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.
John –
Not SCA Legal Despite what the page says this helm is not SCA legal. I just took it to my local marshal who basically said the only thing legal is the thickness of the steel. The rivets are too far apart, the padding is not dense enough and the chinstrap is essentially useless for everything but keeping it from being pulled off straight up (mine was also riveted too far back meaning it was pushing into my throat. Could pass for LARP combat but do not order if you intend to use it for SCA fighting. Very misleading; 300 bucks that would have been better spent elsewhere for me.
Michael J. –
Great helm, no pun intended. This is an awesome helmet, as a former SCA fighter and marshal this helmet would easily pass inspection. It is well padded and the leather strap works well just needed an extra hole for my tiny head. The construction is solid and the visor is a nice feature. The only drawback is the latch is difficult to re-engage while wearing the helm, this might be solved by a little bending of the hook. Over all I am very pleased with this purchase and with all of my KOA dealings.
Rich –
A fine display piece. To make this clear I had originally I ordered a different Sugarloaf helm from this website, however I ended up with this one instead.
I did not intend to purchase anything functional, rather I was looking for something as a display piece and for that it’s just fine.
In a practical standpoint I’m somewhat confused by this Helm, it seem to be a strange combination between a Bascinet and a Sugarloaf that can’t do either very well. The inside of the helmet is lined with very heavy padding, this is probably what contributes to its weight, this can be an upside in one way so that you wouldn’t need to buy a arming cap or a Secret helm to put under it, but the lack of vervelles attached to it you’d still need a mail coif which also means you need an arming cap. The visor hook thing gets stuck often, and this makes it difficult to open and close without taking it off (especially to to shut it).
You should not buy this at the regular price unless you really like the way it looks. I almost wish I got a refund while I could.
Foster –
Strong helmet, not sure what other reviews are going on about. This is a very heavy helmet, but it provides very solid defence, and I have not had any issues with it for the 2 years I have been using it. This is a very hot helmet as well, but the liftable visor helps very much with breathing in between rounds. Iv never had any issues getting this helmet past inspection. It takes hits well and disperses the shock decently enough.
Ace –
It all depends As with this helmet being SCA legal all depends on the marshal inspecting the helmet. The padding is sufficient but I would recommend a under layer as the helmet is heavy and the padding on the top is not enough to keep it up on your head, unless you have a really big head, this helmet runs big. The chin strap is a choker, not a chin strap and MUST be reconfigured! You can NOT! use it the way it is or YOU WILL BE CHOCKED OUT. I placed a chin cup on mine. As with the rivets; this all depends on what marshal is inspecting you helmet and how strict they are at what ever kingdom your fighting in. SCA states the rivets must be no farther that 2 1/2 inches apart some on this piece are 3 inches. If your kingdom is very strict you can easily drill a hole and pop in another rivet even if it is just for show, this helmet is so sturdy it wont matter. So this can make or brake your day if you do not know how your marshals are!!!! What helps is the helmet is 14g steel and the SCA only requires 16g, so some marshals will pass is due to the thicker steel even though the rivets are too far apart. I hope this helps the arguments. This would have got 5 stars but the chin strap and the rivet placing knock it down.
Spencer B –
Happy with first buy from site. Got it for display mainly but after a friend broke a half inch diameter slightly rotted wooded shovel handle over my head I can safely say it can take a beating with only a small scratch and two ringing ears.
Allen –
Tank of a helmet I purchased a very similar helm to this, also GDFB from a different supplier, only there was no padding inside, instead they gave me an arming cap, the visor doesn’t raise very high or stay up, but aside from that its a well crafted piece.
Michael –
Good and functional, but with a few flaws. I recently received this helmet as a Christmas present and I was pleasantly surprised. The steel is very thick and sturdy, the padding is very heavy, and the eye slits align perfectly with my eyes (however that won’t apply to everyone). Sadly, I happened to have a few flaws with this helmet. One downside is how thick the padding is, when I put it on the padding squishes my face inwards. Another issue is that there are no vervelles to attach an aventail, however this can be remedied by getting a ‘bishops mantle’. An additional issue I had with my helmet was that the hook to fasten the visor down was not aligned with the hole, but it was a very simple fix in which should not take away from this beast of a helmet. Finally, the brass cross on the helmet was odd looking (the surface looks marbled in appearance). At first I did not like it, but it grew on me and I think the unusual texture looks cool.
Overall 4/5 stars.