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.
sam (verified owner) –
The blade has a decent warp of 5-7 degrees right at the end of the fuller/center of percussion that really affects the edge alignment when cutting with what should be the sweet spot. The general effect is that I have to turn grip to get any kind of edge alignment.
The blade design still makes it a very solid cutter
KOA’s sharpening service was very good.
firespiter (verified owner) –
First off, get the sword cleaning kit or buy some very good meal polish and old t-shirts, if you haven’t made the investment already.
When I pulled mine out of the box I was pretty crest-fallen, as Deepeeka has been infamous for decades for selling SSO’s (sword-shaped-objects) and this immediately seemed to be the case for the Phillipe IV sword.
The example photos appear to be uncleaned, just as my sword was out of the box. The dark ink smudges on the blade (as in the photos above) and the tarnish on the brass come off easily with a bit of metal polish and elbow grease. And doing so make it look like a completely different sword.
Cons:
-There is a bit of wavyness in the grind, especially in the fuller, but the lettering of the motto help distract you from this.
-The sword feels sluggish and a bit mace-like in the hand. (though not inexplicable due to the brass hardware and substantially large blade that bring the weight to nearly 4 lbs.)
-The grip has lacks risers. That’s a nit-pick.
-The scabbard is an abomination.
Pros:
-This is not a sword-shaped-object. It is a sword. Tempered carbon steel blade. And KOA did a great job on the sharpening.
-The distal taper is apparent even without calipers and appears to have an accurate lenticular cross section of a type XIV blade.
-The grip is a perfect length. The shape is not what I prefer, but it’s still comfortable to grip firmly while swashing your buckles and better than most.
-Once you polish it, and you see the contrast from the tarnished to clean you will be amazed.
-Love the pommel. Love the peen block. (There is a blob of epoxy covering the etched fleur in the center. If you don’t like it, it it with a torch and it will pop right off. And you can add a replica medieval coin or gemstone, or leave as is).
-The distinctive vase-like shape of the blade is rarely seen in other manufacturer’s offerings. It’s as sexy as an italian sports car.
-Despite the scabbard being a chunky ugly hulk of wood, rexin, brass and more brass… (Did I mention there’s a lot of brass? Oh so much brass in this), I do appreciate the attempt, and for the price the fact this sword includes a wood-cored scabbard at all is actually pretty impressive. And if you get the sharpened option, it is a necessary safety accessory that basically cost you nothing.
In summary, if a time portal opened up in my living room and medieval warriors from a by-gone-age were ushering me to help them in a fight, it’s not the sword I would grab before jumping through the rift. HOWEVER it is an unmistakable, true-to-life representation of a late 13th to early 14th century cut and thrust sword of XIV type. The original inspiration piece had gilded hardware. Not solid brass. Which brings me to the fact that this is a wonderful presentation piece. The fact that the poignant motto of “nothing of your virtues is greater than clemency” so un-ironically emblazoned on a weapon designed to deal out wrathful death and dismemberment, should not be lost on a recipient of this piece.
This would make a beautiful graduation/retirement/birthday/christmas gift for an individual in the military, or law-enforcement that happens to have an appreciation of medieval European history, likes hack-and-slash games, fantasy movies, or has an affinity for knives. And honestly you cannot beat the price. I’m not sure how they afford to sell a piece like this (especially with this much brass) at this price point.