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.
Marquis Bosuego (verified owner) –
I have purchased several Japanese style swords from KOA, and KOA has always had outstanding customer service. I am starting to dabble in European swords, specifically Renaissance words and Rapiers. KOA packed the sword very well…. took me forever to unwrap… but not complaining lol, most companies do not package their products as well as KOA.
This swept hilt rapier made by WIndlass is very nice for the price point. I had KOA do the sharpening service and the rapier is VERY sharp. Whoever does the sharpening at KOA has great attention to detail and they know what there are doing. I plan to do some test cutting on tatami with it in the near future. The blade and steel are of good quality, as advertised by KOA with no flaws or defects. The hilt and guardwork are also very well made, with no defects, and not rattling or loose parts. The bone handle on the hilt is a very nice touch. I also love the elegant but simple wire swept hilt, the The matching scabbard was also well made and fit snugly onto the blade.
Overall, I love the feel and balance of this rapier. I am new to one handed European sword techniquies, but this blade is very deft in my hands. For the price it is of good value. Arms and Armory and Castille make much nicer swords with customization, but at 3X the price. This is a perfect, high quality rapier for a good value to start out with.
Thanks KOA once again for promoting great products and even better customer service!!
Herbert Sussman (verified owner) –
This is a beautiful sword and it is very sharp. The length of it sort of took me aback, because it is too long for my arms to safely sheath the sword without putting the sheath down and feeding the sword into it. I guess that would not be a problem if you are tall. One thing though — and this is why I deducted a star– the sword does not fit evenly into the sheath. It has a triangular shaped fitting which is suppose to dovetail with the triangular hollow space on each side of the sheath, but it is off center so it doesn’t quite go all the way in as it should.