EZE-LAP D5SF SF Oval Sharpening Steel, 5-Inch

House knives, outdoor knoves

I just had to compare this against my Wusthof Course and Fine Diamond steel rods. The Wusthofs are fantastic, and I use them exclusively for my best knives. I have heard of EZE-LAP from Nutnfancy's Youtube video and it intrigued me. So off I went to Amazon and bought the Fine and Super Fine rods.Wow, these are just as good as the Wusthof Rods. I tried it on my my sacrificial Kershaw Blur that I intentionally dulled cutting cardboard. I started first with the EZE-LAP Fine Rod. The Fine Rod is almost the same as the Wusthof Course Diamond rod.I gave it about 8 passes per side on the Fine rod. Then I proceeded to do 10 passes on the Super Fine rod. Just with that, I was able to slice paper again with that knife. Looking at the edge using a 5x Magnifying glass, I can see that the edge is very sharp and straight. I wiped the rods with a wet rag to see how much steel it removed and it was not much. It is very sharp indeed. If you turn the Oval rod on its side, you can sharpen the Serrated edge of the knife as well. I love it! The 5 stars it received from the other reviewers is more than justified. Nutnfancy is right again.Unless you are an expert with Japanese Waterstones or Whetstones, I would suggest that you use this method of sharpening. It is not as quick as an Accusharp, but it is much sharper and you just need to invest a couple of minutes.I will still use the Wusthof Rods for my Wusthof knives, but for everything else, use these.

I really like this sharpener. It is very fine. The flattened oval shape works well. As with all sharpeners, it is best to use a sharpee felt pen to blacken the edge before sharpening so you can "see" what your doing to the edge. There will be a learning curve.Edgeways this could be used on serrations though I have not tried that (keep in mind it is a 1/16" flat edge on either side of the oval faces with 1200 diamond grit- its going to chew through steel quickly so be careful with this suggestion and turn your wrist to hollow in the serration or you'll just get a fine groove).Pro's- Eats through the hardest steel to quickly sharpen dull (but not obtuse) knives.Con's- Will not get a really fine edge to the knife. I purchased the Messermeister 12" ceramic rod in conjunction with this one so it is really not used very often with the knives I keep sharp. Nowadays I bring this eze-lap with me when visiting friends to sharpen up their dull knives!!

Unlike a butcher's steel this is a sharpener/honing device. It gives knives a pretty fine edge and is easy to use. The rounded profile is nice if you have recurved or curved blades. Something like the Woodsman's Pal, or a Kukhri.

Upon receiving this sharpener, I thought that they had sent a more coarse grit model than I wanted. So I contacted them and they explained that once used, the rough layer that is created during the diamond bonding process would wear off right away. They were so right! Now, it's just awesome. It removes material very quickly, making difficult to sharpen knives a breeze. Also, I was able to use it to FINALLY sharpen my two ceramic knives, although I have to admit that I can't get them as sharp as I can get metal blades. YouTube's "Nutnfancy" recommended this (search YouTube keywords: "Nutnfancy eze-lap"), and once again, he's right! I start with the EZE-Lap 1200 grit, and then finish with a strop, which I learned to use by watching my other YouTube hero "Virtuovice." Search YouTube for keywords: "Virtuovice stropping."

as usual amazon shipping was amazing. i deducted one star because of the outer finishing of the abrasive part. its very rough but once u have used it for a couple of times then u get the actual grit. so basically u have to erode the first layer to get to the proper grit. another reason for the star deduction is the packaging. its just the rod shoved thru a piece of cardboard. no big deal but the rod could have been damaged or broken.the rod works 100%, well made and bloody hell it works. took me about 5 mins to get a dull as hell steak knife to shave hair off my arm. BUY ONE!!! trust me.

It works good, but it is kind of crude. Its not the oval shape that I expected. It has edges that are not rounded smooth... They are sharp, rough and grabby. I knocked both edges down with the handle end of a file, so that I would not accidentally catch, and ruin the edge of one of my knives.

Great steel, does an excellent job honing my knives.Everyone at work keeps borrowing it, because it works so good.Only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that it goes bald a little to quick.