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.
smssybert (verified owner) –
I bought this sword and got it pretty quick in the mail. But to make a long story short the blade is still floppy as ever there is an extremely loud rattle inside the handle in the paint is wearing off the wire wrapped grip on day three of having it. I would not suggest a sore to anybody or this company for that matter
Dude McStuff (verified owner) –
The sword is quite nice. It’s light a feels good in the hands. I had no problems when I was cutting targets with it. The only complaint I have is that when it first arrived, it was fairly dull despite paying for it to get sharpened. I would recommend sharpening it yourself
Salem Handy (verified owner) –
Got the sword a couple of days ago. Overall happy with my purchase, only real complaint I have is that the crossguard has a small wobble (barely noticeable).
I paid for KOA sharpening and the edge still isn’t really sharp, not sharp enough to cut my hand on if I try so I’m a bit disappointed with that but it won’t affect my review of the sword.
The scabbard is nice, fits the sword well and the sword doesn’t rattle inside the scabbard. No epoxy residue in the scabbard which is always nice. I would just use some compressed air and blow the inside of the scabbard out to get any dust out of the scabbard.
As mentioned earlier, the blade has an edge but isn’t sharp so I can’t comment on its cutting ability.
I personally wouldn’t bother with KOA sharpening if you have a belt grinder at home. The sword is pleasant to wield and I can do quick follow-up strikes and thrusts, my sword’s POB is as advertised. Overall, I would recommend this sword, especially for the price.
alientude –
The Good: Handles well, cuts very well. Sharpening by Kult of Athena was very even and well-done, although it need require a stropping. Grip is very comfortable, a huge upgrade on typical Windlass grips. For the price, the performance is quite good.
The Bad: Kult of Athena sent me this sword instead of the 13th to 14th Century Longsword I ordered. The seam in the grip separates a bit at the pommel, creating a small hot spot. Blade starts a little too thin at the crossguard – it could use to start at around 5.5 mm thick, rather than 4.2, to ensure good rigidity.
The Ugly: It has a grinding mistake near the end of the fuller, where the thickness of the blade dips precipitously, and the width drops a little bit too. This created a weak spot in the blade’s structure, and it’s taken a set at that spot after a simple flex test. Windlass should have caught this in QC, and KoA’s supposed inspection of every sword should have deemed this one munitions grade.
Full review available here: https://youtu.be/latAwIEQxQs
David W –
Hi Alientude – thanks for sending in the review – please reach out to customer service with some pictures of the grinding mistake!
Richard Sanchez (verified owner) –
The sword feels sturdy, looks great, pretty sharp overall I’m very happy with it. This is my first purchase from this dealer and sword purchase in general. I love all the items I received. I purchased a viking shield, cutlery set, sword, stand, and a lock. I’m very happy with everything. for some reason the shipping was crazy fast. From when I clicked order to when I had the items in my hands was 7 days. I’ll definitely be purchasing from you guys again
Jason Drake (verified owner) –
The sword feels and looks good, no epoxy residue, scabbard fits nicely.
Well balanced, haven’t sharpened it yet, so I cannot verify any cutting.
Great value for a budget longsword
George (verified owner) –
It arrived on time, slight imperfections in the blade but it has not affected function, and it was beautiful. The only issue is that the factory edge with added sharpening was DULL AS HELL. This sword could not slice through water bottles or even gallon jugs with the factory “edge”. The only use in adding the factory sharpening is if you want to sharpen it further by yourself, just as I did. After sharpening it myself it cuts like butter. Phenomenal sword for the price long as yours isn’t messed up .
bigcityslyder (verified owner) –
This is my first time purchasing from Kult of Athena and I have to say I came away from the experience quite satisfied. For a first time sword purchase at such an affordable price, I was really pleased with what I received. The design is rather pleasing to the eye, and the overall balance feels great in my hands. I was also surprised to find that the factory edge was better than what I had been led to believe given some of the reviews I’ve seen, however I do believe I’ll need to touch it up a wee bit before I try it out with some test cutting. Quick shout out to the customer service here. I had an issue with my order during processing, and they took care of it for me very quickly. Can’t say how much I appreciate being able to talk to an actual human being in this day an age when calling customer service.
mmacho56 (verified owner) –
I got a discount on this because the maker had earlier misrepresented steel types on some of their weapons. This combined with the fact that the model was being discontinued meant I didn’t have high expectations.
Well, my expectations were greatly exceeded. Fit and finish is very good (not perfect, there are some grind marks and so forth–very good for the price point), the hilt wrap is tight, we’ll see if that lasts. Leather on the scabbard is surprisingly nice. I paid for the sharpening service and am very happy with it–the sword cuts paper easily, far better than the factory edge, which I believe was described as blunt.
It’s a much sword than I imagined, yes the stats were correct but for some reason seeing the design I imagined something several inches shorter.
I did a little test cutting and it has a great feel in hand.