Warthog Knife Sharpener Question

I've been looking at these since the forum brought them to my attention, and was pretty keen on ordering one. I already have a lansky kit and can also freehand sharpen when I have to, but I'd like something to live in the kitchen to keep all those knives tickled up. Ideally something that you can just stroke the knife through a few times without rigging clamps etc, but not one of the 'scraper' type sharpeners. Primarily, something convenient for the wife to use.

Anyway, the feedback on this forum and the wider net seems good. Until you get to the website www.warthogsharp.com. On the top of the homepage it has the interesting statement "Due to numerous customer complaints about product quality and reliability, we will be closing." The customer reviews page shows 17 reviews; all one star and often relating to the quality of the diamond plating. I can't quite figure it out - is this website legit? Something created by some competitor or disgruntled former employee? Or is there really a problem here? The website address is referred to on various forums as a Warthog distributor.

This sharpener is not particularly cheap particularly by the time you add it some extra grit rods. I'd be well annoyed if the rods flake off or wear out quickly. So for those here who have one of these sharpeners, how are they holding up?

i just bought the spyderco, works well

I have one but am yet to give it a decent work out, still use a small stone and steel. @Danny_b has one and gets good results

No issues with my Warthog. Use it as least once a week and works well. I'd be gutted if they went out of business. Having tried nearly everything else, nothing comes close in terms of ease of use and effectiveness at that price point.

That website looks dodgy as fuck! Try this:https://warthogusa.com/

correct I have one and get great results with it, I will be bloody disapointed if they are discontinued :psychotic:.......watching

I bought one years ago in New Caledonia . Brought it back here and used it a bit. But as the comment said, the diamond grit on it was far from impressive. I ended giving it to an old girlfriend.the sharpness obtained never matched what I could get with the spyderco tri-angle. The spyderco tri-angle with the optional diamond rods is not cheap but has worked very well for me for the last 20 years.

I have a kenonion Workssharp, thats amazing.

Where is the best place to get these?

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Originally Posted by timattalon

Where is the best place to get these?

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TradeMe. The vendor is good to deal with and happy to sell directly.

There is a new worksharp product that looks way better, fairly cheap and there already a few mods for it, if I was going for cheap, easy and cheerful I would look there, if you want a mirror polished knife that you can whittle hairs with then I can do that, my prices are cheap and I have brevet had an unsatisfied customer yet, if you are not happy you don’t pay.

I use my Warthog a couple of times a week. Does an 80% job every time. I too have a Lansky and multiple large honing stones, but hate the wasted hours sitting sharpening a blade using them.

The Warthog does a pretty good job in 1 minute. But yes, would be pissed if it shuts down due to shite coatings on the stones.

Lots of good responses, thanks. To those who have one and like it ( @MB @dannyb @XR500 ) how long have you been using it? Long enough to be pretty sure the rods hold up? @Friwi what didnt you like about the grit? Wore down fast, came off, just wasn't aggressive enough from the start?

For the other options suggested, spyderco I expect works well but I think a fully guided product (i.e. not just hold the knife vertical) might be better here. Worksharp looks interesting, but a bit aggressive for regular edge maintenance? Scary sharp isn't what I'm looking for - I'll still use the lansky and magnetic holder I made for my outdoor knives but dont want that kind of setup for the kitchen. Not looking to send them out for sharpening either thanks.

I committed a sin a few months ago by going to h&f to get a sharpener for my hunting knife and having read about the popularity on here about the Warthog, that was my goal to purchase.
After talking to the salesman, he actually said they were junk and I was better off getting a Lansky which was ofcource alot cheaper. I ended up walking away with the Lansky with the four stones and I'm very happy with it. But why would he under sell to me when I was prepared to buy the more expensive Warthog?
I realize this sort of sharpener (Lansky) is not what you're looking for but just thought I would share my experience.

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Originally Posted by Allizdog

I committed a sin a few months ago by going to h&f to get a sharpener for my hunting knife and having read about the popularity on here about the Warthog, that was my goal to purchase.
After talking to the salesman, he actually said they were junk and I was better off getting a Lansky which was ofcource alot cheaper. I ended up walking away with the Lansky with the four stones and I'm very happy with it. But why would he under sell to me when I was prepared to buy the more expensive Warthog?
I realize this sort of sharpener (Lansky) is not what you're looking for but just thought I would share my experience.

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I could never sharpen anything to save myself. Brought a Lansky thinking it would solve my woes and get my knives sharp.
I hated it so ...........went to second hand shop and brought a hanful of knives and then 2 of these
one 500grit and one 2000 grit and taught myself to sharpen properly:)
Attachment 164415
However a Warthog looks like it might be an easy way to set an angle on a knife that has seen better days

I hated the Lansky with quite some passion. The guide holes are too wide to give a constant angle unless you clamp rod in to them in to place with your hand, but each to their own.

@PaulNZ - Just did a quick search on the forum, this is what I wrote just over a year ago and as I say, have used it pretty much weekly since then. Admittedly, I rarely use anything but the stainless steel stropping hones for a quick tickle-up. I use the 325 and 1000 grit hones for establishing an edge. I know some people don't like the Warthog and I'd prefer the main frame to be made of metal rather than plastic, but no issues. Not trying to sell anything here, just genuinely impressed with a relatively cheap product.

The Warthog works very well with stiff blades. Flexible filleting knives require a little bit more concentration, but I wouldn't use anything else.

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Originally Posted by MB

OK, so I got one and it is as close to the holy grail of amateur knife sharpening that I've come across. Relatively cheap, easy to use (almost pleasant) and effective. I now have an odd-looking hairless patch on my left forearm!

I've ordered some 1000 grit hones. The 325 grit hones that come with the kit are certainly effective, but a bit too coarse for maintenance sharpening in my opinion.

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I keep on repeating myself !
Just go buy the best of the lot, it's called an eze-sharp from aussie.
Reasonably priced and fucking awesome!
Next question

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

The warthog has simply a too narrow strip of diamond coating. The spyderco triangular rods are two to three times as wide .I never could get the thing to sharpen my blades razor sharp like I can get with the spyderco.
Watch this clip at 1min50 seconds and that is what a warthog sharpener is like!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SR3aIzfNMXM

Typical. Hardly used mine and sounds like they are going out of business.
Best I get one of the finer stones before there isnt any

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Originally Posted by csmiffy

Typical. Hardly used mine and sounds like they are going out of business.
Best I get one of the finer stones before there isnt any

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Thanks all. Guess I'll think it over for a couple of days more before I purchase anything.

Yep, I've been sleeping on it for months and every now and then I read the reviews and the negative comments.
Try and sort out fact from fiction.
KH

Ive had lanski two rod system for years.....would be ideal for what you asking in kitchen..pretty much idiot proof and MUCH MUCH betterthan the hold n scrape through systems,even if it does sort of work in similar fashion
also bought the other lanski type but didnt get stand,couldnt work out how stand worked so googled it...went into garage and found bolt of right size n two nust that threaded on correctly...placed head of bolt in vice and hey presto can actually put some pressure on stones and make the suckers work properly...its a ok system to get angles right...been doing it freehand since could walk but do like the idea of getting it correct angle on the more spendy knives.

Well at the moment I'm leaning towards the Spyderco Sharpmaker or Lansky crock-stick style. But a sharpmaker with the diamond hones is over $300. The Spyderco gauntlet is a bit better at $239, and has some advantages and disadvantages compared to the sharpmaker. But looking at the Lansky website it seems I could get a pair each of 9" sticks in diamond, medium ceramic and fine ceramic for $135 landed. Wouldn't be too hard to make a nice wooden base with some holes at precise angles to suit. I'll ponder it a bit more, but the last option seems tempting at the moment.

https://www.blademaster.co.nz/shop/S...y/TB-2D2C.html

If you can get yourself this one, it is working very well and is reasonably priced.

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Originally Posted by Friwi

https://www.blademaster.co.nz/shop/S...y/TB-2D2C.html

If you can get yourself this one, it is working very well and is reasonably priced.

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Looks pretty good, pity it's out of stock. I think I'd pay a bit more for the longer 9" rods from either Spyderco or Lansky however, to better suit the larger kitchen knives. Ordering just the Lansky 9" rods is still tempting but I have since read a couple of reviews that the quality of the fine ceramic Lansky rods can be poor and 'lumpy'. These are the rods that will get most of the use day-to-day, so maybe I'll bite the bullet and get the Spyderco Gauntlet instead.

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Originally Posted by PaulNZ

Looks pretty good, pity it's out of stock. I think I'd pay a bit more for the longer 9" rods from either Spyderco or Lansky however, to better suit the larger kitchen knives. Ordering just the Lansky 9" rods is still tempting but I have since read a couple of reviews that the quality of the fine ceramic Lansky rods can be poor and 'lumpy'. These are the rods that will get most of the use day-to-day, so maybe I'll bite the bullet and get the Spyderco Gauntlet instead.

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If you have stones and or a sharpening setup then honestly all you need is a strop with some compound or ceramic hone for regular edge maintenance. A strop is a s fool proof as it gets

With a good edge under regular kitchen use a knife will last for months without needing a resharpen with only a few licks on the strop before use.

Over use of sharpening systems leaves you with a knife that is to thick behind the edge and particularly with the pull through systems a wavy or concave edge profile.

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Originally Posted by PaulNZ

Looks pretty good, pity it's out of stock. I think I'd pay a bit more for the longer 9" rods from either Spyderco or Lansky however, to better suit the larger kitchen knives. Ordering just the Lansky 9" rods is still tempting but I have since read a couple of reviews that the quality of the fine ceramic Lansky rods can be poor and 'lumpy'. These are the rods that will get most of the use day-to-day, so maybe I'll bite the bullet and get the Spyderco Gauntlet instead.

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If you have stones and or a sharpening setup then honestly all you need is a strop with some compound or ceramic hone for regular edge maintenance. A strop is a s fool proof as it gets

With a good edge under regular kitchen use a knife will last for months without needing a resharpen with only a few licks on the strop before use.

Over use of sharpening systems leaves you with a knife that is to thick behind the edge and particularly with the pull through systems a wavy or concave edge profile.

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Originally Posted by Nick-D

If you have stones and or a sharpening setup then honestly all you need is a strop with some compound or ceramic hone for regular edge maintenance. A strop is a s fool proof as it gets

With a good edge under regular kitchen use a knife will last for months without needing a resharpen with only a few licks on the strop before use.

Over use of sharpening systems leaves you with a knife that is to thick behind the edge and particularly with the pull through systems a wavy or concave edge profile.

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Good reminder thanks - I really should make up another strop while I'm at it.

I've tried a couple of ways of sharpening but end up back with the Spyderco. I add diamond rods and ultra fine rods. They do what they are meant to. I use 40 degree (20/20?) setting not the 30 degree "back bevel". The knives do get very sharp with this system, and it is obviously fool-proof when I remember to use the brass guard rods.

Well, I've just ordered the Spyderco gauntlet with the CBN and fine ceramic rods. Hopefully it's a good thing.

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Originally Posted by andyanimal31

I keep on repeating myself !
Just go buy the best of the lot, it's called an eze-sharp from aussie.
Reasonably priced and fucking awesome!
Next question

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

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Damn you @andyanimal31! Received my Ezesharp kit today. I look forward to giving it a whirl tomorrow.

Well, I had a play round with the new sharpener today (Spyderco Gauntlet) and thought I'd report back for anyone interested.

I like it. Not a hell of a lot there to look at for the money, but it does seem to sharpen knives easily and well. If you want to see how it works there are various videos around that explain it better than I can. So just a few thoughts:

> The standard ceramic rods would be all that you need to bring a knife back from 'normal' bluntness. A few strokes each side of a slightly/reasonably blunt knife and it was well sharp enough for most tasks. A quick lick on a leather strop with green compound to finish and it would shave hair off my arm no trouble.

> The CBN rods are aggressive. They're supposed to be 400gr and probably they'll smooth up a little in use, but for now they certainly pull off the steel. They're good though - I used them on a well-abused Swiss Army Knife and it cleaned up the edge nicely. You might think that going from the 400gr CBN straight to the 1000gr ceramic is too much of a jump, but it seems to work. I just sharpened with the CBN a few degrees below the standard 40 (see below), then went back to 40 when I used the ceramic and got quickly to the point it only needed a strop to be shaving sharp.

> Reading up on this before purchase, plenty of the 'experts' on the overseas forums lamented that the angle is preset at 40degrees inclusive (same as the lowest setting on the Warthog), can't be adjusted lower, and that's why they wouldn't be buying one. Well I think that's pretty funny, because after taking it out of the pack and looking at it for a couple of minutes it was pretty obvious you can change the effective angle just by rotating the base. Have it sitting on the table in front of you like normal and it'll sharpen at 40degrees. Spin the whole sharpener 90degrees and the effective sharpening angle is zero (i.e. the rods are straight up and down from where you're standing). Put it halfway between (i.e. 45degree base rotation) and you'll be sharpening at about 29 degrees. The whole thing is basically adjustable to as fine an increment as you feel like measuring. Want to have your outdoor knives at 40 deg and your kitchen knives at 30 deg? No problem. Want to have a primary bevel at 30 deg and a microbevel at 40 deg? No worries. This may not work so well with the triangular stones on the sharpmaker model, but fine with the 'cats-eye' stones on this version.

> Works well for small knives as well as large - particularly the small pocket knife blades that you couldn't grab with a lansky clamp and which I have trouble setting my lansky magnetic holder up for.

> One thing that did keep cropping up when I read about diamond or CBN rods (regardless of manufacturer) was the need to sharpen with a very light touch. Too heavy won't break the diamonds themselves but they'll be pulled off the plated surface of the hone. If there is truth to the Warthog sharpeners wearing out hones (and I don't have one so this is just guessing) I wonder if the springs are a touch too heavy? Particularly at the higher set angles maybe the hones are a little too hard for the knife to push away during the stroke?

Anyway, my lansky and magnetic holder setup will still get use for major edge work and one or 2 specific knives, but this will serve the purpose I bought it for. Thanks for all the advice that got me to this point.