I paid extra for the sharpening. Nothings loose, it's really sharp, and it looks pretty good. The sheath only goes in one way, and the metal parts of it are a different kind than the rest of the knife; the sheath looks more 'chrome' and the rest has a more yellowish 'silver' kinda hue. The sheath 'recesses' into the knife a bit under that metal piece, and the space between has a small piece of red velvet. Mine smells like machine oil and the velvet is soaked in oil, probably from the sharpening process. The damascus pattern looks really good, but the stamped thistle pattern on the handle feels "so-so" to me. The overhanging piece that the sheath goes into is really thin and I bent it with my thumb so be careful with that. This knife is a 'B' student.