Knife sharpener

Abstract

A knife sharpener of the present disclosure comprises a housing defining a hollow interior and an interchangeable knife guide cartridge releaseably coupled to the housing. The interchangeable knife guide cartridge improves an operation and a versatility of the sharpener, while optimizing knife blade sharpening. A motor assembly is disposed in the hollow interior of the housing and includes a drive shaft operably coupled to at least one sharpening disk and at least one stropping disk. The disks cooperate with the interchangeable knife guide cartridge to achieve a desired edge angle of the knife blade.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A knife sharpener, comprising:
 a housing having at least one first sharpening disk disposed therein; and   an interchangeable knife guide cartridge releaseably coupled to the housing to facilitate a sharpening of a knife blade by the at least one first sharpening disk.   
     
     
         2 . The knife sharpener of  claim 1 , wherein the knife guide cartridge is configured for a three-stage sharpening of the knife blade. 
     
     
         3 . The knife sharpener of  claim 1 , wherein the interchangeable knife guide cartridge includes at least one knife guide comprising at least one guide plane and at least guide spring configured to urge the knife blade against the at least one guide plane. 
     
     
         4 . The knife sharpener of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one guide plane is angled at 15 degrees relative to vertical. 
     
     
         5 . The knife sharpener of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one guide plane is angled at 20 degrees relative to vertical. 
     
     
         6 . The knife sharpener of  claim 3 , wherein an angle of the at least one guide plane in a first sharpening stage is different from an angle of the at least one guide plane in a second sharpening stage of the knife sharpener. 
     
     
         7 . The knife sharpener of  claim 3 , wherein an angle of the at least one guide plane in a first sharpening stage is the same as an angle of the at least one guide plane in a second sharpening stage of the knife sharpener. 
     
     
         8 . The knife sharpener of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one guide spring includes at least one spring arm extending along a corresponding one of the at least one guide plane. 
     
     
         9 . The knife sharpener of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one knife guide comprises a pair of the guide planes disposed on opposing sides of the at least one guide spring. 
     
     
         10 . The knife sharpener of  claim 1 , wherein the interchangeable knife guide cartridge includes at least one guide post configured to cooperate with at least one guide pocket of an attachment module of the housing. 
     
     
         11 . The knife sharpener of  claim 1 , wherein the interchangeable knife guide cartridge includes at least one coupling element configured to cooperate with at least one retain/release element of an attachment module of the housing to releasably couple the interchangeable knife guide cartridge to the housing. 
     
     
         12 . The knife sharpener of  claim 11 , further comprising an actuator configured to cooperate with the attachment module to release the interchangeable knife guide cartridge from the housing. 
     
     
         13 . The knife sharpener of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one stropping disk disposed in the housing. 
     
     
         14 . The knife sharpener of  claim 13 , further comprising a dresser mechanism configured to selectively contact a surface of the at least one stropping disk to remove any irregularities or undesired particles therefrom. 
     
     
         15 . The knife sharpener of  claim 13 , further comprising at least one second sharpening disk disposed in the housing. 
     
     
         16 . The knife sharpener of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one first sharpening disk is configured for a first sharpening stage of the knife sharpener, the at least one second sharpening disk is configured for a second sharpening stage of the knife sharpener, and the at least one stropping disk is configured for a third sharpening stage of the knife sharpener. 
     
     
         17 . The knife sharpener of  claim 15 , wherein a plurality of the knife guides is configured to position the knife blade against the at least one first sharpening disk to achieve a first edge angle of the knife blade, against the at least one second sharpening disk to achieve a second edge angle, and against the at least one stropping disk to achieve a third edge angle. 
     
     
         18 . The knife sharpener of  claim 15 , wherein each of the at least one first sharpening disk, the at least one second sharpening disk, and the at least one stropping disk is configured to achieve a different edge angle of the knife blade. 
     
     
         19 . The knife sharpener of  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the at least one first sharpening disk, the at least one second sharpening disk, and the at least one stropping disk is configured to move laterally during a sharpening of the knife blade. 
     
     
         20 . The knife sharpener of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one stop feature configured to cease a movement of the knife blade during the sharpening thereof.