I bought this knife sharpener for myself because I wanted to start cooking and eating healthy food. Since this requires a lot of chopping and slicing of fresh veggies and meats, I bought the sharpener and a very nice set of knives. The knives actually came with a "diamond surface" sharpener but it was round and I did not like it compared to this sharpener. The surface of this sharpener is flattened so you get perfect contact between the blade of your knife and the sharpener. It's also not such a rough surface and does not 'grate' the blades of my knives.The handle is perfectly shaped to hold with a good grip. I am female and my hands are not large so this is important to me. Although there is a ring on the end of the handle for hanging from a hook if you want, the surface of the sharpener is metal and sits perfectly on my magnetic strip that holds all of my frequently-used knives. I am very satisfied with this sharpener and I highly recommend it.