Max Knives SP51 — Folding diamond sharpener, 400 and 600 grit

Overview

The SP51 is the sharpener you carry rather than the one you set up. Where a bench stone stays on the kitchen counter or the workbench, this one goes from 225 mm open to 125 mm folded and travels in a pack, a pouch or a toolbox. Its two diamond faces cover both stages of sharpening: 400 coarse grit to bring the edge back, 600 fine grit to finish it. The sharpening area, 100 mm long by 20 mm wide, gives room to draw a full blade across in a single pass, at camp or at the bottom of the garden.

What the folding format changes

Folded, the SP51 tucks its abrasive faces away between the two handles: the diamond rubs against nothing at the bottom of a bag and catches nothing around it, which a bare plate cannot promise without a sleeve of its own. Opened, those same handles become a grip. You hold the tool by its ends, well clear of the blade running over the grit, and the full 225 mm serves as support. It stows like a pocket tool and handles like a workshop one.

Technical specifications

Two-sided folding diamond sharpener: 600 fine grit on one face for finishing, 400 coarse grit on the other for reshaping. The sharpening area measures 100 mm long by 20 mm wide. The tool opens out to 225 mm and folds down to 125 mm, a hundred millimetres saved when stowed — the difference between something you find a place for and something that slides into a pack pocket or a pouch compartment.

Care

Sharpening releases fine metal filings that settle into the grit. After use, run a soft brush or a trickle of water over both faces, wipe them and let them dry before folding the SP51 shut, so no moisture is trapped between the handles. It takes a few seconds, and a clear diamond surface keeps cutting as it did on day one. Store the tool folded, abrasive faces turned in on each other.