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.
d-otn –
first cutter I have been involved in Haidong Gumdo for a year now and hit the point that I wanted to do a little more training in cutting mats. Due to budget constraints and not having the knowledge base where I felt ready to step into a higher end sword yet (spend $1200 plus), the Paul Chen Practical Line was suggested to me. After sorting through the multiple versions of the Practical line, I ended up purchasing the Practical Plus XL light. With my minor knowledge, I thought I would like the slightly longer blade due to my height. In addition, a friend of mine suggested getting one with the bohi to help validate my cutting technique. At my first cutting session I wasn’t sure if I was happy with it or not. But after using it for a few months, I am very happy with having selecting it.
J W. –
Top Heavy At first glance, this sword seemed to be just what I was looking for, however, after 5 minutes of actually having it in my hand, I decided to return it.
The tsuka is everything I had come to expect from Hanwei. It was wrapped tight, and comfortable, and all of the metal hardware was good quality as well.
The blade was not in the best polish, and still had some rough stone or file marks in it. This didn’t bother me too much as A) the sword is advertised as a cutter and so by not going to extra mile on the polishing process it keeps the price down and B) as a cutter the blade would lose a high polish quickly anyways.
The reason I sent this sword back, though, was that the blade is wider than on other swords they offer. Even though it may be a few ounces lighter than some of Hanwei’s other blades, the wider blade throws the balance off, and makes it more top/blade heavy.
If you plan on only doing cutting, a lot of cutting with this sword, I recommend it. However, if you practice iaido and will be doing lots of kata work, then I’d suggest that you look at other Hanwei models, such as the Shinto, which are balanced better. This sword will tire your hands and wrists quickly.