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.
Black_cartridge90 (verified owner) –
To start with, the pictures on the site that exist as I’m writing this review* DO NOT do this thing any justice! In those, the blade looks a little scuffed, a little used, a little tarnished. In-hand, however? It’s anything BUT that! It’s GORGEOUS, no two ways about it.
The rough-polished looks dark grey and a bit scratched in the product pics, but it’s actually uniformly pitch-black, without a single mark in sight. Everything I’m saying applies to the sheath as well. Product pics on this page? Looks a bit cheap. In person? Anything but. It’s a finely crafted sheath made of thick, quality leather with really quite nice-looking white stitching. Either I got lucky with mine or EGKH has updated the sheath design for this blade since KoA posted their YouTube video on this years ago (most likely the latter!).
The fit and finish is flawless, so literally nothing to complain about there. The Nepalese craftsmen who make these clearly take pride in their work, and rightly so. The blade also came sharp enough that touching up the edge wasn’t needed. It’s not a razor edge or anything, but it’s still more than sharp enough to easily cut things, so do be careful with it. I sure wouldn’t want to be on the business end of a swing from this thing, as it could lop a head off right outta the box!
How does it handle? I admit, this is a subjective thing, but it feels heavier than the pound-and-a-half listed on this site (I’m pretty sure it’s actually slightly over two pounds), though that is offset by the fact that it can be used two-handed, as the grip is long enough for that, which I wasn’t expecting. Your mileage may vary on this, however, as if you have big bear paws for hands, you’re gonna be using this one-handed (but if you DO have larger hands, you’re probably strong enough anyway that using it one-handed won’t be a problem).
Overall? Just get this thing. The price is borderline criminal for how it is seeing the quality you’re getting. KoA also got this thing to me SCARY fast, to the point of almost doing their jobs TOO well. I was more than willing to wait two three extra days, guys! XD
P.S.: To get this (or really any Kukri) back into the sheath, follow these steps: 1). Put the tip of the blade in the sheath or scabbard. 2). Tilt the blade so the tip is pointed up. 3). Slide the blade in, making SURE the spine of the blade is riding along the back edge of the sheath the WHOLE WAY. Works every time. :)
*Those pictures may have changed since I wrote this to better ones, so bear that in mind.