I just bought a katana, not a really good one yet, but I'm saving my pennies for a Paul Chen one? I know it's made from two different steels etc. so I need someone to help me out with getting it sharpened? Is there somewhere I can go to find a sharpening service or can I buy a tool to do it please? I live 30 miles North of London in UK 01525 306 117 afternoons?

Why in the name of all that is sane would you want to sharpen a "katana, not a really good one yet"?

You don't practice with sharp ones, and what does it matter if it's dull, if it will just hang on your wall?

PS - Welcome to the forums.

Yeah, there's really not much below the level of the basic Paul Chen's that is usable for much beyond hanging on the wall. Although most wallhangers are quite the eyesore so their utility for that is questionable at best.

What kind of sword did you get? Is there an online shop or something where we can see it?

If it didn't come sharp you should not sharpen it. If you cannot dissassemble it, assume that it has a rat tail tang and is too dangerous to use. If it is a full steel tang then you can swing it around in the air for a laugh, but don't hit anything with it if you don't want it to break.

Nowadays you can buy production swords for really cheap, 90 bucks for some of the lower end ones which for all their crappy furniture, offer decent enough cutting blades.

Couple of points.

First, quality steel is expensive, and quality workmanship is more so. Any sword that you get under the price of £80 is automatically considered suicidal to use, and under £500 is considered suspect.

Wallhangers, especially stainless steel, have a tendency to shatter explosively when hitting things, sometimes directly at the wielder (I've seen some nasty scars).

If they blade you bought was not sharp, then it is one of two things.
A: It is a wallhanger that was never meant to hit anything, and the manufacturer was smart enough not to give it an edge.
B: It is an Iaito, a training blade that is made from Nickel and not meant to hit anything

Either way, don't hit anything.

Anyway, a traditional Japanese sharpening costs on the order of £250-500, and that is the lower end. A grinding wheel messes up the temper of a blade by softening the edge unevenly, and attempting to sharpen/polish the blade without training can completely destroy the finish of the sword, creating an ugly mess.

Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear, but that's the truth.

If you sharpen it your only increasing the chances of injury. If the blade flies away and you just sharpened it...well just imagine.

In my country now, drug fuelled violence is quite common for burglars. I'm old and small and vulnerable here, so I need something to take on a knife carrying intruder. I don't want a wall hanger, I want something I can learn to use, to save my life.

I need a life saver, not a wall hanger. If it is obviously not shapened, it will make an attacker laugh? I think if I can obviously handle it, they will think twice about attacking me?

Wow.....just buy a gun, you'd be better off with that. Really.