- Joined
- Jul 14, 2010
- Messages
- 15,417
I do apologize for the delay.
KME has made some changes, serious, heavy hitting changes.
A little back story, I met Ron and KME at Blade a couple of years ago, and instantly knew, this guy was awesome, then, I used the sharpener he designed and built.
I haven't used another sharpener since.
Well, several months back, during the cold ass New Jersey winter, Ron and I were talking about a few things on the phone, and he told me something, that he was thinking of getting out of the business, selling it off, or just letting slip away. After being in business for 7yrs, he hadn't made a dime. Sure, the doors stayed open, his employee's got paid, but he, the owner, hadn't logged a single paycheck since he started. And KME started, because he couldn't find a sharpener that he liked and could use on broadhead arrows (Ron's a HUGE!!!! bowhunter).
So, like all Red Blooded American's, he made what he wanted, and showed it off to others. And they liked it, and so he made them one, and so on and so on, until one day, KME was in full swing sharpener system makers.
But, as you can see, KME is still alive and well. And making systems better than they have before. But the prices have gone up (I don't think he's charging enough IMO, but that's me). But so has the quality of the system. Take a look, these are 3 new items that you will see on the KME and dealer sights.
A new badass case, larger than the old ones, and capable of housing your ENTIRE KME system, stones, base, and all.
A softside case for traveling or throwing in the pack.
A Pocket edition of the KME stone holder, that allows you to use what ever stone you want from your KME, as a field expedient sharpener. Without cutting your hand.
The softside will also house full size pistolas, as well as a myriad of other things. The memory cell foam padding is excellent.
The new case sports lockable snaps for security, helles yeah.
Locked
Unlocked
What you get inside, a new shop rag, base, base pin, clamp, stones, oil, stone holder and rod. The diamond stones are mine, but came in my deluxe KME. They are just the DMT ones, which fit the KME (revolutionary idea, make a holder that fits other makers stones)
See that little thing on the left side of the case? That's the game changer right there, lads and lasses'.
The new KME clamp is now stainless steel, and well marked for your degree angles.
For as long as I can remember, I've had a strong dislike for recurve blades. For one simple reason, you can't sharpen the damn things easily. I like the concept, more cutting edge, in less linear space, hey, who doesn't like more for less? But with the addition of new super steels, sharpening something like a ZT303 or something, is pretty rough to do, and do right. Not anymore...
This is a tri sided (fine, medium, coarse) rounded diamond hone. Yuuuuup. Game changer. Its manufactured by Hewlett as the Jewelstik, but specially made for KME to accept a friction fit rod, and slide into a KME clamp.......Whoa, guided diamond recurve stone.......
Can I get a WTH took so long to come up with this? So, a KME will accept up to a 9" blade, and now works with recurves......can you say Machax?!?!?!?! Kabar Combat Kukri?!?!?!?! The options are so endless, its staggering. ZT30X series??? Got ya covered. And, since Hewlett actually patented the process of electroplating diamonds to steel, Ron says, you won't see diamond dust on your blades, or see the diamond even knocked off. His extensive testing yielded no loss of wear of the hone, even after applying EXTREME downward and forward pressure. All he got, was lots of removed metal.
Last but not least, the KME Pocket Sharpener. Basically, its a stone holder and some stones in a small, on the go pouch. No belt loop, its just a simple ballistic nylon case, well stitched, and made to throw in a pack or pocket, when you hit the woods. It also works with the standard KME system, but you have enough room for 3 stones in the pouch. Using small stones (like the ones that came in the USAF survival knives) often times are hard to use, and can result in a cut. Not so much here......
So, as you can see, KME is still around, and better than ever, but you will notice a price increase for the systems. That increase (25% I think) is Ron's paycheck.
He decided to stay in business, and the reason he chose too, was and I quote,
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the new cases, stones, diamond hones, even the foam, are all still 100% MADE IN USA. Ron has taken great pains and spent countless hours to ensure, that every part of his system, is 100% MADE IN USA.
How does this relate to BKT? Well, besides the fact that both Ethan and I own one and use the hell outta the things, I'm hoping to get Ron and Kabar at the table, talking this year at Blade..........so, shhhhhhhhh.....don't tell anyone........
Moose
KME has made some changes, serious, heavy hitting changes.
A little back story, I met Ron and KME at Blade a couple of years ago, and instantly knew, this guy was awesome, then, I used the sharpener he designed and built.
I haven't used another sharpener since.
Well, several months back, during the cold ass New Jersey winter, Ron and I were talking about a few things on the phone, and he told me something, that he was thinking of getting out of the business, selling it off, or just letting slip away. After being in business for 7yrs, he hadn't made a dime. Sure, the doors stayed open, his employee's got paid, but he, the owner, hadn't logged a single paycheck since he started. And KME started, because he couldn't find a sharpener that he liked and could use on broadhead arrows (Ron's a HUGE!!!! bowhunter).
So, like all Red Blooded American's, he made what he wanted, and showed it off to others. And they liked it, and so he made them one, and so on and so on, until one day, KME was in full swing sharpener system makers.
But, as you can see, KME is still alive and well. And making systems better than they have before. But the prices have gone up (I don't think he's charging enough IMO, but that's me). But so has the quality of the system. Take a look, these are 3 new items that you will see on the KME and dealer sights.
A new badass case, larger than the old ones, and capable of housing your ENTIRE KME system, stones, base, and all.
A softside case for traveling or throwing in the pack.
A Pocket edition of the KME stone holder, that allows you to use what ever stone you want from your KME, as a field expedient sharpener. Without cutting your hand.
The softside will also house full size pistolas, as well as a myriad of other things. The memory cell foam padding is excellent.
The new case sports lockable snaps for security, helles yeah.
Locked
Unlocked
What you get inside, a new shop rag, base, base pin, clamp, stones, oil, stone holder and rod. The diamond stones are mine, but came in my deluxe KME. They are just the DMT ones, which fit the KME (revolutionary idea, make a holder that fits other makers stones)
See that little thing on the left side of the case? That's the game changer right there, lads and lasses'.
The new KME clamp is now stainless steel, and well marked for your degree angles.
For as long as I can remember, I've had a strong dislike for recurve blades. For one simple reason, you can't sharpen the damn things easily. I like the concept, more cutting edge, in less linear space, hey, who doesn't like more for less? But with the addition of new super steels, sharpening something like a ZT303 or something, is pretty rough to do, and do right. Not anymore...
This is a tri sided (fine, medium, coarse) rounded diamond hone. Yuuuuup. Game changer. Its manufactured by Hewlett as the Jewelstik, but specially made for KME to accept a friction fit rod, and slide into a KME clamp.......Whoa, guided diamond recurve stone.......
Can I get a WTH took so long to come up with this? So, a KME will accept up to a 9" blade, and now works with recurves......can you say Machax?!?!?!?! Kabar Combat Kukri?!?!?!?! The options are so endless, its staggering. ZT30X series??? Got ya covered. And, since Hewlett actually patented the process of electroplating diamonds to steel, Ron says, you won't see diamond dust on your blades, or see the diamond even knocked off. His extensive testing yielded no loss of wear of the hone, even after applying EXTREME downward and forward pressure. All he got, was lots of removed metal.
Last but not least, the KME Pocket Sharpener. Basically, its a stone holder and some stones in a small, on the go pouch. No belt loop, its just a simple ballistic nylon case, well stitched, and made to throw in a pack or pocket, when you hit the woods. It also works with the standard KME system, but you have enough room for 3 stones in the pouch. Using small stones (like the ones that came in the USAF survival knives) often times are hard to use, and can result in a cut. Not so much here......
So, as you can see, KME is still around, and better than ever, but you will notice a price increase for the systems. That increase (25% I think) is Ron's paycheck.
He decided to stay in business, and the reason he chose too, was and I quote,
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the new cases, stones, diamond hones, even the foam, are all still 100% MADE IN USA. Ron has taken great pains and spent countless hours to ensure, that every part of his system, is 100% MADE IN USA.
How does this relate to BKT? Well, besides the fact that both Ethan and I own one and use the hell outta the things, I'm hoping to get Ron and Kabar at the table, talking this year at Blade..........so, shhhhhhhhh.....don't tell anyone........
Moose
