Make Sharpening Easy

Work Sharp has a pair of outstanding knife sharpeners: a field sharpener and a power sharpener. The field sharpener includes a coarse and fine diamond plate, two ceramic rods, a leather strop, and 20-and 25-degree sharpening guides to keep a consistent sharpening angle for knives and camp tools.

Strong, rare earth magnets secure the interchangeable diamond plates and provide coverage for a broadhead wrench and small storage compartment. It also sharpens serrated knives, fish hooks, broadheads and many common camp tools.

The power sharpener uses a narrow, flexible belt with a guide to hold the knife at the optimum sharpening angle. There are three belts – coarse, medium, and fine – that are easy and fast to change. I was able to turn a dull kitchen knife into a very sharp blade within a couple of minutes using only the medium and fine belts. I sharpened a dozen knives in less than half an hour, without undue wear on the blades from the power belt. The flexible belt matches the shape of the blade, creating a perfect convex edge. There are two guides: one for kitchen knives (20 degrees) and one for outdoor knives (25 degrees). The power sharpener can also be used without the guide to sharpen mower blades and garden tools. For more information visit www.worksharptools.com.

Hooker Deer Drag

The Hooker Deer Drag is an innovative answer to the chore of moving your deer through the woods, and even loading it into a pickup or trailer. A set of two long hooks (rated at 1000 lbs. each) are constructed from solid 3/8-inch diameter steel, powder-coated in blaze orange or neon pink, and are made in the USA. Each hook has a large, comfortable handle with a thick foam grip that accommodates bare hands or even thick gloves, and a heavy-duty 1-inch wide nylon web looped strap. The straps can be attached to a buck’s rack, or the hook ends can be easily attached to the hind legs of an antlerless deer. These hooks enable a single hunter to move a deer through the woods, across fields, and even lift the deer into a vehicle – and it’s all the easier if you have a buddy to help with the second hook. A set of Hooker Deer Drags are $49.99, and can be ordered from the website www.hookerdeerdrag.com. More information and videos of the Hooker Deer Drag in use are on the website.

Make Starting A Fire Easy

Grate Chef Fire Starters are packets of uniquely developed material that burn hot and clean with no harmful toxins, so they are perfect for starting charcoal grills, camp fires, and fires in your fireplace. They are simple to use: just place the packet under charcoal, wood, and so on, and light one corner. It will burn at 1,500 degrees for about 10 minutes – long enough to light your grill, fireplace, and even wet wood. It burns clean with no smell or taste, and is safe for transport (it won’t self-combust like other petroleum based starters). While Grate Chef Fire Starters are new to North America, they have been the lighter of choice in Europe and other countries for years. Even when wet, these fire starters will light with ease. A set of three packs of Fire Starters (six starters in each pack) is $8.99. They are available at major hardware and outdoor stores, or order from their website at www.gratechef.com.