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.
Dylan –
I love it I got one from another site and its a fine training sword can take hits like a champ, its a good price for what you get !
Damir –
Fantastic product! If you are getting into Iaido, or picking it back up, this iaito is the perfect starter for your new martial pursuit. It is balanced, has the right amount of weight, and is built like a tank. For the price, you will not settle for anything with this one–you are getting a lot of sword for your money. Prompt service and delivery by the fine folks at KoA round up this deal in the exceptional category. Bravo!
Levig808 –
Nice sword Got this sword for my 7 year old. He loves it. For the price it’s a very nice sword.
hellbuck (verified owner) –
Heavy, well built, and simply beautiful all around. Obviously this isn’t made to cut anything, but for what it is, $70 is a steal. Magnificent piece!
Grahame Beresford (verified owner) –
I bought a munitions-grade Miyamoto Musashi iaito to practice iaido, so I knew that it was going to be imperfect. It arrived today (after about a week), and tried it out. Overall, I’m very happy with it.
The Bad (keeping in mind that it’s munitions-grade):
The kashira (pommel cap) came loose after a few minutes, and it looks like the ito (wrap) at that end of the tsuka (hilt) wasn’t connected or tied properly. I took a few minutes and figured out how to tuck it under the wrap for now, and this weekend I may glue it down. Speaking of the ito, it was not tied very tightly. I mean, it wasn’t horrible, and is definitely usable as-is, but it could and should be tighter (although if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to tuck in the loose end that keeps the kashira in place). In some areas I could see the edges of the rayskin panels showing in the corners of the diamonds. The saya is coated in a matte black paint, and it looks nice, but it does scratch easily. The Musashi-style tsuba look like it was painted black originally, but at some point got dinged up and someone covered the dings or paint chips with black permanent marker. Again, definitely not a dealbreaker, because I wasn’t expecting a museum piece. This is meant to be a functional tool for me to practice swordsmanship at home.
The Good:
It’s a steel sword, and it’s very affordable. The weight feels a lot more evenly distributed than my bokuto (which I’ve been practicing with up until this point), and the point of balance is about 5″ in front of the tsuba. The geometry is very nice, and the blade finish feels really smooth. Since it’s an iaito, there’s no edge on the blade, but you can tell that it’ll take one pretty easily. I mentioned the tsukaito was not very tight, and that’s actually a good thing. I’ve been wanting to learn how to do tsukamaki (the art of wrapping the sword hilt) on my own, but I didn’t want to take the ito off of my shinken to do it. This is a perfect alternative. Not only will I be able to add all of the fittings (tsuba, menuki, fusha, and kashira) that I want for a customized sword, I can also wrap it in the colour of my choosing. That said, the black cotton ito that comes with the sword is soft and very comfortable.
If you decide to get this iaito in this condition, just know what you’re going to get. If you’re looking for a project piece to learn how to refit a katana or learn tsukamaki like me, or if you’re just looking for a beater, this is a great option. If it turns out to be more of a hassle than its worth, I’m only out $55.
jnmvoss (verified owner) –
You get what you pay for.
Picked this up because I needed an Iaito quick to start classes… And Tozando takes 6-8 weeks.
The good:
It’s cheap(ish). $75 isn’t nothing but for a temporary or back up tool it’s ok. A bit on the heavy side for an Iaito, feels more like a shinken (it is carbon steel so…) That said I’d rather use my Shinken, it feels better.
Tsuka was tight and free from cracks.
The bad:
The ito is horrible. The knots aren’t done anything close to correct and the wrapping is unacceptably loose. Sageo feels like shoestring. Saya is lacking any horn parts. Tsuba has sharp edges. Kurigata is too far away from the Koiguchi (common in Chinese replicas)
All things considered would I buy it again? Sadly, no. I think there are better options and given it to do again I’d buy a Japanese made Iaito used even at a significantly higher price.
Evan (verified owner) –
I just received this, and there’s a gap between the habaki and the right side of the blade. It makes sheathing harder because it catches on the rim of the saya, and if it was a real sword it would create a weak point that would break easier. Other than that I have no complaints, and looking at the other reviews it seems this isn’t a common occurrence. I bought standard grade, not munitions grade.