A blade sharpener includes a thin cylindrical sharpening rod made of a ceramic material which is loaded with a strong abrasive. This rod is equipped at each end with a conical guide-guard. Means is provided to position the rod with one hand so that the other hand can be used to draw the blade simultaneously along the rod and along the blade from near the blade handle toward the blade tip. The angle of the conical surfaces of the guide-guards with respect to the sharpening rod is the same as the desired angle of the blade to the rod while sharpening. The blade is initially positioned flat against the conical surface of one of the guide-guards to set the angle of the blade to the rod, and that angle is manually mantained during each sharpening stroke.
A pocket-size sharpening apparatus of the variety carrying sharpening rods disposed in crossed relationship. The sharpening apparatus has a body with a distal face carrying clips to releasably secure a pair of sharpening rods in crossed relationship. A major access opening permits access to portions of the sharpening rods from a proximal face of the body for the purpose of sharpening a blade. The major access opening has a V-shaped portion extended inward from a mouth with convergent edges disposed in parallel relationship to and exposing convergent portions of the sharpening rods from the proximal face. A minor access opening is comprised as a slot extending inward of the body toward the major opening a sufficient distance to expose opposite intersecting portions of the sharpening rods. A peripheral protective lip can line the major and minor openings on the proximal face of the body. A groove can be provided in the body wherein the sharpening rods can be seated and manually held in side-by-side, parallel relationship for the sharpening of pointed objects.
A sharpening apparatus includes a base and a pair of thin elongated cylindrical sharpening rods of the type that can be made of a ceramic material which is loaded with a strong abrasive. The rods are storable in a compartment provided by the base in side-by-side relationship and in such position are accesible for sharpening of a pointed object such as a hunting arrowhead or a dart. The rods are movable to a second position with respect to the base still in side-by-side relationship but with ends extended beyond the base for the sharpening of the ends of objects having a more complicated configuration such as fishing hooks. The rods are mountable in a third position with respect to the base in which they are held in the base in adjacent angular relationship with each other and in acute relationship to the base. In this position the rods can be used to sharpen objects such as knife blades.