While at REI today browsing around my toy store (I could browse in there for hours! Unfortunately, my 1 year old could not…sigh), I came across the Smith’s CCKS 2-Step Knife Sharpener. I have been looking for a small and decent one for a while now, as my old one is no longer functional, and saw this.

For the price, at $6 at REI, and $4.33 at Amazon, it cannot be beat.

As soon as I got it home, I tested it on my dull Gerber Gator Jr. Machete/Saw, and that blade is now extremely sharp. I will refrain from posting a photo of the nasty gash I added to my hand collection of scars from knives, in the interest of retaining my reader*.

With the coarse for getting the blade down to a, well, coarse sharpness, and the fine for de-burring the blade, this is an amazing deal for the price. Well done Smith’s! You’ve just earned a new customer for life.

I do recommend however, that, if you are sharpening something, clamp one of the sides into a vice and then sharpen… the handheld method is a bit too dangerous for my liking. I still, somehow, have all of my fingers, and I would like to keep it that way.

This product gets 6 out of 6 High Life’s from me!

* not a typo.

DISCLAIMER: This product was purchased using out-of-pocket funds by Just Your Average Hiker. The manufacturer did not offer any compensation or suggestions for review.