Patent ID: 6142038
Filing Date: 2000-11-07
Classification: B24D

Abstract:
A sharpening tool, comprising:a) an elongated body having a front end and a handle end, said front end further comprising a top area for insertion of a workpiece blade for sharpening;b) said front end including first and second planar mounting surfaces for mounting sharpening elements, said first and second planar mounting surfaces lying on spaced parallel planes;c) said front end further including at least one sharpening element retaining structure associated with each of said first and second planar mounting surfaces;d) first and second sharpening members, each having at least one sharpening edge and a planar mounting face, said sharpening edges each further having a midpoint and first and second ends, each of said midpoints dividing the edge into two edge halves, said first and second sharpening members each further having a thickness less than the distance between said spaced parallel planes;e) at least one fastening device detachably mounting said first and second sharpening members to said front end with the planar mounting face of each sharpening member in contact with the respective mounting surface on the front end and the sharpening elements also in contact with the respective retaining structures, and with at least one first sharpening member sharpening edge overlapping and spaced from at least one second sharpening member sharpening edge; andf) a cutting angle formed by said overlapping sharpening edges within said front end top area for sharpening a workpiece blade, said cutting angle having a bottom vertex and two top endpoints, wherein said bottom vertex is formed by sharpening member sharpening edges to engage and sharpen a workpiece blade drawn through it, and said top endpoints are the sharpening edge ends which define said cutting angle and are located above said bottom vertex;g) wherein said cutting angle is a fixed value, said value held constant by the sharpening member retaining structures, which constrain movement of the sharpening members relative to each other; andh) wherein said cutting angle vertex is located at a point along each sharpening edge about midway between said edge midpoints and said top endpoints, and therefore within the one-half of each sharpening edge positioned toward the top of the front end top area.