[Eric G.]

I was just wondering if anyone has any information on how to sharpen a hollow ground blade. Most videos etc that I've seen on sword sharpening have to do with sharpening blades with flat or convex surfaces. Most of these say to "leave it to the pros" when it comes to the concave/hollow ground swords.

[Chad Arnow]

Eric,
It will really depend on how the hollow-grinding is done. On Albion's Regent (and the Earl, which it shares a blade with), I'd imagine sharpening wouldn't be substantially different than how do you it on some other swords. On that blade the hollow-grinding doesn't go all the way to the edge. That's the same as on many period hollow-ground swords. Think of the hollows as being two very wide, very shallow fullers that fill much of the area between the mid-rib and edge on each side. By stopping the grind before the edge, the blade thickens very slightly to give strength to the edge.

See these threads for more info:

Sharpening an Albion Regent
Albion edge angles

For swords where the hollow-grinding goes all the to the edge, the edge might be thin and hard to sharpen at the right angle due to the cross-section.

[Eric G.]

Chad,

Thank you for the reply. I have read all the posts in both articles that you referenced. I really appreciate the help. I do not currently own a hollow ground blade, but am considering getting one would like to know how to keep a good (a relative term, I know) edge on it. I was especially glad to see that Peter Johnsson mentioned the .5-1mm edge. It just so happens that I have an XII blade that I sharpened myself with just such an edge. =) Whew.

So, should I understand that the way to sharpen a hollow ground blade is to just put a fine edge on it? Tom Kinder has several videos on sharpening the whole of the blade to leave a very subtle edge. Am I right in assuming that such a subtle edge is much less likely to achieve with a hollow ground blade?

Thanks again Chad for the help.