Unlike many other sharpening systems, the Blade-Tech unit is very compact, measuring only 75mm long, 25mm wide, and 3mm deep.
It tips the electronic scales at a very lightweight 16.4grams (makers claim 14grams)
The side plates are made from aluminium, into which are fastened two Tungsten Carbide sharpening wedges. It's available in four anodised finishes, natural, red, blue, and black. The brighter colours are great if you intend using the sharpener out in the woods or fields or wherever, as it's much more visible. Each sharpener comes with it's own belt pouch made from a nylon material.
The sharpener is very quick and easy to use, no real practice or skills are required to achieve a razor sharp edge on your hunting knife. The sharpener gives it's best performance when held steady by firmly pressing it down flat on the top of a fencepost, workbench or whatever, so it cannot move.
The blade is then simply drawn through the carbide wedges about half a dozen times to refresh the edge, but if it's the first time the knife you're using is being used with this sharpener, then it may take a few more passes than that to condition the blade's edges to the same angles as the carbide wedges.
Best results are obtained by being gentle, and not using too much force to press the blade into the cutting bits. Too much pressure will remove shards, strands, or swirls of swarf from the knife blade, the trick is to try to create a very fine dust instead. Once initially sharpened, it then takes only a few passes of the blade through the sharpener to restore the edge whenever required.
The beauty of this system is that it is very compact and portable, and can be used absolutely anywhere, unlike other systems which need clamping to a table top, or oilstones which are large, heavy and cumbersome to carry about. The sharpener can be unobtrusively carried in it's belt pouch, or as it has a small lanyard hole, around the neck, or even on a keyring.
As well as hunting knives, the sharpener can be used to sharpen scissors, kitchen knives, pen knives and garden tools including shears, loppers, pruners, mower blades and scythes etc. In fact, any blade that is not serrated can be easily sharpened to a razor's edge. When I used the Blade-Tech to sharpen all the kitchen knives, my missus complained they were too sharp.
Not many downsides, only two that I can find, and that is that the Carbide wedges do wear and lose some of their sharpening ability over time, but when that happens all is not lost, as the sharpener can be flipped over so you sharpen with the other side of the wedges.
I replaced my Blade-Tech sharpener with a new one only a few months ago, but the old one was about 7 years old, and had been used literally hundreds of times, on not only my own knives, but all the household knives and scissors, as well as the knives of my hunting buddies. Most were so impressed with it, they have now bought their own Blade-Tech sharpeners.
Second downside is due to the placement of the wedges (one either side of the sharpener), which means the very tip, and the very back of the blade need a bit more care to sharpen correctly. I am only talking about 1.5mm here, if that.
In summary, a cracking piece of kit, and having used many other much more expensive sharpeners over the years, this one is a real bargain at only £9.99. The ace card this sharpener offers to me is it's go anywhere versatility, you never need be without it.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bladetec...hash=item2c7f6d9737:m:mX6oBxWpTYFWfKFFLaaD2Sw
It tips the electronic scales at a very lightweight 16.4grams (makers claim 14grams)
The side plates are made from aluminium, into which are fastened two Tungsten Carbide sharpening wedges. It's available in four anodised finishes, natural, red, blue, and black. The brighter colours are great if you intend using the sharpener out in the woods or fields or wherever, as it's much more visible. Each sharpener comes with it's own belt pouch made from a nylon material.
The sharpener is very quick and easy to use, no real practice or skills are required to achieve a razor sharp edge on your hunting knife. The sharpener gives it's best performance when held steady by firmly pressing it down flat on the top of a fencepost, workbench or whatever, so it cannot move.
The blade is then simply drawn through the carbide wedges about half a dozen times to refresh the edge, but if it's the first time the knife you're using is being used with this sharpener, then it may take a few more passes than that to condition the blade's edges to the same angles as the carbide wedges.
Best results are obtained by being gentle, and not using too much force to press the blade into the cutting bits. Too much pressure will remove shards, strands, or swirls of swarf from the knife blade, the trick is to try to create a very fine dust instead. Once initially sharpened, it then takes only a few passes of the blade through the sharpener to restore the edge whenever required.
The beauty of this system is that it is very compact and portable, and can be used absolutely anywhere, unlike other systems which need clamping to a table top, or oilstones which are large, heavy and cumbersome to carry about. The sharpener can be unobtrusively carried in it's belt pouch, or as it has a small lanyard hole, around the neck, or even on a keyring.
As well as hunting knives, the sharpener can be used to sharpen scissors, kitchen knives, pen knives and garden tools including shears, loppers, pruners, mower blades and scythes etc. In fact, any blade that is not serrated can be easily sharpened to a razor's edge. When I used the Blade-Tech to sharpen all the kitchen knives, my missus complained they were too sharp.
Not many downsides, only two that I can find, and that is that the Carbide wedges do wear and lose some of their sharpening ability over time, but when that happens all is not lost, as the sharpener can be flipped over so you sharpen with the other side of the wedges.
I replaced my Blade-Tech sharpener with a new one only a few months ago, but the old one was about 7 years old, and had been used literally hundreds of times, on not only my own knives, but all the household knives and scissors, as well as the knives of my hunting buddies. Most were so impressed with it, they have now bought their own Blade-Tech sharpeners.
Second downside is due to the placement of the wedges (one either side of the sharpener), which means the very tip, and the very back of the blade need a bit more care to sharpen correctly. I am only talking about 1.5mm here, if that.
In summary, a cracking piece of kit, and having used many other much more expensive sharpeners over the years, this one is a real bargain at only £9.99. The ace card this sharpener offers to me is it's go anywhere versatility, you never need be without it.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bladetec...hash=item2c7f6d9737:m:mX6oBxWpTYFWfKFFLaaD2Sw
