Darex

Darex L.L.C. is an American manufacturer of industrial bit sharpeners, and are currently based in Ashland, Oregon. Darex L.L.C. owns two other brands, Work Sharp Tools which creates knife and tool sharpeners and Drill Doctor which creates hobbyist drill bit sharpeners. Darex is a fourth generation family owned company that began in 1973 in Beecher, Illinois until 1979 when it relocated to Ashland.^[1]

History

In 1947, Bernard Welding Equipment Co. was founded in Chicago, Illinois by Arthur Bernard, one of the first welding engineers in America. Bernard Welding Equipment Co. manufactured welding guns and other welding accessories. In 1970 Arthur's son Richard who was the president of the company at the time, sold the company to Dover Corporation (now part of Illinois Tool Works).

In 1973 Darex was founded by Richard Bernard in Beecher, Illinois. David, Arthur and Richard Bernard founded the company and their initials make up the first three letters of "Darex".^[2] While at Bernard Welding Equipment Co., Arthur and Richard saw how difficult it was to sharpen drill bits. Richard brought his father, Arthur, into the business to help develop a drill sharpener. At a 1976 Cleveland regional trade show, Darex released their first drill bit sharpener, the M-1.^[3] In 1978 Darex moved to Ashland, Oregon.

After several years of manufacturing drill bit sharpeners for industrial customers, Darex created a line of endmill sharpeners. In 1988 Darex released the E80, E85, and E90. With the success of industrial sharpeners, Darex decided to create a new consumer brand, Drill Doctor, which debuted in 1996 at the International Hardware Show in Chicago, Illinois.^[4] Both the DD500 and DD750 were launched.

In 2004 Drill Doctor sold its one-millionth unit and Darex was named one of Oregon's top 50 places to work for the third year in a row.^[5] In 2013, and 2014 Darex was again named as one of Oregon's top workplace. In 2006 Darex secured a contract from the US Army for a drill bit sharpener that would be included in tool kits to support soldier’s safety. Darex developed the V390 drill bit sharpener that was used in Iraq by soldiers to repair the armor plating on Humvees and install antennas for GPS units.^[6]

In 2007 Darex launched the Work Sharp brand, a division that would manufacture precision wood, knife and tool sharpeners. Work Sharp released the first ever consumer flexible abrasive belt Knife and Tool Sharpener in 2010. Darex and its umbrella brands have sold nearly 4 million units to date. In 2012, Matthew Bernard became the fourth generation family president of Darex and the company has now grown to over 140 employees.^[7]

Darex Products

Darex owns over 25 patents. Darex drill sharpeners can range from fully manual (XT3000 Manual) to fully automatic (XPS-16+).^[8]

Darex currently has five drill bit sharpeners in production consisting of the following:

• V-390- A drill bit sharpener and grinder that sharpens common point bits, the machine is designed for small shops.
• XT3000 Manual
• XT3000 Auto
• E90- An end mill sharpener and grinder that sharpens end mills up to one inch in diameter and six inch flute length.
• XPS-16+- A sharpener operated by an automated touchscreen.

Work Sharp Tools

Work Sharp Tools was founded in 2007 and first began making wood tool sharpeners. In 2010, it introduced the Knife and Tool Sharpener, a consumer flexible-abrasive belt sharpener.^[9]

In 2013, Work Sharp released an upgraded model of their knife and tool sharpener, the Ken Onion Edition sharpener. Ken Onion, renowned knife maker, used the original Work Sharp Knife and Tool sharpener during a hunting trip in Alaska and had positive feedback for Work Sharp but had a few suggestions for improvements.^[10] Shortly after that conversation, Ken Onion and the engineers and Work Sharp began collaborating and produced the Ken Onion Edition Sharpener.^[11]

Work Sharp Products

Work Sharp has an array of tools from electric knife and tool sharpeners to manual and portable sharpeners to wood working tool sharpeners.^[12]

Power Sharpeners

• Original Knife and Tool Sharpener
• Ken Onion Edition Knife and Tool Sharpener

Manual Sharpeners

• Guided Sharpening System
• Guided Field Sharpener
• Retractable Honing Rod

Woodworking

• Work Sharp 3000

Drill Doctor

Drill Doctor was founded in 1996 and debuted at the International Hardware Show in Chicago. Drill Doctor took off when the company was mentioned by Paul Harvey on his radio show that reached millions of listeners each week. In 2004 Drill Doctor sold its one-millionth unit. In 2005 Drill Doctor completely updated all of its products which added functionality and increase the ease of use. Drill Doctor has won awards from Sears Catalog, Handyman Club of America, National Hardware Show, and others.^[13]

Drill Doctor Products

• Drill Doctor Model XP
• Drill Doctor 350X
• Drill Doctor 500X
• Drill Doctor 750X

References

External links

• Official website-Darex
• Official website-Work Sharp Tools
• Official website-Drill Doctor