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.
Andrew S. –
So far very impressed with this sword for the most part! So far i’ve been very pleased with my purchase of this Gladius. The finish is excellent, the steel isn’t overly polished nor is it under polished it looks perfect in my opinion. I’m also a fan of the imitation bone grip it looks and feels great in the hand. The pommel and guard are both made out of high quality real wood which I like and it feels very durable.
I received the additional sharpening service and did some testing with it, here are the results. I started with paper, it can cut paper not as easily as other blades, but it still can for sure. Next I cut up some cardboard boxes, seemed easy enough and was pretty fun while I was doing it. Then I moved up to a Gold Peak Tea bottle filled with water to the top. These bottles are made from more dense plastic then other bottles out there. The blade cut couldn’t cut through it! I gave it a few good swings and the blade just simply wouldn’t slice it. After about three swings I got the bottle to leak but that’s it no devastating cut. I stabbed the bottle and obviously this Gladius has a wicked sharp point and it went through like a hot knife through butter with stabs and thrusts. I moved down to a Coca Cola bottle filled with water and it did end up cutting that one pretty decently. Then I moved down to a standard water gallon jug and as expected it cut it right in half no problem. After these tests no damage to the blade or anything else occurred and the sword is still holding up nice and firm just like it was out of the box.
Moral of the story is this blade is best at what it was designed to do, thrust and stab. I would recommend this Gladius to anyone looking for a good battle ready sword in the $200 price range and after more testing I will follow up with a new review if my opinions change.
Misha –
Better than it looks Ive had this maybe 10+ years. Just as a novel inexpensive semi functional play piece. Sharpened and wacked at all sorts of stuff. After years of being generally abused The grip and pomel has loosened a little but thats about it. Finally it got tossed aside and forgotten after the shed it was in was crushed during a storm. Found a year later completely rusted and weathered. So wth, i figured i could try it on huge tree log. Cut through it like an ax. So am clening off the rist and keeping it still, lol
Shaun W. –
The point of perfection! Wow…this sword is very sharp looking with a wicked pointy edge making me bit nervous at first handling it, this is my first roman gladius sword and what a gem to start with. Thanks KOA for your outstanding service and top quality products every time I order!
Glenn J (verified owner) –
I love this Gladius. Compared to my Windlass Pompeii Gladius, the sheath on this Maintz Gladius is more decorative and the brass work is better made. Contrary to a few YouTube videos, the sheath on mine has a very good friction fit and the blade does not rattle at all. Best of all, the balance on this Gladius is great especially when compared to the more forward balanced Pompeii even though they have the same overall weight. This results in a very nimble sword.
no96 (verified owner) –
Overall, I’m very happy with this sword. It’s beautiful, and one of the more accurate Maintz-pattern gladiuses I’ve seen in this price range. It’s weighted and balanced very well, it’s got a very comfortable grip, and the scabbard fits well and is very good-looking. Three reasons I’m docking a star- first, the blade has a slight kick off to one side. It’s very slight and you really have to look carefully to see it, but it’s not completely straight. Second, some of the brass fittings on the scabbard aren’t fitted that well, with some significant gaps. Third, and biggest, is that the metal cap on the guard is a bit loose and rattles if you move the sword around at all.