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.
Zachary –
Good shield as far as I can tell I don’t know much about medieval shields, and I’m not too familiar with whatever standards I should be judging this shield by. Here’s what I do know. I took it out of it’s package and I had to polish off the entire thing as there were small amounts of rust on different places on the shield. It came with a few nicks and scratches, though these will be easily covered by paint once I decorate it. There are more dents than I had imagined, however even the largest dent located on the left corner of the shield can probably be hammered back into shape, if I even care to as it’s barely noticeable. The back of the shield looked somewhat rough, but my major complaint is that the grip seems to be coming lose. I was able to screw it back into place without a screwdriver, and I don’t intend for it to be receiving direct hits anyway. Overall the problems that came with the shield were easily fixable, so I still consider this a good buy.
Geralt –
Excellent value for the money I purchased this shield for my sister to use in HEMA style rebated steel combat. She’s 5’8″, and not the strongest. She needed a shield that was light enough for quick maneuvering, strong enough to resist damage to the shield itself, and sized just right for her height and frame. This shield fit the bill perfectly. At first I was worried that 18 gauge would be too fragile for use with live weapons, but after a cumulative few hours of testing the shield out against various swords of steel and rattan we found no dents on the face. There was minor scratching, but that’s to be expected. The shield doesn’t wobble or shake when hit, and rings with a pleasant chunk that quickly dissipates. The strength and structural integrity of this shield is due in part to the rim. The edges of the shield are rolled in on itself like it should be, and leaves the rim nice and thick. The grip and strapping are placed perfectly, vertical blocks are easy to maneuver to. While the handle can be a little loose, it can be tightened via the standard hex nut on the top side.
The bottom line for this shield is that as long as you don’t go up against people that value power over skill, this shield will hold it’s own very well. And even if it’s beat to bits after some time, I still can’t complain. At this price point, I would have no qualms with just replacing it once every couple of years.
Chris –
A good shield. I am no expert but I will say I like this shield. I have done little to no hard use for it, and it is more a decoration than anything for me but i expect it would perform.
Some thoughts
– It gets rather uncomfortable to wear on a bare forearm, and the grip can also be a bit irritating, long sleeves and a glove would be a good idea when simply wearing it, not to mention actual sparring.
– The thing came absolutely DRENCHED in oil, it came in a plastic bag that had a good 1/2 cup of oil pooled at the bottom when i removed the shield, the handle and leather strap were not spared and feel rather disgusting to hold even after using up a roll of towels trying to reduce the oil, it attract hair like no tomorrow as well, for people who have pets. However unlike the first reviewer i can soundly say there is no rust on it at all, which i suppose was the intention.
– Came with slight but noticeable hammer dents on its surface.
Cody M. –
Great shield This shield is awesome, not near as heavy as I expected, but weighty enough to strengthen my arm during arms practice, weighty enough to trust it can take blows.
Wearing it is easy and comfortable, the leather strap doesn’t irritate my bare skin, and the wooden handle is secure to hold.
I enjoy the placement and angle of the mounting hardware, it allows me to hold the shield normally, or with the point facing forward, giving me more inches of cover.
It’s smooth metal finish looks great, and can be painted if you like, mine is. All in all, great buy.