Knifemate Guided Sharpening System - For Freehand Stones

August 05, 2021

The Knifemate Sharpening System from Blade Mates

Born in the Northern suburbs of Perth Australia, Creators Mark and Bob came up with the genius idea of a guided sharpening system that was designed for use with freehand sharpening stones.

The simple but thought-out design consists of the main threaded rod, which is made from aircraft grade aluminium, in one end of the rod there is a hardened fixed ball bearing that provides a friction free surface for the rod to glide on.

The main clamping body has beautifully CNC machined logo on the side, at the front of the system is the unique jaw design that uses a cam locking mechanism that is similar to a quick release bike wheel.

The final part of the puzzle is the locking nut, the cog shaped nut is ergonomic and easy to use.

How The Knifemate Is Used

Wind in the threaded rod from the bottom of the main unit body, about halfway as a starting point.

Wind down the lock nut from the top side of the unit so it looks like the below image.

Knifemate by Blade mates

Open up the cam lock lever to open the jaws.
Insert the knife with the spine against the small ledge inside the jaws.
Close the clamp so that the lever is in the closed position and the knife is secure in the jaws.
Sit the bevel of the knife on top of the sharpening stone that you wish to use.
Set your angle with either an Angle Cube or using the "Sharpie Method" to determine the sharpening angle.
Using the angle cube press the Zero button whilst it is sitting on top of the sharpening stone.
Sit the angle cube up onto the main shaft just above the Knifemate logo, this will show you the sharpening angle.
Loosen the locking nut and manually wind the threaded rod and you will see the angle change, once at the desired angle wind down the lock nut and tighten it snugly.
Once your stone is prepared for use just use clean sweeping strokes to sharpen the blade, if reprofiling you can also use a scrubbing motion to draw a burr.
Once a burr is made, unclamp the blade and flip it over to start sharpening the other side.
Once a burr has formed on the other side you can progress to the next grit stone, for more sharpening tips and tricks read our blog on sharpening.

Here is a video showing our first look at the Knifemate

What's In The Kit?

Canvas storage roll
Microfiber cleaning cloth
Instruction Manual
Main body
Threaded rod
Lock nut

Knifemate

What Can I Sharpen With The Knifemate?

Butchers Knives
Fishing Knives
Household Knives
Cleavers
Camping Knives

Who Is It For?

Hairdressing
Fibreglass trimming
Home
Upholstery
Dressage
Kitchen
Tailors
Craft use
Dressmaking
Farrier
Hobbyist

Features And Key Benefits

Easy to use.
Infinite angle adjustment within the range of the tool.
Use your own sharpening media e.g.,whetstones'.
Designed for field and home use.
Light weight, robust.
Compact and easy to carry.
Simple in design.
Robust and reliable with repeatable results.
Able to reproduce a consistent double or single bevel angle to a prescribed angle.
No moving parts while in use.
Able to be used on any flat firm surface.
Able and adaptable to be used for knives, 2 blade and 3 blade arrow heads.
Manual operation, no power required.
Unique wave in the lower gripping jaw to provide improved grip on some “professional” knives.
Maintenance free except for routine cleaning, just wipe over with a clean dry cloth.
Cam lock on gripping mechanism to increase gripping force applied with minimal effort.