard and blade. The sword is held tightly, almost too tightly, by the scabbard. It only rattles if shaken quite hard in the direction of the flat. It will not fall out when held upside down and shaken. The fittings on the sword and scabbard are well polished. Tje sword handles well. It’s manageable with one hand and very nimble with two. I wasn’t a fan of the disc pommel at first, I just don’t find them pleasing to the eye, but after using the sword I’ve found it aids in control of the sword. It rotates through the second hand easily and helps with edge alignment during cuts.
The Bad:
Very minor wave in the ridge of the blade, only noticeable when looking down the flat from the grip. The edges are straight. Pommel is offline from the blade, only rotated by a few degrees, but again you can notice it upon close inspection when looking down the blade. The scabbard is mediocre. While the blade isn’t tight against the metal throat, the edge can scrape while drawing/storing the blade if you don’t keep it centered. Recommend removing some metal from the throat edges. The scabbard also left some glue residue on the blade. It came off easily enough, but the scabbard is still curing and smells strongly. It has disipated over time.
Overall you get what you pay for, and I have no regrets with this purchase. For around $250 shipped to my door I received a good quality blade wth basic fittings and a decent scabbard. I believe that the Hanwei tinker line is one of the best of this price range.
With a little work I’ll easily be able to get the blade scary sharp, I’m also going to try to straighten the pommel. I did not get KoA’s sharpening service.
Daniel –
Simple and well designed This is a lovely little sword, it feels like a feather and yet it has enough blade presence to be an effective cutter. My only issues are the point which is too sharp and delicate and it broke losing about a milimeter (still remains super sharp) and the leather of the grip which came off inmediately after using it but I glued it back with no problems.
On the other hand the scabbard is cheaply made and it dulls the edge rather quickly.
Caleb W. –
Exceptional for the price tag I just received my sword in the mail today and there are only two things I can ‘complain’ about on the sword itself, firstly the leather wrapping on the grip feels ever so slightly loose and the seem is starting to show more prominently. Secondly there appears to be a secondary bevel that I don’t entirely like but since it’s a thrusting sword I’d say that that is overlookable. Past those two small issues in my opion the sword is exceptional especially for the price, it cuts well enough with the factory edge and thrusts like a dream. The only thing that I truly dont like is that there are almost always three points of steel on steel contact between the edge of the blade and the scabbard when to blade is sheathed.