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.
instructornik (verified owner) –
TOP LEVEL:
TL;DR – 5 stars. The mats are just like the photos: new tatami, appears machine rolled.
Details: First time buying these rolls from KoA. Used them at a recent event. They felt new both in their physical touch and the way the sword moved through the medium. 5 stars, both for product and customer service. New or used, tatami still smells the same (pungently earthy).
SOAKING:
TL;DR – Soaked overnight ~18 hours total, great results with one user error.
Details: I had to soak a lot of mats and using materials at the site, decided on upright in a large plastic trash bin under some boards & weight (24 bottled water pkgs) on top. I started with about 3cm of mat above the waterline figuring that the soak would drop the mats down, between buoyancy & a slow leak, we ended with 10cm of mat above the water line the next morning. The soaked vs unsoaked ends were discernable to the touch, so we used the drier end on the stand to ensure best cutting results. Moral of the story: Soak the mats flat if you can.
Recommendation: For personal cutting, I use a commonly available gift wrapping paper storage bin, I usually soak up to six (6) in them.
MOUNTING:
TL;DR – Mount the roll slightly off center for best results.
Details – This detail may be biased by the mount end lacking direct submersion and the roll being a tighter bind than my own: I found to have the best results for one drop mounts was to strike the mat just slightly off center onto the spike. That approach gave me the best successful First Attempt results.
CUTTING:
TL;DR – They give pretty lines; less forgiving of improper technique than used hand bound tatami.
Details – I’m still fairly novice at cutting mats, and felt like cutting through these was a finer detail of result. I felt like the information given back to me by the mat when examining cut lines was like going from high school english essay feedback to grad school level project feedback. I felt comfortable trying half sword and more precise V and ^ cuts with them as the cut lines just felt good, despite was sounds like a “harder” cut, I found it easier to control & explore the depth of my cuts as well due to the consistent rolling. Great medium, really enjoyed it.