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.
Allenc537 (verified owner) –
I ordered this mainly to see if I would be interested in sword collecting/ tatami and tatami like cutting. I didn’t do much research and a 1045 high carbon steel blade was not to fit my needs however I am thoroughly surprised.
Pros: 1. blade came decently sharp.
2. Heavier and higher quality than I expected.
3. Swing feels pretty okay in my hands ( although I haven’t much to base that upon)
CONS:
1. Saya is not of the greatest quality (not to be expected for the price)
2 Habaki was loose and rattling upon arrival.
3. Blade tang only held in with 2 relatively loose wood dowels
4. The included kozuka bends with very little effort ( dropped and point bent a 180°.
With all that said I put this thing through hell in just 2 days. I spent totally an hour slicing 0.5 to 1 inch diameter limbs and wood ( i feel bad). Through all that though there is only one small nick in the cutting edge of the blade and maybe 1 or 2 small scratches upon the blade. I plan no more to disrespect this sword and inflict no further damage on it. I would put no higher quality blade through such and this is an amazing starting sword for the beginner collector, with that said I now trust kult of Athena’s “battle ready” tag and am excited to purchase high end swords from them. One more thing to add that if you were to strictly stay with rolled newspaper and light targets then this blade would last very long although frequent sharpening would be expected. Thank you Kult of Athena!!!
Hamed Emari (verified owner) –
It Looks sleek, and beautiful on my wall, but it’s not very “battle ready”, I use cardboard instead of tatamis and it couldn’t even cut half way through. It’s dull and it bent on the first day of using it in less than 5 slashes😭. It’s good for decor and practicing in the air.