An electric knife sharpener includes an accommodating unit including a base and an upper cover with an opening slot, a driving unit fixed on the base and including a motor and an eccentric wheel, a linkage unit including a linkage mechanism and an upper fixing seat with two limiting rods thereof pivotally connected to an upper part of the upper fixing seat in a parallel manner, and a grinding unit. The linkage unit has a guide groove located in a pivot end thereof and coupled to two guiding blocks in a through hole of the upper fixing seat. When the linkage mechanism is drivable by the eccentric wheel to move up and down alternatively. The grinding unit includes two sharpening components. One end of each sharpening component is pivotally connected in a groove of the linkage mechanism, so that the two sharpening components form a cross arrangement and opposite openings are formed between the two sharpening components to cross a sharpening accommodating space.

A magnetic sharpening jig, in particular for holding, by magnetic force, a cutting tool which is to be sharpened or polished and which includes a magnetizable blade, and for positioning said cutting tool relative to a sharpening and/or polishing tool, e.g. a rolling sharpener. In order to provide a versatile magnetic sharpening jig, the magnetic sharpening jig includes at least one flexible contact element with which the magnetically attracted blade of the cutting tool comes into contact during normal operation. Also disclosed are a set including a magnetic sharpening jig and a rolling sharpener, as well as a method for sharpening or polishing the cutting tool using the magnetic sharpening jig.

A clamping apparatus has first and second clamping members extending in an opposed, spaced-apart relation along a central axis from proximal end portions to distal end portions with inside surfaces of the clamping members facing each other. A gap between the proximal end portions is adjustable to releasably secure an object between the distal end portions. A clamp actuator has a handle and a wedge, moving the handle to a first handle position moves the wedge linearly along the clamp central axis in engagement with the inside surfaces of the proximal end portions to increase the gap. Moving the handle to the second handle position moves the wedge in an opposite direction along the central clamp axis, thereby permitting the gap to decrease. In embodiments, the clamping force is adjustable.

Apparatus and method for sharpening a cutting tool, such as a kitchen knife. A sharpener has a base unit and one or manual sharpening modules. The base unit has a housing which encloses at least one flexible abrasive disc rotated by an electric motor. Each flexible abrasive disc is adjacent a powered sharpening stage to perform a primary sharpening operation upon the tool. Each manual sharpening module may be removably attachable to the base unit and has a manual sharpening stage that incorporates at least one sharpening element to perform a secondary sharpening operation upon the tool. Each manual sharpening module further has a powered stage guide surface to form a portion of a corresponding powered sharpening stage. When two powered sharpening stages are used, the manual sharpening module(s) can be individually placed between the powered sharpening stages to provide opposing powered stage guide surfaces for each.

Apparatus and method for sharpening a cutting tool, such as a kitchen knife. A sharpener has a base unit and one or manual sharpening modules. The base unit has a housing which encloses at least one flexible abrasive disc rotated by an electric motor. Each flexible abrasive disc is adjacent a powered sharpening stage to perform a primary sharpening operation upon the tool. Each manual sharpening module may be removably attachable to the base unit and has a manual sharpening stage that incorporates at least one sharpening element to perform a secondary sharpening operation upon the tool. Each manual sharpening module further has a powered stage guide surface to form a portion of a corresponding powered sharpening stage. When two powered sharpening stages are used, the manual sharpening module(s) can be individually placed between the powered sharpening stages to provide opposing powered stage guide surfaces for each.

A knife sharpener is made up of a housing containing a sanding belt and a driving system that engages the belt to cause it to move in a sharpening area where a knife can come into contact with the sanding belt. The knife sharpener also includes a first angle guide having a surface against which a first side of a knife can be positioned so the edge of the knife can be positioned in the sharpening area, a second angle guide having a surface against which a second side of the knife can be positioned so the edge of the knife can be positioning in the sharpening area, and an angle adjustment mechanism that can adjust the angle of the first angle guide and the second angle guide to change the angle of the surfaces relative to the sanding belt.

A honing apparatus has a top section which is disposed in a horizontal, transverse plane. First and second guide rails extend along the sides of the top section. A sharpening stone tray is located within the top section between the guard rails and a sharpening stone is positioned within the tray. An electric motor drives the sharpening stone tray in reciprocating motion within a path parallel to the horizontal plane of the top section. A clamp unit is located over the sharpening stone and secures a cutting tool at a given angle on and in relation to the sharpening stone. The reciprocating movement of the sharpening stone allows for precise sharpening of the cutting tool secured in the clamp unit.