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.
MFP 1. –
Absolutely worth the money I ordered mine from a different site, though I usually shop here. This helmet is not only padded very well, it is lighter than the “Roman Trooper” helmet by GDFB and has the major inaccuracies corrected on this model. (Two separate eyebrows, silver instead of brass, hinged back plate, more accurate neck guard back plate, more accurate visor–still too cheaply made though–) Very comfortable and holds up to full contact with ease. The chin strap brackets broke easily as soon as I tied the strap so I just super glued the chin straps to the cheek plates and that works fine. Overall an awesome helmet that is not quite reenactor grade, but comfy, padded, and looks really good for the price.
Steve (verified owner) –
I just received the “Roman Gallic Helmet with Red Crest,” and was really excited to start my collection of Roman Legion gear… When making my selection, I opted for the padded version ($135.95) versus the un-padded “Crested Roman Helmet” ($89.95) to save me the trouble of fabricating the padding myself. My purchase arrived promptly, via FedEx, which was greatly appreciated. Here is where my review starts: The helmet was packaged in a sturdy cardboard box, in a plastic bag, with plenty of packing paper material to protect it during shipping. The brass attachment fork (bracket) was wrapped in shrink wrap and the red horse hair crest were placed inside the box, protected with packing paper. Your helmet will have a light coating of oil on it, meant to prevent rust, and you will want to use a rag or paper towel to wipe it off (this is pretty standard). The craftsmanship, details, and weight of the helmet were not bad for the price point, so I was pretty happy with that aspect of my purchase. Now for my only issue with the new acquisition—the fitting. In my military experience I have always been average size for uniform and equipment fitting… My hat size is 7 1/4 to 7 3/8 based off a tape measured 23 inches. Typically a medium to large—depending on the manufacturer, to accommodate a comfortable fit with my head size and military style haircut. I had been concerned that the pictures showed a goodly amount of padding, but thought that I should be able to make it work… For an adult male, it is a pretty standard consideration. You don’t want it to feel like a five gallon bucket on your head, but it shouldn’t fit like a “Crimped on bottle cap,” either. This helmet would actually be best suited for a twelve year old, with a Small to Medium hat size (sizes 6 3/4 to a 7 —based off a 21 1/8 inches to 22 inches). If your hat size is anything over a 7, this will not fit. I don’t know if there are any other sizes available, but be aware that this particular version runs extremely small for most adults. As a suggestion to the vendor, if a sizing chart could be provided for articles of armor (like helmets), it would be much appreciated by customers that may wish to wear the article for costume or LARP activities. Overall though, I am happy with the quality of the product. This helmet will most likely become a display piece for me, and I will shop around to see if I can locate one that I can wear during our reenactment gatherings.