Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02703522 2010-05-10
TWO STEP ABRASIVE SHARPENER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to abrasive sharpeners, and more particularly, more
particularly, to a two-step abrasive sharpener having a bottom V-shaped
groove.
Summary of the Prior Art
It is well known to use sharpeners for knives having two steps of sharpening,
namely a course grind and fine sharpening grind. One problem associated with
such
sharpeners occurs when a sharpening operation is performed on a surface, such
as a table
or counter. During the normal sharpening stroke through abrasive elements, the
blade of
the knife being sharpened often strikes the counter to damage the already
sharpened blade
and the counter. Such damage requires the user to repeat the sharpening of the
blade.
Therefore, it is desirable in the prior art to provide an abrasive sharpener
capable of
avoiding impact between the knife being sharpened and the sharpener support
surface.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an objective of the invention to provide an improved two-step
sharpener that avoids impact between the sharpener support surface and the
blade being
sharpened. The sharpener here employs two abrasive stations created by crossed
carbide
abrasive blades and crossed ceramic rods. The base of the sharpener of the
invention
includes a V-shaped open groove on which the sharpener base can be supported
on the
edge of a counter and the like during a sharpening operation. Such a
positioning of the
sharpener further provides for a more natural, comfortable sharpening stroke
by an
individual.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of two step abrasive sharpener of the
invention;
Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the sharpener of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is an bottom plan view of the sharpener of Fig. 1; and
Fig. 4 is an opposite end elevational view of the sharpener of Fig 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to Figs. 1-4, there is illustrated the two-step abrasive
sharpener of
the invention, generally designated by reference numeral 2. The sharpener 2
has a
housing 4 formed with opposite concave cut-out portions 6 (Figs.1 and 2) to
provide
handle areas to permit a user to grasp and support the sharpener 2 while
sharpening a
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knife. A pair of upper slots 1Oa, I Ob (Fig 1) are created in upper portion 12
of housing 4
and respectively have V-slots in the form of a pair of crossed ceramic
abrasive rods 14
and a pair of crossed carbide abrasive blades 16. The abrasive rods 14 and the
abrasive
blades 16 are respectively mounted in slots IOa and I Ob in a conventional
manner well
known in the art. The rods 14 provide a fine sharpening cut for straight or
serrated edges
as the blade is pulled through slot 1Oa, while blades 16 perform a more course
sharpening
cut to a blade. The blade having an edge being sharpened is pulled across the
housing in
either slots IOa or slot l Ob for sharpening while the handle areas 6 are
manually gripped.
The bottom 20 of housing 4 has a pair of spaced flat base surfaces 22
extending
the length of housing 4. The flat surfaces 22 are centrally separated by a V-
shaped open
groove or slot 24 that extends the length of base 4 generally perpendicular to
the direction
of movement of the blade being sharpened through slots IOa or l Ob and has
open ends as
seen in Figs 1-3. The V-groove 24 includes a pair of sloped flat surfaces 26
and 28 lying
at a selected angle, such as 90 to each together, and the surfaces 26 and 28
are of
generally equal widths that are alternatively arranged to bear directly
against a support
surface (not shown) such as a table, counter, bench or the like, at its edge
during a
sharpening operation. Either surface 26 or surface 28 may be used to contact
the edge of
the support surface as desired. It should be apparent that the base is
supported on either
surfaces 26 or surface 28 of groove 24 as the sharpener 2 bears against the
counter or
table edge while the sharpener 2 is held by the user in one hand. The user can
then move
a knife (not shown) through a selected slot IOa or slot l Ob with the other
hand. Because
of the positioning of the sharpener 2 at the edge of the table or counter,
damaging contact
between a knife and a counter during a sharpening stroke is avoided. Further,
a more
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natural, comfortable sharpening stroke for the user occurs as a result of
sharpener being
on the edge of the counter or table. The sharpener 2 can also be supported on
a flat
surface by housing surfaces 22 in an orientation flat on a table, bench,
counter, and the
like.
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