There are several round pocket stones available around the same price point and I figured the biggest difference is grit and storage options. Certainly the strength of the stone matters, and this one seems quite solid, will update later if it seems to chip under normal use, but doesn't seem likely. This stone offered slightly more aggressive grit on the course side and slightly finer on the medium side, but at 150/320 they still don't seem far enough apart for it to be a problem between the two. I assumed the leather case would be something pretty cheap, maybe even throwaway -- but I was quite happily surprised to find the leather pouch was a very soft, supple, suede leather pouch that seems like it will look very nice and will protect the stone well against a fair amount of abuse. The stone also came wrapped in a felt cloth that protects the stone from rubbing against the leather, which I think is a really nice touch.I was also a bit worried about using the round stone in general, but I found it pretty intuitive to get the hang of and had things sharpened in no time.