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.
Mike M. –
Straight from Talhoffers manual! If you are on the fence so to speak, hop down and get one! This is a nice piece for any collector, especially since it is made by GDFB (bought a German halberd off eBay and it sucks, but they don’t have the same standards as Kult of Athena) Looks authentic and functional once attached to a shaft. Item arrived quickly and intact (which is more than I can say about other online retailers) For the price, you really can’t go wrong with this polearm that The Grand Master Hans Talhoffer would be proud to use! Get one!
Chris –
Great for the price Picked up one of these to use as a presentation piece for HEMA armored demos. A few hours, a few nails, and a 12$ wheel barrow handle later and we have a nice looking poleaxe!
Greg –
Not “Battle Ready” at all. i built an ash, riveted, build for this thing, i gave it one good thrust into a block of wood, about 70lbs, that’s in my driveway. The point of the spike on the end of it bent like it was a beer can. The “weld” joining the pole to the ferrule connecting the langents to the axe, hammer, and spikes, broke off, it look as though the actual attachment points of the steel pieces that make this weapon up, weren’t even cleaned up. it was a rusty pocket, where the spike broke off.
I will repurpose the langets, ferrule, and pole to make a great flail, i think.
kenneth nancolas (verified owner) –
The good … the head is actually welded not brazed this time. The langets , spikes and head are welded and smooth finished,with no lines showing in the finish product . The bad… ??? the axe, hammer and head are half the thickness of steel in the pictures . The actual thickness is .103 , or between 7/64 and 3/32 of an inch ,a little light for battle ready . Langets thickness of material .150 / 5/32 ” or 1/4 ” material should have been carried out ,through the whole piece . I am not smashing my piece into a log or plate armor , battle ready,probably not ! Final thoughts , the fit finish and welding seems to have been greatly improved ,but the thickness of the material has decreased ,and that’s really too bad .
David W –
Hi Kenneth – thanks for posting – a quick note on battle ready vs sport combat. Sport Combat swords are made for really banging into things – like martial arts, hitting armor, or taking out a piece of wood. On the other hand, a Battle Ready blade means that it is sharp enough that it doesn’t classify as a wall hanger… you should be able to use it on plastic bottles, pool noodles, or rice mats. No matter what, blades are at risk when they hit anything hard, and historically, honing or sharpening a blade was often done to maintain the functionality of the item. Confusing terms, we know. But they are used across the industry and we’ve tried – with mixed success – to describe this accurately in our FAQ’s.
nancolaskenneth (verified owner) –
Second time , I’ve tried to submit a review on this item , here goes . The fit and finish on this , has been vastly improved. The piece is now welded not brazed and the bead is cleaned up and polished and looks pretty good. The hammer ,socket and axe steel ,is now thinner ,than what’s in the picture ,by 50% ??? , Battle ready ,probably not . It really is to bad, the improvements in manufacturing , would have made this a nice ,functioning piece … but reducing the thickness of the steel, has created a nice wall hanger.
Dom (verified owner) –
Don’t know really where to start with the issues on this piece. On the hammer side of the pole axe where the design is grinded in, the grooves are in even and one line is not completely ground in. Secondly the axe portion is smaller than what was in the specifications. Its not 6 1/2 long but instead 5 1/2 long, which makes the price seem very small. Lastly the decorative clover like hole on the blade is scuffed looking along with the langets being scuffed and slightly rusty. I could go into much more detail on the other issue I noticed, but that maybe me just nitpicking. Overall the price fits the quality. If you’re not a picky person like myself, go for it.
Jeramy Rich (verified owner) –
Don’t waste your money. Side spikes fell off while lightly hammering the nails through the pre drilled holes in the langets. Had to sand the newly formed langet holes in the side which helped match the poor finish on the piece. Which it was going to be used to practice solo drills anyway so whatever. Put an annealed rivet through it and the final hammer swing the top spike fell off. Kult of Athena was once the place to go for their quality control but not anymore. This is the third item in a row that has been below an acceptable quality (over hardened spear buttspike cracking like glass and a smashed and scratched bascinet that had a misaligned visor being before this junk).
nox_crow –
Really got it because of the price. Picked up an ash pole to attach it to. Got it mostly to run hema drills with.
Took it over to a friend’s place on the 4th of July to smash a few cantaloupe. On the first strike with the axe the top spike bent forward with the second strike the spike came completely off.
The bottom of the hammer head bent after bouncing off the cantaloupe.