SAK with tungsten carbide sharpener combo

[samforce]

Hi folks,

Has anybody purchased the SAK with black carbide sharpener combo? Please post a review.

Thanks, Sam

 

[yablanowitz]

Yes, I have purchased one, a couple of years ago. It is a typical carbide pull-through sharpener, which is to say, better than a random rock, but not by much. Personally, I learned to sharpen my knives about fifty years ago, so I have no use for it. If you want it, give me a mailing address and I'll send it to you.

 

[samforce]

Thank you for the offer. But I am wondering why a carbide sharpener is being sold by Victorinox. Aren't these things supposed to be too aggressive. Everybody says they can ruin a blade.

 

[yablanowitz]

I've bought a lot of used SAKs on eBay, mostly TSA confiscations, and their condition in general leads me to believe that the average SAK owner is not a knife nut. The average SAK owner doesn't sharpen the blades and doesn't care about preserving the edge on their blades. Carbide pull-through sharpeners like the one they sell can put a decent edge on, especially on steel as soft as Victorinox runs theirs. If you keep the pressure very light, it won't damage the blade (or at least no worse than sharpening on a concrete curb) and it requires little to no skill to use. It isn't very good for us knife knuts, but we are a small minority of the world population, and we are not Victorinox's target market.