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.
Seth Starcher (verified owner) –
Pretty sure this is my 1st (but far from last) review here.
I’m not really a rapier guy, but the weapon in and of itself, it masterful quality. I’ve been a really big fan of tge Battlecry! Iine from Windlass.
I will however start with the cons, which are truly minor. The weapon is very hilt heavy and throws off striking form however (pro) it contributes to its thrusting capabilities which is ideal for a sword like this. Con#2 the wire wrapping on the hilt gets mildly uncomfortable after a while.
I do have one gripe, this is not an original design. Its just a battlecry! restyling of the Windlass’ Italian rapier. Doesn’t take away from the sword itself, its just.. lazy.
Other than that, good, Beautiful sword.
rapierfox (verified owner) –
This is my first review, and my first sword I’ve had the pleasure of owning.
I’m very much a rapiers kind of gal — obviously — and I’ve had my eye on this sword for a very long time and finally decided to take the plunge and pick it up, and boy, am I glad I did.
The sword’s beautiful — the Battlecry! line is all-black, and it really shows in person in a way that the pictures may not do justice to on the site given the lighting. It’s a glossy/metallic black, not a matte black. I will say the weapon did have some gunk and dust on it when it arrived, but I would just as soon imagine it’s due to it sitting in storage and/or having weapon care goop on it over any actual concern.
I will say that the sword feels heavy, but that’s coming from someone out of shape and not the strongest — it’s close to 3 pounds, which certainly doesn’t seem like a lot, and to an experienced swordfighter I imagine it’s light enough, but as someone fresh to blades, it’s heavier than expected. That said, I imagine this is excellent for the thrusting capabilities of the sword — and with the needlesharp point, that’s a good thing.
As it stands, I love this thing. It has some cons, I suppose — the edge seems a bit hard to manage right now for me, and the wire wrapping bites into my fingers a bit (something that is 100% mitigated by wearing a glove), but it’s not enough to warrant me knocking stars off. Overall, I’m extraordinarily pleased.