I actually have one of these little guys. It's aluminum and weighs almost nothing, so I carry it as an emergency sharpener. But I do mean "emergency."
Haven't had much success with it freehand. It really has to be well braced against a flat(tish) surface, like a tabletop, or it tends to sort of skip down the blade. I wind up with a wavy, serrated-blade kind of look.
And it seriously chews up the metal. I'm talking curlicues of steel maybe half a mil wide but like 2/8 or even 3/8 inch long!
So, I carry it as a last ditch. It's inexpensive, super light, not bulky at all, and from the looks of it, you could run over it with a truck and it'd be just fine -- not too many parts to go wrong. But I sure wouldn't like to use it with any regularity on any knife I cared about.
And if I EVER allow it to touch the edge of my beloved Izula, there'd better be hostile forces landing on American soil, or zombies, or aliens, Godzilla -- something, or one of you fellas will need to shoot me as I've clearly lost my friggin' mind.
I should add that I think it's limitations are limitations of the TYPE of sharpener (carbide), not particular to the Sterling. I understand this is a small business making a quality product, and I wouldn't want to sound negative concerning Sterling's execution of the carbide sharpener. It's a high quality version of this type of thing. It's just not my type of thing, not for regular use, anyway.
Anyway, just my two cents.
