Warthog VSharp Sharpening System Review

[labrat7357]

For a lot less than $150 you can get some quality whetstones or whet stone systems like the tri-hone style systems that will work better and store in a lot less space. It takes 5 min to learn basic sharpening and it will be a lot sharper than that expensive toy. Why turn a simple sharpening process into something so complex. Sharpen until you get a burr along whole edge ,move to a smoother stone do it again and finally hone the final edge. Simple & effective now. go use your sharp knife.

[ugotbawlz]

great review...thank you.

[yugandali]

I'm going to stick with my stones, but thanks for the informative, well organized, well done presentation.

[rfgardner]

what are the differences between the chrome model and the black model.

[billebert]

start watching @ 1:30 the first part is total jabbering. good review but he talks WAY too much.

[hatelibs1]

you male or female???

[JasonECI]

Can't agree more! Most of the V shaped sharpeners work as expected, but for a piece at this price range, the workmanship and finish really can be improved a little!

The first thought came into my mind when you flip its bottom up was "Couldn't they sharpen their forstner bit first?"...

Will the chef's knife's bolster get stuck by the guide as well?

[QuietBearr]

@JasonECI Depends on the knife and how far back the bolster is from the start of the blade, I dont think so because of how long the blade is, you can angle it even if the bolster is close to the guides.

[hugo2x]

I can see it being extremely useful for machetes and swords.

[QuietBearr]

It actually works better on smaller knives than larger ones, but it would work well for machetes and swords as well.

I will be reviewing the new Vsharp XE which is the new and improved model soon to be coming out. I believe it is better than this one in many ways, but we will see when I get it in my hands.

[fuckfalloutboy]

damn why cant people just learn to use a File

[QuietBearr]

Granted it is fun for some people like you or I to sharpen knives (I am guessing you at least it is for me), but it is not for everyone, and I can get a knife from a dull, rolled over, completely blunt edge to a hair shaving sharp edge on this in about 1-2 mins. Now, for the novice it would be the same. However, on stones it takes much more work and much more time to get a great edge, and a lot more practice.

We live in the age of luxury and ease. Why not take advantage?

[jwilson004athotmail]

I'm still pretty partial to my KA-BAR, it has been w/me for a long time!! Held up over seas 2x and went w/my brother another 2x, I can still shave w/it!! Believe me I beat the piss out of that knife and it keeps coming back for more!!

[QuietBearr]

Cant beat that 1095 CroVan eh? Love that steel!

[jwilson004athotmail]

Never leave home w/out it!! Don't think I ever will either, already bought my 2yr old son a USMC KA-BAR for scouts when he is older!!

[QuietBearr]

It surely is a great knife, and no knife collection is complete without one, well at least no American knife collection, or any serious collection at all I guess.

[jwilson004athotmail]

Amen to that brother!!

[john1112112]

i understand, u might accidently put the knife in at an angle w/o them, right?

[QuietBearr]

that and with the springs, without the guards it will just push the knife all over the place and be almost impossible to controll.

[bushmag]

Heh, never seen such a sharpener before! Looks like someting from outerspace:P It looks to work great!! But I like to sit down and take a minute and fix my knife with a sandstone, diamund steel or a ceramic stone=) Mabey I'll still get a system like that in the future just because it's easy to use=) Like that you tell EVERYthing about the product! 5/5

[QuietBearr]

I try to, lol, I try to make the product reviews un-biased and complete

[echodawg]

Nice review. Seems like the old fashioned way is still the way to go. 5/5

[QuietBearr]

Thanks man. Yea I am still a fan of the old fashioned way, but this is a great way as well I think, especially for beginners or people that are not knife people (AKA moms and their kitchen knives that are dull as hell, etc....)

[cutlerylover]

looks like the plastic guards are removable, if I were to try this system thats the 1st thign I woudl do is remove the gyards to amke it more versitale, other than that the system looks to be easy to use and effective, but like any sharpening system the weakest link is the quality of the stones...I have had great designs before with poor stones..

[QuietBearr]

The guards are removable, but they are actually more guides than guards to keep your knife upright, I guess I mistakenly said guards lol...

I will show it again in the knife sharpening video.

You are right about the stones, these are OK stones, but I think that they could have been impregnated more on more sides as well.

STill a good system though, despite its flaws.

[cutlerylover]

I hear ya...I might have to get one to try out down the road..thanks for the review!

[thecajunblaze]

How does this differ from those little sharpeners you buy from wal-mart or Academy? Great Video!

[QuietBearr]

which ones are you refering to?

[thecajunblaze]

The hand held ones that are blue and white that they sell for 10 bucks. I guess because of the dimonds. You get what you pay for! I know that much in most cases.

[QuietBearr]

Yea the diamonds, the guides, the spring tension, there is a lot more on the warthog than on those, plus the quality of the rods.

[john1112112]

lol, ya really, it seems like a flea market sharpener if u look at the holes in the bottom =] lol. could u take off the plastic guards? cuz u know they don't really guard anything excet a portion of the blade from being sharpened =]

[QuietBearr]

They are more guides than guards, I will show it in the future knife sharpening video....

[MajorMalphunction]

Looks complicated to build lol

[QuietBearr]

Could be, although it actually looks pretty simple in person, but I could see how it looks that way on a video. Good thing it comes assembled!

[Roger1379]

It looks pretty crappy for 90bucks, I mean you could get a 1X30 belt sander + 200-1200grit belts + a leather belt and compound for the same amount of money....

[QuietBearr]

As I said though, it is good for beginners, and in addition, not everyone has space for a belt sander in their house.

It has its advantages and disadvantages.

There are no bevel guides on a belt sander, and there is no way of reproducing the same bevel every time, at least not on one for $90

[cynan48]

Love the even if you go to Australia reply! Also can the plastic guards be removed? Nice review been thinking about getting one of these was waiting for a non-biased review first. Thanks for the info.

[QuietBearr]

They can be, but it is better if you leave them on, I am gonna do a sharpening video soon and it will be one of them in it and I will explain why they are good.

I think it would have been better to not use plastic, but they are better to stay on to keep your bevel at the right angle, and to increase the speed of sharpening...

THe sharpening video will be coming up soon

[iRaptor59]

I think what your saying is that even if you turn the thing around, which will change the actual bar the machine puts in front, it still has the right bar in front of the left one?

Maybe a "Warthog" is supposed to be bristly, which explains the poor finish, lol. I am a terrible sharpener and would buy this if they cleaned it up a bit.

[QuietBearr]

No matter what you do the right bar will be in front

[john1112112]

omg, i couldn't believe how rough those holes were on the bottom......

[QuietBearr]

Yea they are pretty rough, and the whole thing was a bit rougher before I cleaned it up.

Doesnt affect performance, but for $90 you would think they could buy some sandpaper.

[nephildevil]

that thing is huge!

and kinda looks like it came from sum mad scientist's laboratory

which is kinda cool

[QuietBearr]

LOL it is pretty big, definitely not something to pack on a hike!

[nephildevil]

:D

i'm using the spydie sharpmaker, but next time i order knives i prob also get a fallkniven stone to pack on a hike

[QuietBearr]

I usually dont take a stone with me on hikes, if need be then I will take a double sided stone, the small variety, but usually not, if a knife cant stay sharp for as long as I go on hikes for (usually day hikes, but even for camps up to a week) then it just doesnt go with me. And I usually take 3-4 different knives anyway, so I dont really have that problem.

[nephildevil]

i got a bunch of knives from aus8 and similar like the spydie tenacious, which dull quite fast imo

[QuietBearr]

Yea they have a tendancy to do that, I usually will take one of my D2's out with me, so I really dont have a dulling problem lol.

[nephildevil]

hmmm dont have any d2's, i could have gotten my rat 5 in D2 but choose 1095 instead, thinking D2 might be too brittle

[QuietBearr]

1095 still should hold an edge for plenty long for a hike.

D2 is a bit more brittle than most steels, at least most HC steels, but I think people give it a bad rap without actually using it much. If used like a knife should be used, then it will do just fine, you just cant use it like a prybar.

[nephildevil]

yeah i just go from what i read and saw online, since i dont have any D2

it seems to me it is a great steel for small knives, but not for things that might also be used in chopping or batoning and stuff like that

[QuietBearr]

I disagree, I think people usually go on what others say about it too much, without trying it for themselves, I have chopped and batoned with my Arad plenty, and it is no worse for wear.

Kershaw makes the Outcast in D2 and it is designed for chopping.

All in all, I think that people are to hard on D2, (no pun intended).

It is a hard steel, but there are also numerous makers who make swords out of it.

[nephildevil]

a sword!? seems crazy

but the thing is D2 costs alot and i'd hate to see my expensive big knive break, so if it is just for cutting adn it is a small knife which uses less D2, then i'd like to try it

as nothing can go wrong

but buying an expensive big knife in D2 seems like an needless risk

[QuietBearr]

But its not as brittle as people say it is, the thing is about forums, have the stuff people say they are just talking out their ass without any actual real life expierence in the subject.

Two, if it breaks, send it back for another.

Three, it wont if you treat it the way a knife should be treated, you can baton all you want to all day with a D2 blade, I do all the time.

It really is not as brittle as people think, that is mostly just hearsay.

[haha48]

I didnt read the full disciption :p... for the problem with the sharpen 1 side more then the other simply flip it around and do it that way

[QuietBearr]

turn it around all you want to, no matter what it doesnt change the fact that the right side will always be in the front of the left, even if you turn it around...

Its just physics

[haha48]

dont trun the sharpener just walk to the other side of it because it would then sharpen the other side of the blade frist

[QuietBearr]

No it wouldnt, turn the sharpener, or turn yourself, it doesnt matter it is the same thing, it will always sharpen the right side of the blade further down towards the choil than the left. PERIOD, no matter what you turn, where you go, even if you go to Australia, it doesnt matter, it is just how ALL vsharp systems are, fault of them all. PERIOD PERIOD PERIOD

[thecajunblaze]

He just doesn't get the visual!

[hackamore]

@QuietBearr What if you stand on your head?

[haha48]

only 21 bucks thats not bad for what it is..