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.
Bjorn –
Very good quality. The blade is well made and seems to be properly heat treated. Flexes well and holds a good edge. Comes very well polished and sharp. The hilt is tight and snug, as well as the guard. Fits into the scabbard tightly as well. Everything comes in a cool decorative box with a maintenance kit. Nothing about this sword feels or handles cheap. I’d expect a sword like this to sell for a lot more. I had the opportunity to handle some of their other products, and their quality is just as good. If I’m ever in the mood for a Japanese style sword again, I’ll be looking at swords made by this company.
Elias Katsaros (verified owner) –
I just received this beautiful Katana today, the balance in this Katana is excellent !! And everything else in this Katana , especially the quality is first class, you can not beat the price , thank you Kult of Athena.
Elias
Elias Katsaros (verified owner) –
Excellent Katana, very hard steel, beautiful patina, very good balance, very sharp, and I didn’t see any scratches , after when I did cut some thick plastic bottles. ( this is my second review , about this sword, I don’t know if they received the first one) sorry about that.
Elias
Matthew Hewett (verified owner) –
I really love this sword. To me, it seems, it’s a Chinese copy of a Japanese copy of an earlier Chinese ‘ Dao ‘ type of sword. It even handles like it, the balance is remarkable , the sword really wants to dance in your hands with fluid motion, It becomes very easy to be one with the Tao with this in your hands. The blade does blade things very well, the cutting parts cut, the stabbing bit stabs, and it’s everything I’d expect out of a T10 clay tempered sword.
My particular example came with some minor detractors, though. The blade collar has a tiny bit of play, the hilt wrapping is a teeny bit loose, and the scabbard to blade collar fit is not very snug ( i’ve since remedied that with a wooden shim, though. ) The transport box, while nice, mainly sits with the others in my closet.
Concluding this review, I’d make a proposal on how to improve this particular model: Scrap the whole idea that this is an ‘uchigatana’, and dress the sword in 9th century or so inspired ‘ Tachi ‘ or ‘ chokuto ‘ koshirae. The market for early Japanese weaponry is surprisingly slim, and I feel this blade, if dressed right, would really fit the bill.
Kip Landon (verified owner) –
Absolutely beautiful work on this blade! I am really impressed with how well crafted it is, and I really like how well balanced it seems to be.
The hilt is a slight bit more narrow than the katana I own, which is nice as allows a better one handed grip than on the katana.
The travel box is a nice addition, although I doubt that I will ever use it much.