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.
Richard Fry –
It’s a piece of art As a boy growing up I never got huge into swords. Sure I loved ninja shows and stuff but it wasn’t until I saw a picture of the Praying Mantis that I really wanted a sword, specifically a katana.
This sword came off as simply beautiful to me, like artwork.
I tried ordering it from another site just to wind up without my money so I called KOA ahead of time (after reading MANY positive reviews around the net) to make sure they had this katana and it just so happened they only had one left!
So the sword … There’s only a couple “bad” things. First of all the Saya was too tight. I had to lightly sand the inside so the blade collar would fit better. The opening also had two shims in it that weren’t glued well enough which I had to fix.
I also don’t care for the fancy sageo tying on here. I untied it and soaked the sageo in cold water for a couple hours, massaged it slightly and hung it to dry overnight. I then tied it like you would see on the Hanwei Lion Dog ( http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=SH2439 ).
It looks a lot nicer tied like that because the saya is nearly all black and makes this otherwise colorful sword rather dull.
I really wish the saya were not black. I accidentally got some glue on it which will not come off. It’s hardly noticeable but it’s enough that I know it’s there and I’ll likely get the saya re-lacquered but brown instead.
The bo-hi makes for a wonderful tachikaze compared to other swords I have.
The Hamon is .. something else. I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s very unique on this sword compared to what I’m used to seeing.
The whole sword is beautiful from the menuki to the silk ito.
The tsuba, fuchi, menuki and kashira are stunning.
As far as cutting ability, I’ve yet to cut any proper targets.
It worked great on boxes and bottles.
It feels much sharper to the touch than other blades I own.
I have already accidentally cut myself once, a small cut on my index finger. It just took a tiny touch and it went in at an angle about 1/2 inch deep with no effort. If it were any other sword of mine there’s no way I would have been cut. They are well sharpened (for swords .. in other words, properly sharpened swords) but this one is just a bit sharper. I’m assuming because this seems to be the norm from what I read that the metal should be able to retain it’s edge even that sharp.
Shipping was quick. I had it here in a couple days packed up well in typical packaging you’d expect a sword to come in. No fancy wooden box or anything. Just the actual sword box with packing material around it, inside of another box which provides more than adequate protection.
I feel like I could say a bit more but this is already getting a bit long.
This is a great sword and my experience with KOA on the phone has been great so far.
I look forward to future purchases!