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.
Mr. S. –
Meliador Longsword – Stage Combat Version – MSW161 This sword was purchased a few months ago and I waited to write a review until I had a better feeling for the blunt. Shipping and handling was reasonable and the sword arrived well packaged and ready to use.
I study HEMA Italian and English long sword with some German and this is my first steel blunt. After doing considerable research I found that the steel certificates for Wufland swords most closely matches that used by Albion. I can say that I am happy to see that my research paid off, I have found this sword to be able to take a hit without significant chipping or galling on the blade and a hand file quickly restores the blade. The blade is a bit “bendy” compared to other swords and this means that you cannot be sloppy on your strikes. The pommel is well fitted and the sword is a heavy sword (what you want for a trainer) with a good balance that makes it easy to use in a fight.
I wouldn’t classify this blunt as a “pretty” blade but it is functional, made well, and has worked well for me. I would classify this blunt as a tool and one that will work well in HEMA style fighting. I do wish the sword had the sword makers mark (I also purchased the sister to this blunt) and it is a fine bastard sword.
I gave this blunt a 4 rating on stars because it lacked the sword makers mark and the tip was a bit too sharp for my likes. After a little work with a hand file I rounded the tip off to avoid any unnecessary injuries.
For the price this is a great entry level blunt and a diamond in the rough.
vandeg –
Meliador Purchased this sword as my first practice sword for HEMA, I’ve used it plenty of times and have bought and used numerous other swords. Service from order to receiving was great, no issues with it upon receiving it.
For the money this is a functional sword in light sparring, haven’t used it in heavy sparring. The pros are that you have a functional sword for HEMA practice, the price is low, and it’s very durable. I’ve loaned it out to several people so that our whole class could use steels and don’t have to worry about it as the blunted edge doesn’t deform like some early Hanwei have. As for the cons for this sword, it could use a couple more inches on the handle, it weighs quite a bit more than other similar sized swords but it does hold up in sparring, the blade isn’t as stiff as one would like, especially in hard binds, and the pommel and cross guard are massive.
A few minor points, the leather around the grip will eventually come apart slightly, although after 6+ months it still hasn’t come to the point of re-pasting it back on. Minor rust will occur on the cross guard and pommel if it isn’t oiled after use, probably low carbon steel as the cross guard seems to deform more than the blade. Mine did come with a makers mark located on the blade near the cross guard. The tip on mine needed to be filed down a bit as there wasn’t necessarily an edge but it wasn’t uniformly round.
Overall I’d recommend it if a person wanted to buy their first sword and couldn’t afford anything better or for that matter it’s a stop gap until other better swords become available. I’m happy with it and still use it on occasion, there are definitely better swords out there but this one could shed some weight, if someone knew what they were doing, they could grind down the pommel and cross guard.