EZE-LAP B 1/4-Inch Round Diamond Sharpener with Aluminum Handle and Sheath

The cool things about this sharpener:- It has a brass handle, so it does not rust and is durable but still lightweight- It is retractable, and the sharpener tucks nicely into the handle to make the sharpener more portable and protect the surface / diamonds from abrasion and wear- It comes in a leather sheath, which is great for belt carry, and can also be use as a strop.- It is round, which makes it very versatile for all sorts of edges and contours - especially good for rounded or curved blades found on yard tools.Where I use and what I use this sharpener on:- Yard tools - many of my loppers, pruners trimmers have rounded or contoured edges, and the rounded shaft of this sharpener make it ideal for those applications.- Outdoor use / Camping / Backpacking - this is a great tool to carry on the trail or at the campsite. It is easy to carry on the belt so it is handy, rugged and durable enough that you don't have to baby it and worry about damaging it. I find myself knocking the burr of a tent nail or stake often.- General purpose tasks - for instance, when working on my cars, I constantly need to knock a burr off a bolt or piece of metal, round off a surface of flatten something. This again is perfect, it carrys well and is rugged enough for those tasks.Note that this is NOT a sharpener to use if you are looking for the most precise and keenest of edges. It is 600 grit, which can be considered a coarse grit, and is great for starting an edge, but not for fine finishing or honing of an edge. This is NOT a honer - it is a utility sharpener. That is why it is great for yard tools, as yard tools require constant touching up, and dull quickly and you don't want a keen / narrow edge. The toothy edge this sharpener will leave on your yard tools is perfect for yard work.Thus, this is not the sharpener you would buy to hone a finish edge on your finest kitchen knives. I carry this when camping and backpacking, and if I am required to touch up a pocket knife with this, I realize it will not leave the finest of edges. Many times, when I return from a trip, if I had to use this sharpener on any of my knives, I will take the knife through a few finer grits to rehone the edge to a keener finish.The things that could make this a better tool / sharpener:- A flat side to the rounded shaft. Rounded diamond sharpeners are great, but they become even better when there is a flat side on the shaft (like the DRET). Many times you want a flat side to flatten as well as sharpen.- No groove on the shaft. Much like a flat side, a shallow groove would be indispensible. This would allow honing of hooks and thinner items that have a point.- The leather sheath could be a little more supple / soft. The sheath I received with my sharpener was very rigid / stiff, and too much so. When belt carried, it can dig in the side just a bit, and a softer case would fix that and make it more comfortable to carry.Overall a great sharpener and recommended - it is durable, rugged, has a brass case, leather carrier, and tough 600 grit diamonds to rough out an edge on anything from a pocket knife to a tent stake to an axe!Thanks for reading!

I had been looking for quite some time for a portable easy-to-use sharpening device that does not need water, and this is it. After experimenting with a few types and really honing (no pun) up on sharpening, I was lead to this item by outdoor guru Christopher Nyerges. I have a few blades made of carbon steel (1095 and lower classes) as well as daily carry pocket knives made of AUS-8 stainless. The 1095 were not taking a good edge with oil stones and I wanted to be able to sharpen in the field w/o water or oil, and pocket pull sharpeners are worthless as they do not conform to the mechanics of an edge unless it is a box opener or barbers straight edge (which are polished to a true razor edge with a leather sharpening strap at about 10 degrees). The Eze-lap took it to a quite nice edge, not razor, but very good and it was easily obtainable. The stainless everyday carrier took an edge, but stainless steel's (as a general rule of thumb) are harder to sharpen and this grit (medium 600) is good for burrs, nicks, and setting a new edge, but I believe that a fine grit would do wonders after the medium. My kitchen blades were dull, so I decided to take the Eze-Lap to them and it quickly got them very noticeably sharper. I am not sure of the steel used in the kitchen blades, except it is probably some low level stainless that does not hold an edge well, but sharpens up easily.Overall the device works very easily, and the enclosed instructions are all that is needed. In the field this sharpener is light and compact and should always be taken with. It can cross a few lines and make a dull edge workable without spending a fortune on a professional sharpening or a angle sharpener.

This is my second eze-lap sharpener. I bought my first one years ago used, it is still serviceable. I wanted a brand new one. It does take some time for it to break in. But it puts a final razor edge on my knives, and I do sharpen a lot! Recommend this product A+.

I grew up carrying one of these in the woods hunting to keep a sharp edge on skinning knives. Brings back a lot of old memories and Good Times. I've used several times on a few knives breaking in. Works quite well and getting better as it wears in. Rugged built and easy to use.