I use it to sharpen and love it, but it stinks as a lube...especially on zytell. It actually seems to impeed action on some of my zytell knives. On metal to metal, there are much better lubes. I usually use Mobil 1 which works well as a smooth lube. I also use it to lube the ball bearings on my 1/10 scale RC car. Mobil 1 also makes an okay protectant as it leaves a film. You gotta' love that Mystery Oil smell though! That's the best. I always get wierd looks when I'm sharpening a knife in my dorm room. They all like the shaving edge I get though with that "smelly" oil and ceramic stone.