CHICAGO— For more than 40 years, Darex has been a player in the world of commercial sharpening offering an assortment of products that sharpen drill bits, knives and tools.
Now, the company is building on the recent success of its sharpening assortment geared toward consumers that take part in outdoor activities with the recent launch of its Work Sharp Culinary line. The initial collection, seen at the recent International Home + Housewares Show, includes two electric sharpening units and one manual sharpener.
“This is a new direction for us,” said Holly Deffenbaugh, assistant brand manager with Darex. “We’ve had success with sharpeners at various outdoor retailers such as Cabela’s and Bass Pro and now we’re moving into a different segment of the business.”
As the company moves into what she calls the culinary marketplace, upscale multi-store retailers along with independent housewares gourmet stores are on the short list for initial distribution.
“Selling sharpening products in the outdoor segment over the past few years has allowed us to create a strong foundation and also provided us a chance to test and vet our technology,” Deffenbaugh explained.
While the company may be making its initial steps into the housewares segment, it has experience in sharpening dating back to 1973 when the Bernard family founded the company in Illinois. Five years later, Darex relocated to Ashland, OR, and today is run by Matthew Bernard, the fourth generation family owner of the company.
Included in the initial Work Sharp Culinary assortments is the E5 five-stage electric knife sharpener. The unit utilizes sharpening belts to create convex edges on any blade that are said by company officials to balance strength and durability.
With one-touch programming, the sharpener includes leather lined sharpening guides that are expandable for additional geometry. MicroForge technology forms micro facets into the blade, which are said to enhance cutting performance and durability.
“The main reason MicroForge is a longer lasting edge is that the facets stay sharp as they are not hitting the cutting surface when the knife is in use,” said Deffenbaugh. “We also give consumers the option of creating a sharp straight edge or a MicroForge edge.”
Also new is the E3 three-stage electric knife sharpener, which is equipped with sharpening belts and leather lined sharpening guides.
The M3 manual knife sharpener features interchangeable diamond and ceramic rods that allow the item to be used to sharpen a variety of knives. Built in sharpening guides allow the user to create a precise, consistent angle across the entire blade, according to the company, while also allowing for the creation of micro facets on the blade.
All new items are set to hit the market in the third quarter.
