Knife-sharpening system gives hunters, fishermen a real edge

Whetstone-holder, knife clamp make sharpening blades a flash

I was cutting up chicken the other night when my wife stopped and looked over my shoulder to make sure I was doing it properly.

“Look how sharp I got these knives,” I said.

“Yeah, imagine how sharp they’d be if they were actually good knives”, she said.

Left unsaid was the fact that our cutlery had been free, obtained by spending at least $100 a week at a popular grocery story every week for several months.

Not exactly the kind of things you’d find at top-draw kitchen store.

I guess that’s as good an endorsement as possible for DMT’s The Aligner sharpening-system kit that got those grocery store knives so sharp. How sharp they got my high-dollar filet knife and skinning knife was another matter entirely.

DMT (Diamond Machining Technology) manufactures an entire line of diamond sharpeners and whetstones. The kit I was using came with three 4-inch whetstones – coarse, fine and extra fine. What made them work so well was the aligner. You clip the stones into a plastic apparatus that features a metal rod extending from one end, then clip your knife into a clamp, adjust the angle for the desired sharpness, and slide the metal rod through a guide atop the clamp.

By grasping the end of the rod, you slide the stone back and forth across the knife blade, getting the same angle across the blade with every stroke, from tip to hilt. Within a few minutes, I had every knife in the kitchen sharp enough to shave the air from my forearms.

The kit comes with an attachment for sharpening serrated edges, making it probably the best sharpening system I’ve used.

Now, I no longer have an excuse for not cutting the chicken up to my wife’s standards.

or more information, visit www.dmtsharp.com.