This Highly-Rated Amazon Knife Sharpener Doubles As An Outdoor Survival Tool

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Sharp knives can save fingers. With dull knives, you increase the risk of accidents, since you need to use more force or weird angles to get the same job done. Thankfully, you can easily avoid this by using a knife sharpener, like the SHARPAL 101N. As a knife sharpener, the SHARPAL 101N can work on straight-edge knives, serrated knives, and even hooks, so it offers a lot of flexibility. It has three main blades: a premium tungsten carbide blade, a ceramic blade, and a tapered diamond rod, medium 400 grit. To start with, the tungsten carbide blade is made for edge repair or to repair dull or damaged blades. On the other hand, its ceramic blade can be used for everyday sharpening and to polish and remove burrs on an already sharp blade. Lastly, its tapered diamond rod with grooves can be a useful tool for fishermen, since it can work on fish hooks and gut hooks. SHARPAL claims that both its carbide and ceramic blades have been tested to last 10,000 passes.

For a single unit, you can get it for $14.99. However, it's also available in a combo gift pack for just under $30, which includes a gift box and a greeting card. If you're wondering why it can be a little more expensive than other knife-sharpening tools, it's because it includes some additional features found in many of the latest multi-tools. Here's what else it can do.

Apart from sharpening knives, SHARPAL's 101N multi-tool has a lot of other tricks up its sleeve. For example, it also includes an all-weather fire starter. For this to work, you'll need to pull the first stick into the carbide slot to ignite the tinder. However, you might still want to invest in other tools for maintaining a fire, like campfire bellows, tongs, and axes. Additionally, it has an emergency whistle that can generate up to 100 dB of noise. Being loud enough to cause hearing problems after more than 15 minutes of exposure, it's definitely loud enough to get the attention of rescuers in an emergency.

Weighing 1.55 oz, it's even lighter than a standard pack of playing cards. It's compact and measures 3.5 inches by 1.46 inches by 0.51 inches, so it can fit in the palm of your hand. It also has a lanyard hole, so you can hang it around your neck or your bag when not in use. In the past, we've highlighted how SHARPAL makes a pretty highly-rated lawn mower blade sharpener that thousands of reviewers swear by. But does this multi-functional knife sharpening tool actually do its job well?

In general, most people seem to think SHARPAL's Pocket Knife Sharpener and Survival Tool is worth the money. An Amazon's Choice product, it has an average rating of 4.5 stars from 40,000+ reviewers. Among them, an impressive 72% of people thought it was worth giving a perfect rating. As a knife sharpener, many people said that it works perfectly on most knives. Citing ease of use and compactness, one reviewer said that "The extra features are a nice bonus, but the sharpener alone makes it worth having." Because of its other useful features, it makes for a great lightweight hiking tool. Others have also praised how it's a good addition to emergency kits and for everyday carry. Some of the most satisfied customers said it was great for camping and hunting.

However, not everyone is impressed, and about 11% of reviewers thought it was worth giving only three stars or less. Some key concerns were around its ability to sharpen some of their knives, as well as its plastic construction. In particular, one person noted that it didn't work at all for their pair of scissors. While it worked in the beginning, several people said its sharpening abilities didn't last for very long. However, some of the negative feedback focused on the performance of its fire-starting mechanisms. Others also felt like it was too big to fit into pockets.