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.
Ian D. –
A work of art I bought this brass handled Falcata a few years ago as my first real purchase from KultOfAthena; I had never had a “real” sword up until then. As an amateur stone, classical and dark age historian, I have loved the design of the Falcata and the Kopis, along with the leaf shaped bronze and iron swords of that time period. When the sword arrived I was immediately impressed by its brass handle and eagle head design, which is very similar to archeological finds. The blade has a mirror finish, and when placed into the light at an angle, you can see faint hammer hardening waves. The blade came sharp, though I did order additional sharpening from Kult. I was easily able to cut gallon jugs and make short work of sticks between 1-2″ thick. I always was tempted to do a “flesh test” with a large piece of meat, but never did, though on one occasion I left the sword unsheathed with the first 1/3 of the blade sticking out past my couch. I somehow forgot it was there and while moving past it, the blade gently scraped my bare calf; I almost didn’t notice it, until I saw blood running down my leg from a 4″ long cut going through a few layers of skin. Considering there was nearly zero pressure against the blade, I’d consider that sharp enough. The leather scabbard has brass rings in just the right places; I was able to fashion a series of brown leather straps with clips to wrap around the chest and above the shoulder and hang the sword comfortably under the armpit, very similar to Travis Bickle’s .44 Magnum in Taxi Driver. This is actually very similar to historical texts for properly carrying a Falcata into battle. All in all, I have never once regretted buying this beautiful sword, and I consider it my personal heirloom. To be perfectly honest, I would part with every other sword in my collection before I would let go of my Falcata.